Google Stadia

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Aslanna
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Google Stadia

Post by Aslanna »

So.. What does everyone, or at least the last 3 people here, think?

For how I play games I don't think it's something I have an interest in.
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Re: Google Stadia

Post by Funkmasterr »

I'm interested in it from a technical standpoint, and if/will it will shake the industry up at all, but I'm not particularly interested in using it.

For one, Google has a habit of abandoning things that don't perform the way they want/they get bored of, so I'd be concerned about losing things you paid for. I suppose they could go with a subscription model, and that wouldn't be a concern, but who knows. Reality is that most of the people in the US, let alone the rest of the world, don't have access to internet that would make this a good experience, so I don't see it being a breakout success.

What really concerns me is input lag. I have to imagine they'll use AI algorithms to predict movement in cases where this issue comes up, and that's a deal breaker for me.

Who knows, I've ate my words before. I'll keep an eye on it.
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Re: Google Stadia

Post by Aslanna »

I just don't like how they are advertising it as an OMG GAME CHANGER1!! Streaming games is nothing new. Yes, Google is improving on it, and removing the actual consumer hardware from the equation is an interesting twist, but I personally don't see it as all that revolutionary however I realize I am definitely not the target market for this product.

Mobile devices: I don't play mobile games now so that is pointless. Hell, for some reason I bought a Switch and have never even used that. Handheld just isn't how I play games anymore.
Laptop: I don't own a laptop.
PC: I have a decent modern PC so being able to play a game through a browser doesn't matter to me.
TV: I have a console already attached to my TV so that also doesn't matter to me.

In the presentation they made a joke about how you currently have to install a game for 4 hours, then update it, etc. Other than RDR2 (terrible game!) install times on consoles don't bother me as you do it once and you're set.

The only good thing about it for me is there is no console to buy. So if there ever is a "must play" game that is exclusive on their platform I'm only out the cost of the game if I decided to play it. That is assuming you buy games and it's not some sort of subscription model. They haven't yet disclosed how that will work so that's currently a big missing piece. Given the choice of paying the same price for a game between Stadia and a console I will be choosing console every single time.

I guess there is the controller as well which might be a requirement based on how it works but it might be an optional device since during the Project Stream beta with Assassin's Creed Odyssey people could use their existing controllers as far as I know.

I do get the concern about Google abandoning things but I don't see it happening here. A lot of things they give up on have been free products. Once people get into their ecosystem and start spending actual money it will be a lot harder for them to just pull the plug on the whole thing. Maybe I am being naive there but that's my take!


If streaming is the future it pretty much guarantees the death of emulation going forward as there will be no hardware to emulate and no games to run on it even if you could since those games are sitting on remote servers.
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Re: Google Stadia

Post by Funkmasterr »

I agree, the constant cock jousting for shit in general has always annoyed me. Like the Xbox guy feeling the need to reply after their presentation about how they were going to go big at E3... good for you. :roll:

Like you say, it's nothing revolutionary and it's just marketing bullshit. I abhor marketing so that kind of shit has an adverse effect on me.

I also don't give a shit about the complaint of install time. Like you say, odds are I'm only ever doing it once, and I have a 500MB down/up fiber connection so even if I do need to download it again, who gives a shit. I know I'm in the minority here, but it's just one of the many reasons I'm also not in the target audience.

Even without that kind of connection, most people that play console games are likely pre-loading, or starting the download before work the day they buy it and it's ready when they actually want to play. I think they are conflating the concerns of "gamers" and the mobile casual types, because I'd argue that concerns like install time and console cost are not what's stopping casuals from getting into console gaming.

The controller is also a deal breaker for me - as bad a record as Google has of having mics listening to everything going on, the last thing I'm doing is having something like that in my home for the same reason I don't use Home/Alexa/whatever.

It seems to me like they are marketing this at Youtube streamers and their audience/the type of people that watch let's play type videos instead of playing a game. The game state sharing thing sounds awesome, but as much potential as there might be there; I see it mostly being used for viral video shit.

I also firmly believe in pirating as a means to let the industry know that they've crossed a line - like how torrents are on the uptick again with the absolutely absurd grab everyone is making at having their own streaming platform. Going to a full stream environment takes that tool away, and I'm not cool with that.
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Re: Google Stadia

Post by Winnow »

I'm highly impressed with Stadia after watching the presentation.

"If" everything they claim in the presentation works like it should, it is a "game changer".

It does seem like they have figured out the latency issues and also the graphics can scale based on bandwidth. 30mbps for 4K seems reasonable for non mobile devices.

