Google Stadia, will it change how we play games forever?

[HoNeYBiRD]

Google is launching its cloud gaming service called Stadia.

No more continuously upgrading your gaming configs for an arm and a leg. Nvidia shook. A fast enough internet connection, a controller and even the most hardware-intensive games are good to go on not so powerful machines or even on your phone, TV too.

They hook it up with Youtube, it offers instant access to play. You watch a gameplay, hit "Play Now" and you can play with the game without downloading or installing anything.

Games will be streamable across laptops, desktops, TVs, tablets, and phones.

Google is letting Stadia users highlight, capture, and share straight to YouTube or even let viewers play alongside creators.

Full cross-platform play.

4K @ 60 fps at launch, 8K @ 120 fps in the future.

https://www.theverge.com/2019/3/19/18271702/google-stadia-cloud-gaming-service-announcement-gdc-2019

 

[ExperimentalSEO]

There have been game streaming services already, so they aren't really changing things. They are probably launching more for the reason of preventing other video sites like Twitch getting more popular. If you weren't able to play high-end games before, and now a service like this makes it easier and it connects to YT easy you probably will stick with YT rather than an alternative.

 

[youbike]

crazy jumping tech !!! i wonder when this happen , all high end computer will be no buyer ?? no ????

 

[Deleted member 923340]

Bandwidth left the chat.

 

[HoNeYBiRD]

There have been game streaming services already, so they aren't really changing things. They are probably launching more for the reason of preventing other video sites like Twitch getting more popular. If you weren't able to play high-end games before, and now a service like this makes it easier and it connects to YT easy you probably will stick with YT rather than an alternative.

This is not really like other, already existing services. It's more feature rich, those seem to be limited from this or that aspect, some of them very limited. And as you said, the sheer powef of Youtube can make quite a bit of difference in turning this into the most popular one reaching the biggest crowds. Imho Stadia has the actual ability to change game playing as we know it now, to change it on a mass scale and to render consoles, gaming PCs/laptops pretty much obsolete.

Nevertheless it will be an interesting battle between Google, Microsoft and Amazon/Twitch. Valve/Steam, PlayStation, Nvidia too maybe and a few others. There are several players, but i guess like anything else, it will be the battle of the giants. Although Microsoft said, that they don't start their service to replace the hardware (aka Xbox), which is a main aspect of Google's service.

We will see in the next year or two how things pan out.

 

[ExperimentalSEO]

It won't make gaming PC's obsolete, as there is much more you can do with actually owning a game and having a powerful computer.

 

[Wiggles]

Going to crush anyone in a low to moderate internet speed area.
But I guess this helps the jump to VR hardware cost.

 

[VeeGeeN]

How fast is the average internet speed in the US/Canada?

30mb/s minimum I think I saw quoted for 4k gaming. How does this compare to the actual internet speeds in these countriesm (for the average user) compared to price per month?
Are the games going to be free or follow the IAP model?
Will we own the games outright?

Existing controllers working is a slap in the face to other companies as well

Great time to be alive though and some insane technology

 

[DE_GAME]

Google wants to monopolize everything in the internet

 

[Stavro]

I'm sure the sort of people who build gaming PCs will continue to do so, there's just no way high-lag streaming can compare to a well-tuned PC.

I suspect this is aimed at the console/mobile market, people who value convenience over quality. It'll greatly expand the gaming market as a whole, but the hardware manufacturers and game platforms probably won't see much of an impact.

 

[ExperimentalSEO]

I'm sure the sort of people who build gaming PCs will continue to do so, there's just no way high-lag streaming can compare to a well-tuned PC.

I suspect this is aimed at the console/mobile market, people who value convenience over quality. It'll greatly expand the gaming market as a whole, but the hardware manufacturers and game platforms probably won't see much of an impact.

Modding is a big part of the gaming experience, and it probably won't have support for that. Only having vanilla Skyrim,GTA5 and Fallout 4 etc. is not going to attract PC gamers that well.

 

[IG Professor]

Oh yeah its going to be too easy to sell tshirts for gamers. Good job G

 

[HoNeYBiRD]

It won't make gaming PC's obsolete, as there is much more you can do with actually owning a game and having a powerful computer.

Such as?

Physically owning games is overrated, just look at Steam. But it's true for pretty much any content: music, books, movies. Who buys audio CDs nowadays? There are still audio CDs, you can buy them if you want, but there aren't a too big demand for them anymore. They were replaced by online music streaming services.

