Google has revealed the Stadia, its upcoming game streaming platform that will allow users to stream in 4K, 60 FPS. It looks like impressive technology, with the demo showing a user being able to seamlessly switch between devices and immediately picking up where they left off in-game. But is it going to be worth buying?
The GameRevolution editorial team discussed whether we’re going to buy the Stadia below, and as always you can leave your own responses in the comments section. We’ll feature our favorites in tomorrow’s Tell GR.
Paul Tamburro, executive editor: “No. Since moving house last year, I’ve been lumbered with a terrible internet connection that shows no signs of improving in the near future. This means that there’s little chance I’d be able to actually use the Stadia this year, and that if it does turn out to be game-changing… well, it won’t be changing my games. It looks impressive, but it’s going to be naturally hampered by the market’s internet speeds, data caps, and consumers’ interest in ditching physical gaming.”
Jason Faulkner, senior editor: “I’ll pay for it, but I’m not super pumped on it. Google had a lot of good talk going on yesterday, but it’s probably going to be just like everything else we see in gaming. Features won’t be available at launch, it won’t be nearly as seamless as they made it look, and I’m sure it’s gonna have the same latency issues that plague PS Now and GeForce Now.
One thing that makes me skeptical is that I have a beast of a PC and Chrome sometimes just craps itself with a memory leak or decides to take up 100% CPU. I don’t think a web browser is a stable enough platform to play games on. Also it may have “4k, 60fps, HDR,” but the video is probably going to be so compressed that a locally installed game at 1080p looks better. I’m also not really hyped to purchase games on Stadia and then lose them all when Google gets bored of supporting the service.
I’m already feeling a lot of loss already from the announcement they’re throwing Hangouts to the side and I don’t even have any money invested. Not having a physical copy of a game I love is a big no-no too, and if I can’t even have a local digital copy I’m not really interested. I like to own my games and I don’t really want to play them at Google’s whim.”
Mack Ashworth, lead editor: “I think Google Stadia looks and sounds awesome. If it does what Google says it will, then I’m sure it’ll take off. However, I still need to hear details of the minimum required internet speeds. For someone like me, with 20 down and 5 up (on a good day), most game streaming services make for unplayable messes. I probably won’t be buying, but I’ll probably be jealous of those who do.”
Bradley Russell, news editor: “It all comes down to price point for me. Sure, Google Stadia _looks_ cool and is probably a big enough leap forward for some to commit to a day-one purchase, but I’ve not seeing anything that will make me want to break away from the traditional console model. Only a minor outlay for a console and smaller monthly subscription will be worthwhile, and even then I’d be getting splinters by being on the fence about it. I’m hoping it offers a little more bang for its buck than (admittedly) beautiful graphics and quick loading times. Maybe a bolt-on retro library for an additional fee? The industry has fenced off so much of its legacy content that I feel like Google could plug that gap nicely if it wanted to.”
Michael Leri, features editor: “Admittedly, I haven’t done much reading on Stadia but it seems rad as hell. While it’s easy to poop on the likely problems it will have, the potential and ambition is hard not to admire. But, due to all my years living with bad internet, I won’t trust it for quite some time. I want my experiences to be local and I’d be hard-pressed to sign up for this.”
Yesterday’s best comment
Question: Will VR ever be the future of gaming?
Darth Buzzer: “Basically, yes. But it’s going to take a while which should have been expected anyway. This doesn’t happen overnight or over one generation.
People will jump aboard very fast once you have a full human body representation of yourself tracked in VR at ultra-high resolutions, with graphics that surpass anything non-VR games can manage (foveated rendering), and all of the killer apps for the platform open up, such as socialization, telepresence, screen simulation and of course all the killer games that will be made.
The future in 15 years is that smartphones just won’t be much of a thing anymore. We’ll all be wearing sleek glasses that are hybrids of VR and AR, serving the needs of all existing platforms – as everything will be simulated in a superior way to the real thing. Why settle for an 8K monitor when I can simulate 10 of them on my toilet? Why settle for Discord when I can have a LAN party in VR?
For anyone still scratching their heads, VR works for all game genres and perspectives, so nothing gets left out.”
