Well.. its a streaming
thing.
Personal thoughts:
+
I like the idea of one click gaming in the browser in a YT video. The concept is actually fairly brilliant and it does provide quick access to new experiences, anywhere. But its just that, a concept.
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The idea of one click gaming in the browser in a YT video. After all, you first need to
pay for the game (or a subscription), so that's one additional screen you need to go through. Then you probably need to log in (Either through Steam or the external launchers, or Google Play) which by default will be another screen (Which i am sure you can automate). So no, it will never be
''instant gaming in less than 5 seconds'', unless you have already paid and played the game already. By which point i would ask myself: ''
Why watch gameplay of this game when i have this game already on Stadia and i can play it instantly?'' The only edge case for that is for walkthrough purposes and what not. And though a lot of gameplay is like that on YT, that seems like a really odd edge case to rely on from Google's POV.
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You. Do. Not. Own. The. Game. As
DeepEnigma
pointed out, you are simply buying a
license to a game, and nothing more. Similar to Steam, really. But Steam is an established platform, Stadia is just that, a new platform. And if Google Play is anything to get by, Quality Assurance is not Google's top priority. Plus, its Google. They want
all your data's.
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Third party dependence. Actually Google has a notch over Steam here considering Google in general is quite a bit larger than Steam, so the worry that Google will disappear one day is slimmer than say Valve. Nevertheless, being dependent on a third party for your license is
never an ideal solution, just look at Bioshock for iOS on that.
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Latency. I know, Google loves to throw around that it can provide ultra low latency and a
platform for everyone, but for whom? Only folks with top internet connections? In that sense the pre-hype footage was terrible as it showcased kids in less financially sound countries playing soccer on the street. Does Google geniunely think these
homes that they want to connect to have the money to have the high speed internet needed to get this low latency they speak of?
Conclusion:
As much as i hoped it was a console, its a streaming thing. And with that, it inherits every flaw that is common place with streaming.
But. If there is one company on the face of this Earth that could pull off latency-free global AAA gaming through streaming, than it has to be Google. So i wouldn't instantly label this a DOA in my book. It
can work from Google's POV.
And although i do think a lot of consumers will have zero problems being ever the more dependent on third parties (Where is
Idiocracy really?) i also think a significant amount of people will dislike the streaming only option that Stadia provides, for the reasons outlined above.