The catch is that - thanks to this service by Google - you don't have to buy a gaming PC or console anymore, if you want to play with hardware-intensive games and you don't have to keep upgrading your hardware regularly. But it's not just that you don't have to buy a gaming PC, you don't have to buy a PC at all. It's enough, if you have a smart phone or a tablet or a TV. That's thousands of dollars you don't have to spend. Not talking about the fact, that many people can't afford to pay for a gaming rig and have zero chance to play with the latest games now. This will cease to exist as a factor. A whole new market will open up, an enormous one.
For work in the vast majority of cases you don't need such powerful hardware what is required for resource-intensive games. Owning a gaming PC for usual work stuff is an overkill. Unless you do video editing or graphic design, a powerful graphic card is not needed at all. Processor maybe, graphic card, nope.

To play games via Stadia, you'll need something with a screen (which can be as simple as a modern TV with internet access), a controller, a good enough internet connection and you're good to go. You don't have to download and install the game or insert any media anywhere, you hit "Play Now" and it plays. It plays on your phone, computer, TV, tablet. You can play on your tablet, your buddy can play on his TV and you play with each other or against each other using these different devices. It's something very powerful.

The internet connection would be a bottle neck for many at present stage as a poster mentioned it above, but there are developments in that area too. The transition won't be too sudden obviously, but it's inevitable and coming pretty much how "Winter is Coming" in GoT. lol Not a coincidence that all the big players and even smaller ones are pushing their own version hard recently. Every each and one of them see the opportunity and want to grab it by the balls.

 

[3hlut]

5g next year is making internet 100 times faster in western countries.However i would feel very uncomfortable to have everything from google who collects data like crazy

 

[Stavro]

Owning a gaming PC for usual work stuff is an overkill. Unless you do video editing or graphic design, a powerful graphic card is not needed at all. Processor maybe, graphic card, nope.

Owning a top-end, overclocked, water-cooled gaming PC is overkill for most games as well, a console will run almost all the same games, at close to the same quality, for a fraction of the cost.

It's just a different market, just like the $12k Nissans haven't yet driven BMW out of the market.

 

[ExperimentalSEO]

Streaming is more anti-consumer than digital products, as it takes control away from you. If gaming goes to streaming, the streaming companies can ban you if they don't like that you made some kind of offensive joke or because of your personal beliefs. Google already does that with Youtube and the Play Store, they probably will do it with Stadia as well.

 

[McGee Morroutu]

Employees at a company with a strong internet connection would love this.

 

[ExperimentalSEO]

5g next year is making internet 100 times faster in western countries.However i would feel very uncomfortable to have everything from google who collects data like crazy

They would be able to build a psych profile on the users that surpass anything previously done. As they would have a record of the games you played and the options that you chose within the games.

 

[VeeGeeN]

Physically owning games is overrated, just look at Steam. But it's true for pretty much any content: music, books, movies. Who buys audio CDs nowadays? There are still audio CDs, you can buy them if you want, but there aren't a too big demand for them anymore. They were replaced by online music streaming services.

Not having a big demand for them is actually a good thing. That means eventually people are going to want the nostalgic factor. Essentially bumping the market in the future. The people who cherrished their favourite authors, movies and music will want the physical resemblence to resonate that feeling. This is pretty much highlighted with the Vinyl market apparently increasing in sales year by year.

For work in the vast majority of cases you don't need such powerful hardware what is required for resource-intensive games. Owning a gaming PC for usual work stuff is an overkill.

But for aesthetically pleasing lifestyle purposes and the hobby factor people will still pay for decent rigs and custom table builds. Google have only opened a new market for the poorer demographic of the world who can't afford them.

They've basically opened up new markets for all of us from website owners, streamers, creators, Indie developers who can't create for Xbox or Playstation to the giants of the gaming industry. It's what Google does.

 

[3hlut]

Google have only opened a new market for the poorer demographic of the world who can't afford them.

That conclusion is wrong.
The whole econemy will be moving from 2020 from b2c to b2s which means business to subscripton.It means you won't even buy your furniture in ikea anymore but sign a subscription for a plan which allows you to change your furniture x years.
Big changes are coming......
Its weired BHW is not talking about it to prepare the new possibilities.