The multiplayer features caught my attention, With all of the work being done remotely, adding multiple views, split screens, etc will have zero performance impact. I also like the simplicity of joining in on games that's really just based on a hyperlink type thing (so not just YouTube but other ways to easily join games)

The controller seems generic and they screwed up the joystick placement but not a game breaker as they could release an xbox like configurations in the future.

Sony somewhat, and Microsoft for sure have plans in this area. I think Microsoft and Google have the infrastructure to get this done. Sony I'm not as confident in with them relying on someone like Amazon to provide their bandwidth while Google and Microsoft have their own dedicated network which will help a bunch in preventing congestion issues.

The development tools all seem in place for creating and modifying games to work with Stadia. I'm thinking third party developers like the idea of not worrying so much about platformance and configuring for the individual consoles, PCs etc. If google has a decent pay structure for game developers, I'd be taking a long look at Stadia for my games if I made them. Less tech support issues for game developers and the game power comparison (combine power of PS4/Xbox One) has the ability to 60/fps on 4K for EVERY game (if users have 30mbps to spare) has the power of a next gen console for them to work with.

If they manage to come up with a decent monthly subscription type fee for their service, I'll be highly interested in trying it out.

I play many mobile games now (never thought I'd say that). I wouldn't mind being able to pop up my current non mobile game on my phone to mess with inventories, do basic stuff, etc.

I think this service is going to work the best for online multiplayer gaming where you have people from all walks of life with various setups. I like the idea of not having to worry if people on my team are lagging out causing whatever group/team you happen to be in to not perform well. Also, most importantly, the setup and functionality of the service looks like non computer nerds can use it with little trouble which is way more important than those of use that have knowledge of PCs and can trouble shoot thing give enough credit to when considering how popular something will be.

Bottom line for me is that this looks legitimate. I'd be taking it very serious if I was Sony or Microsoft (or Apple), don't give a shit about Nintendo!. Not trying to start a flame war but I think Microsoft is more capable of matching a service like this than Sony. I'll be interested to see what they present at E3. I do like that, unlike Windows oriented Microsoft, you could actually game on linux with Stadia. I know a lot of us wouldn't mind if there was a way to not be tied as much to Windows if possible.
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Re: Google Stadia

Post by Boogahz »

I have to force myself to play at/on anything other than my PC...guess I am not the target audience :P
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Re: Google Stadia

Post by Winnow »

Boogahz wrote:I have to force myself to play at/on anything other than my PC...guess I am not the target audience :P
Instant start even on your PC will be nice. I think this will be nice for all of us that have nice 4K TVs but can't run 60FPS max graphics. In fact, my graphics card is glitching out occasionally on The Division 2 at 4K which has amazing graphics. Your average PC gamer doesn't spend $500-600 on new top of the line graphics cards.

One thing I like about this is that due to all the money making coming from mobile games, there are some really decent mobile games and I can only really enjoy them using an emulator on my big screen since I can't see shit on a tiny phone screen. Unifying PC/Mobile will make things easier. You pure PC people should be happy as well because your PC selection will continue to dwindle while mobile games increase as phone/tablet processing power increases.
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Re: Google Stadia

Post by Aslanna »

Google has acquired Typhoon Studios, the developer behind upcoming space exploration game Journey to the Savage Planet, as part of the company’s efforts to bolster its internal game development plan.
Lame. You have all that money how about starting your own studios instead of just buying them!

Regardless, nothing Google does will make me interested in Stadia. I'd get an Xbox before I subscribed to Stadia. And on the likely outcomes list that one is pretty low.
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Re: Google Stadia

Post by Aslanna »

Update! RIP Stadia.
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Re: Google Stadia

Post by Winnow »

Aslanna wrote: December 15, 2023, 8:30 pm Update! RIP Stadia.
I don't use it but Quest 3 now has direct app for playing Xbox Game Pass so you can play your games from the cloud on a monster screen if anyone uses that service.

Full color pass through and Mixed Reality is really a big improvement over the Quest 2 (along with the improved resolution and pancake lenses, easy IP adjustment and twice the performance power) DO NOT cheap out and buy a Quest 2.

I still use my Quest 3 "virtually" every day : )

Having owned 6 or 7 VR headsets, I can say Quest 3 is really the first one ready for prime time and the average consumer for both quality and ease of use.
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Re: Google Stadia

Post by Spang »

I never had any interest in the Google Stadia.
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Re: Google Stadia

Post by Aslanna »

Aslanna wrote: March 22, 2019, 1:13 pmI do get the concern about Google abandoning things but I don't see it happening here. A lot of things they give up on have been free products. Once people get into their ecosystem and start spending actual money it will be a lot harder for them to just pull the plug on the whole thing. Maybe I am being naive there but that's my take!
Not sure how I missed I said that. How wrong (naive) I was!

At least they did refund the money people spent so that was probably the best possible outcome.
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