Mar 20th, 2019, 09:14 PM
Google has formally unveiled their entry into the gaming world with Stadia, a new gaming platform for playing AAA video games across all kinds of screens via streaming.
I think if anyone could pull this off, it has to be Google. No other company is going to have the knowledge and hardware available to make it work. However, apart from the ease of accessibility it offers to people with decent internet, I don't see what else the platform has going for it over any of the ones already on the market. Most of the big games that were announced for it like Doom Eternal aren't going to shift people over, not at least until this console generation comes to an end and people have to make a choice on what outlet they access their games from in the future. Although even then, I think it'll be less of a choice between PS5/Xbox/Nintendo/PC/Stadia and more of a PC vs. Stadia ordeal. The home consoles have exclusives that people will buy them for and Stadia can't change that, so the only target they can go toe to toe with is PC. If I could use a cheaper PC to play all the games that I'd need to have a high end PC for, why wouldn't I besides wanting to actually own my games vs. what I presume will be some rental subscription type service that Stadia will offer.
I'm curious to see where this goes just in regards to how the industry as a whole responds and whether Google can make it work on a large scale without becoming some exclusive thing for people fortunate enough to live somewhere with ridiculously fast internet speeds. I know that if I was still living in my home town in the UK, I would be skeptical I could use this service. I want to see just how wide the net can be cast for it now; I don't really care about more statements of 4K, 8K, Teraflops, and all that. Means nothing if more people than not can't reliably use the service due to factors outside of Google's control.
- A streaming only, INSTANT Access system with controller - https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D2CR6GUWwAAoc2P.jpg
- Play across multiple devices, including laptops, desktops, and select phones and tablets.
- Go from watching a video to playing a game in seconds, with even more innovative experiences to come for select games.
- Enjoy gaming the way you love, with beautiful HDR graphics and smooth frame rates.
- No updates, no downloads. Jump right into the game.
- Stadia's cloud based infrastructure evolves to meet the demands of players, developers, and YouTube creators.
- Streams up to 4K 60fps HDR, will later add support for 8K 120fps
- Stadia instances are 10.7 Teraflops of GPU power, more than the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X combined.
- You can click Play Now in a STADIA enabled browser and instantly get into the respective game on sites like YouTube.
- Connects using Chrome as a streaming platform across many devices.
- Single code base enjoyed across desktop, laptop, TV, tablet, and phone.
- Works on existing devices - Chromecast, Chrome browsers, and Chrome apps.
- Works with existing controllers, not just Google controller.
- Cross-platform multiplayer and save files.
- Couch co-op and Split-screen using separate instances available.
- Low latency platform for "everyone."
I think if anyone could pull this off, it has to be Google. No other company is going to have the knowledge and hardware available to make it work. However, apart from the ease of accessibility it offers to people with decent internet, I don't see what else the platform has going for it over any of the ones already on the market. Most of the big games that were announced for it like Doom Eternal aren't going to shift people over, not at least until this console generation comes to an end and people have to make a choice on what outlet they access their games from in the future. Although even then, I think it'll be less of a choice between PS5/Xbox/Nintendo/PC/Stadia and more of a PC vs. Stadia ordeal. The home consoles have exclusives that people will buy them for and Stadia can't change that, so the only target they can go toe to toe with is PC. If I could use a cheaper PC to play all the games that I'd need to have a high end PC for, why wouldn't I besides wanting to actually own my games vs. what I presume will be some rental subscription type service that Stadia will offer.
I'm curious to see where this goes just in regards to how the industry as a whole responds and whether Google can make it work on a large scale without becoming some exclusive thing for people fortunate enough to live somewhere with ridiculously fast internet speeds. I know that if I was still living in my home town in the UK, I would be skeptical I could use this service. I want to see just how wide the net can be cast for it now; I don't really care about more statements of 4K, 8K, Teraflops, and all that. Means nothing if more people than not can't reliably use the service due to factors outside of Google's control.