8 votes

Google Stadia announces five upcoming games, including three "First on Stadia" titles

9 comments

  1. [8]
    Deimos
    Link
    I honestly have no idea who Google thinks the audience for Stadia is, or what their strategy is supposed to be. All three of these "first on Stadia" games look to be on the casual/low-end side,...

    I honestly have no idea who Google thinks the audience for Stadia is, or what their strategy is supposed to be. All three of these "first on Stadia" games look to be on the casual/low-end side, and don't seem like the types of games that someone would be getting a streaming service for. Spitlings seems intended for local multiplayer, and I'm not even sure how you'd be able to use 4 controllers with Stadia.

    10 votes
    1. [7]
      papasquat
      Link Parent
      I'm actually shocked that google hasn't abandoned Stadia yet. From the first previews of the service, I knew that this was going to be yet another in an infinitely growing list of things google is...

      I'm actually shocked that google hasn't abandoned Stadia yet. From the first previews of the service, I knew that this was going to be yet another in an infinitely growing list of things google is extra super duper excited about for like five seconds before forgetting about and subsequently quietly killing. It has all the hallmarks; ridiculously ambitious but undercooked technology, no clear idea of who the customer base is, and hilariously inflated expectations that it will completely revolutionize the industry.

      My money is on Stadia being shut down within a year, max.

      12 votes
      1. [5]
        Deimos
        Link Parent
        Yeah, I don't think it'll last long either. I'm sure they'll keep trying for a while since they surely have some initial plans for it including exclusives that are still in development, but I...

        Yeah, I don't think it'll last long either. I'm sure they'll keep trying for a while since they surely have some initial plans for it including exclusives that are still in development, but I think it'll become obvious that it's not going to take off.

        Some of the other streaming services like GeForce Now seem strictly superior by using purchases from other platforms and not needing the devs to build a completely separate "Stadia version" of the game. I think that decision especially will be what ends up dooming it.

        6 votes
        1. [3]
          mrbig
          (edited )
          Link Parent
          I just don’t understand the fascination with a game platform that is entirely online. Why not a mixed approach that allows people with normal internet connections to participate? Maybe they think...

          I just don’t understand the fascination with a game platform that is entirely online. Why not a mixed approach that allows people with normal internet connections to participate? Maybe they think everyone’s got a connection as good as Google headquarters.

          3 votes
          1. hamstergeddon
            Link Parent
            The funny thing is that we already have the mixed approach in the PS4 (Maybe XB1 has this as well? not sure). PS4 has PSNow, which lets you stream from a huge collection of games in addition to...

            The funny thing is that we already have the mixed approach in the PS4 (Maybe XB1 has this as well? not sure). PS4 has PSNow, which lets you stream from a huge collection of games in addition to the more traditional disc or digital download options.

            4 votes
          2. teaearlgraycold
            Link Parent
            It's only a benefit to the company producing the consoles. They get the ultimate DRM and the consumer gets higher latency, games that only work when their internet connection plays along, and no...

            It's only a benefit to the company producing the consoles. They get the ultimate DRM and the consumer gets higher latency, games that only work when their internet connection plays along, and no way to resell old titles.

            3 votes
        2. Grzmot
          Link Parent
          I remember the times when people on reddit thought that Stadia would mean more Linux versions of games as their servers run on Linux. That didn't happen and I don't think it's going to happen,...

          I remember the times when people on reddit thought that Stadia would mean more Linux versions of games as their servers run on Linux. That didn't happen and I don't think it's going to happen, heh.

          Yeah the problem I have with it is that Stadia is a subscription but also requires the games to be purchased. The fact that the free tier wasn't part of the launch, meaning that people couldn't try out this supposedly new revolutionary tech without handing over some cash first, in addition to the fact that you have to buy the games as well didn't really chime with me. Business often launch new services at a loss to get a userbase, and Google didn't attempt that at all.

          3 votes
      2. Bullmaestro
        Link Parent
        I don't think Google are going to abandon Stadia just yet. The platform's launch was incredibly shaky with hardware not being delivered on time, technical issues and false advertising galore. It's...

        I don't think Google are going to abandon Stadia just yet.

        The platform's launch was incredibly shaky with hardware not being delivered on time, technical issues and false advertising galore. It's easy to assume that Google would abandon ship after all this. The thing is:

        1. Google sank significant resources into the platform and promised many features at their GDC reveal. If they pull the plug on Stadia, their shareholders are going to go apeshit. Stadia will be too high profile a flop for Google to simply can.

        2. Cloud gaming is definitely a viable market, with PlayStation Now and GeForce Now already existing under alternative business models to what OnLive previously tried and to what Google are currently trialing. Project XCloud is also coming soon and will undoubtedly have a great impact due to the back catalog already available through Xbox Game Pass. If they lose out to Nvidia's, Sony's and Microsoft's offerings, that would humiliate them as a company.

  2. vord
    Link
    I have not used it....but after a quick review Stadia offers nothing over other options right now. Here's a brief history of my personal experiences with remote gaming. OnLive was the first to...

    I have not used it....but after a quick review Stadia offers nothing over other options right now. Here's a brief history of my personal experiences with remote gaming.

    OnLive was the first to market, and it was fairly usable even back in 2011 with mediocre broadband. Buy in was incredibly low...for $50 I got a copy of Homefront, the OnLive hardware, and a free copy of Metro 2033. I played with it for a while, but ultimately I was wary of building a large game library on a platform I couldn't have a local copy of. Was fantastic for short rentals and demoing games though. In retrospect this was a wise decision, since it shutdown in 2015.

    Since then, I've mostly ignored the cloud options in favor of the self-hosted alternatives. These have many of the advantages of cloud gaming without the risk of your collection going 'poof'.

    Steam in-home streaming got released to the wider public in 2014, allowing one to stream from a gaming pc on their home network to say a low-end laptop. I used this extensively (eventually making my gaming rig headless and removing it from the living space to reduce footprint), and this past year when they enabled streaming outside the home, became a great way to play games on a phone over 4g.

    Parsec came about around 2016, and pioneered the technique of remote couch co-op. The have, hands down, created the best implementation of remote game streaming I've seen to date. Their only flaw is a sub-par phone client that doesn't really work well without an external controller.

    Google has basically rebranded OnLive, with a high buy in cost and mediocre selection. Even as someone deeply entrenched in the Google ecosystem....this has 0 appeal.

    7 votes