Google STADIA announcement

[lendelin]

I'm old, 62, playing videogames for over 30 years and collecting games for 20 years. I was just wrapping up a game session of one of my favorite NES games, Crystalis, on the recently released SNK collection using my old self-drawn maps...and then I watched this (a comprehensive video of the newly announced Google Stadia):


https://www.youtube.com/w...tinue=1&v=BeFnQrgtZ9k


When it comes to the technological aspects of this new streaming service, I understand only half of it. It's frightening, or isn't it? It is my fear of the unknown?

Is this the end of physical media and consoles altogether? Are our physical game collections finally relegated to the realms of museums and soon be outdated? It seems that clout streaming and the era of 'gaming service' is very close to replace the gaming industry as we know it.

I don't know what I should think about all this. In all likelihood I'm not going along with this non-physical media gaming because I want to buy something (a disc with installation data) holding in my hands and put on my shelves. I don't feel I own something when I buy the temporary license to play.

One aspect, however, came immediately to mind when watching the video. No price point, no set release date. In particular the price for this incredible streaming service and the quality of the service will be the crux if Stadia is successful or not.

Watching this video I got the feeling that gaming will never be the same. Is my attitude exaggerated or justified?

[Crabmaster2000]

I watched the keynote also. I'm nearly half your age and have pretty similar feelings to you. I'm no where near ready to give up physical media and while this will probably be a huge deal to a lot of people I don't see what it offers me personally. I'm interested to hear more in the summer when they reveal the rest of the info, but so far I'm extremely underwhelmed.

[MetalFRO]

I'm with you guys. As a collector, and someone who understands the ephemeral nature of data, if it's not a media format that is reliable, it's not accessible later. That means that, while the experiences themselves aren't necessarily equally ephemeral, it does mean you can't quite replicate those. There's a joy in rekindling long dormant happy memories, and that's something that playing games from ones youth can evoke. If you can access the same hardware and games as an adult that you could as a kid, you can easily get swept up in the magic again. But with a constantly changing digital landscape, and games that are patched left and right, streamed from a server, and lacking in the kind of experience one gets from a game that is what it is, and won't change, that same kind of magic isn't there. It may be a different kind, with younger folks 10-15 years from now comparing notes on Halo, talking about what it was like playing on day 1, versus what you got with the Xbox 360 reissue, and again later with the Xbox One update, and how the game differs from one release to the next. I'm not convinced that the same level of nostalgia will be attached. I realize that we're all getting swept up in the nostalgia of things that are essentially products marketed to us when we were kids, and as adults, we don't want to see the world change for what we see as the worse. But there's still an element of connection to those things that gets lost in the shift toward non-physical media.

@lendelin - thanks for bringing this up, and @Crabmaster2000, thanks for responding. I think you guys just inspired my next article for the website...

[Link41]

I'm not going down the digital only highway. I've got more then enough games right now to keep me quite entertained until I die as it is

[RobotWillie]

I am only 28 and hate digital only games and DLC that is not on the disc. They are nightmares I have. I don't care if its silly to say its a nightmare, the word can be used in any way to express something someone fears. And I fear a digital only world.

[Duke.Togo]

I remember how much hate Microsoft got for the idea of an always connected console, and now just 6 years later there won't be a console or media at all. Will the same pushback kill this? I doubt it.

I'm not really interested in a streaming service, but I realize I am not the target demographic. As Link said, I have enough games to last me, and I could always take my fun money and use it to but plenty of old games that still interest me.

[bombatomba]

I don't hate digital at all, and have embraced it for more than ten years now.  I really do like the feelies, but not enough to skip playing an awesome game or (God forbid) save some money in the process.  I should also say that I generally do not play modern games at all, partially because I am pretty frugal, but also because I tend to have more fun with older games.  Not trying to start anything, but that is how I am.

That being said, I don't like this at all.  Feels to me far too much like the Ouya or just another Chinese knockoff, but with the marketing of Google behind it (so scary).  I think the deciding factor here will be the price of the console and quality of the controller.  If it is too high then people won't take it seriously, but if they manage to squeak it in at a good price point (half the price of their competitors today) and somehow not manage to have the controller build quality be crap, then it could be (to quote the Inverse article I read), "a game changer."  I really think it all comes down to price though, especially since MS and PS are poised to try and feed people (potentially) $400 USD pills within a few years.  I do know a lot of people who might jump at this sort of thing though.  If you told my friend that he could either pay $400 for a new console (PS5, etc.) that comes with nothing but Free-To-Play titles and demos to play or (potentially) pay about the same for a weird little Google device and all the games he could play for almost two years, I know what he would jump on.  And I know a lot of parents who would do the same, especially if Sony decides to pull a "PS3" again.

Me?  Simple:  I don't care.  I already pay enough monthly charges for crap anyway, and like Link and Togo said, I already have enough games now and even more old games I haven't played.  If this thing could play my PSX FFIX discs out of the box I would consider it though.

But man, Phil Harrison's kicks in that presentation are very awesome, right?

[img width=406 height=188]http://i67.tinypic.com/312vhvq.jpg[/img]

[shaggy]

No physical media, no buy.

[Raidou]

No physical media, no buy.

Likewise-- digital distribution and "live services" have been a backdoor for cruddy anti-consumer business practices.

Having watched the presentation it still seems highly unfeasible in general, and practically impossible in Australia. That node map showed coverage which focused on the larger cities with little consideration for distance and population density, and could probably only service 60% of the populace at best.  You want someone from Hobart to connect directly to a data centre node in Melbourne WIRELESSLY in a country famous for its crappy internet speeds!?  Lol okay

Frankly parts of their presentation sounded like it made no practical sense even for the US

[Link41]

^Agreed same situation in Canada, this device won't work here outside a few heavily populated cities.

[tactical_nuke]

The world isn’t ready for it yet. They know it too so they’re prepared to pump tons of money into it to keep it alive until it finally catches on or fails; just like Google+. Digital games are already not on the consumer’s side, streaming puts up another wall between you and what you’re purchasing. Look at how much Netflix shuffles around their titles due to liscencing. Now imagine that with a game you might want to put down for a long time. It’s anti consumer and it’s also flat out not going to work for a lot of people due to internet connections varying in quality. I hope it doesn’t catch on with the general populous. In fact, I hope it absolutely tanks and makes Google not want to get into a market they know nothing about. Nice shoes though.

[calebjross]

I'm with all of you for the most part. Physical media is nice. However, I am excited about Stadia. Well, curious might be the better word.

I'm a bit of a Google fanboy, so I know I'm approaching this with a bias. I do want it to succeed. But I also recognize that it's going to be an uphill battle. Though most of the common gaming population has embraced digital (I would assume), and because streaming is very close to the digital methods the gaming public has already accepted, I don't think most gamers will be against the concept (keep in mind, those of us in this forum are probably not "most gamers").

BUUUUT, while the concept is acceptable, the application needs to prove itself. For all the reasons mentioned above (internet access, Google's history of abandoning projects, etc) it's not going to be easy for Google.

Now, I have been an early adopter of Google stuff (Google Fiber and Google Fi to name the most recent examples), and I've been quite happy with what they've done. I was in the Project Steam beta and was really impressed with how well I could play Assassin's Creed Odyssey on my netbook with 25mb speed. So, for me personally, I'm excited and optimistic.

I think Stadia is meant more for the casual gamer. It's for someone who doesn't have a gaming computer and doesn't want to spend money on a console and doesn't want to spend money on a monthly subscription. At the lowest level, the Stadia service is free (the service, not the games). Hook you PS4 controller up to your computer, open Chrome, buy a game (buy a steaming license, more accurately), and play. I love that simplicity.

But will it work???

I did order the Founder's pack, so I will be trying it out day one. I'll report back my thoughts.

[Seno]

It's not so much the digital only aspect that bothers me but you are totally dependent on google infrastructure to play and store you games, when the if/or when they shut the servers down (some thing google has a hell of record doing https://killedbygoogle.com/) all of your content vanishes with it.

Apart from the infrastructure issues, I do wonder who the target audience is as I'm not sure if it will convince casual games away from mobiles and if its for gamers who can't afford PCs/consoles how much will they realistically be spending. One other thing that I'm not keen on with games as a service is if google get into a licensing argument with a dev/publisher will they be able to pull content off the service?

[mikenac]

I have to say, I have really enjoyed my Stadia so far. I will NEVER stop collecting physical games however I can take the stadia on vacation and get a console-like experience and it is pretty nice. I also love being able to take it from room to room and just keep playing (I have a little one that bounces all around the house and like to play too , but only where he wants to play LOL) That being said, it has its advantages and disadvantages. I appreciate it for what it can do for me personally but it can never replace anything physical.