Google Stadia

[Aperson]

@Julius The caps was meant to be with enthusiasm, sorry if it came across as codescending.

 

Also:

 

 

[Julius]

4 minutes ago, GenericAperson said:

@Julius The caps was meant to be with enthusiasm, sorry if it came across as codescending.

 

Also:

 

 

No worries, it's my bad: I've just got back from work and I'm a bit tired, which might be why I initially perceived it that way 

They're showing a lot of "proofs of concepts". If they actually have some exclusives of any kind to show today, this is a terrible way to build up to it. It feels like they're still selling the concept to developers -- and if that's the case, even if at GDC, I don't think it's a great idea to be going public yet.

Edited March 19, 2019 by Julius

[Goafer]

Just now, bob said:

4 minutes ago, Goafer said:

The more I think about this, the more it seems stupid.
Relies on a good, constant internet connection and the servers to always be working. Well that's half of the UK unable to access it already.
Anyone who has ever tried to play a popular online game on launch day will know every game launch will be a mess.
Want to cancel your subscription or take a break? You just lost all "your" games.
In 10 years' time, do you want to revisit that classic game you loved? Sorry, it's not being hosted anymore.
Want to play on any game where input lag is a no-no? Good luck with that. There are players that play with wired controllers and complain if the tv they're using has input lag. Add the fact that you're controlling something on the other side of the planet and it's a huge no.

It's just the same as Netflix though. If I stop paying, I lose access to all those films and TV shows.

True, but films and series don't tend to last months/hundreds of hours. Nor do they have the same replay value as games. They're much more "throw-away". Once you've finished watching what you want on Netflix, you're not tied in like you would be with games.

[Dcubed]

 Shareable Save States is a neat idea, but there’s nothing stopping this from being done with more traditional platforms...

 

Hell, Switch can already do this with its News feed! Nintendo only just did this a week back or so with Captain Toad; where they shared a save state that allowed you to launch the game with 99 lives put in place from the News article!

Edited March 19, 2019 by Dcubed

[bob]

True, but films and series don't tend to last months/hundreds of hours. Nor do they have the same replay value as games. They're much more "throw-away". Once you've finished watching what you want on Netflix, you're not tied in like you would be with games.

I never really play through a game more than once, so it would be perfect for me. Similarly, if they can get some of the Fifa/Madden games on there, people only ever want to play the latest one anyway, so they would probably sign up.

[Julius]

State Share is a cool concept.

Having your guy explaining it come along and say "I can't talk about the game that I just mentioned, you'll see it later this year" is a totally non-plus point.

Edited March 19, 2019 by Julius

[Sheikah]

It's impossible to tell what the input lag is like without playing it...I reckon it will still be noticeable and therefore a subpar experience for most games. The 4k60 boast means nothing compared to input lag.

[Julius]

So we have Stadia Games & Entertainment as Google's first party development studio, which is great...but can we please see something? Even just a tease? 

[Julius]

Cool, it's launching this year.

Let's wait and see. With Microsoft heading in a similar direction, it'll be interesting to see how their approach is different to Google's. 

[Goafer]

9 minutes ago, bob said:

12 minutes ago, Goafer said:

True, but films and series don't tend to last months/hundreds of hours. Nor do they have the same replay value as games. They're much more "throw-away". Once you've finished watching what you want on Netflix, you're not tied in like you would be with games.

I never really play through a game more than once, so it would be perfect for me. Similarly, if they can get some of the Fifa/Madden games on there, people only ever want to play the latest one anyway, so they would probably sign up.

I tend to play longer games (I think it took me the best part of a year to complete Persona 4), so I would always worry about availability. Plus I like to go back and replay old games once in a while.

It's the same reason I'll always buy games like GTA, Red Dead, Cyberpunk and any good RPGs on disc. I know I'll probably want to replay them in the future.

An all digital option is a complete no-go for me. I don't want to adore a game, only to be told I can never play it again once it's gone.

I worry this will be the future though. It makes perfect business sense to stop making lasting copies of games, so that you have to pay again to play the re-release in the future.

[Dcubed]

This Stadia platform feels more geared towards Youtubers than it does to actual game players.  Another way for Youtube to engage their audience and have them pay through the platform...

 

Perhaps that's their real end goal here? Perhaps their competition isn't Sony and Microsoft, but rather its Netflix, Twitch and Amazon Prime? They want to pull people away from those video streaming platforms and back onto Youtube.

 

It's the next logical step after the failure of Youtube Red, where they double down on the main thing that people are using their video platform for.  Game content.

 

This is Google/Youtube's answer to the threats of Twitch and Netflix; which have both already moved into the realm of interactive video content with things like Twitch Plays Pokemon and Netflix's interactive movies like Black Mirror: Bandersnatch and Minecraft: Story Mode.  I don't think that they're really considering Playstation and Xbox to be their competition.

Edited March 19, 2019 by Dcubed

[Aperson]

Google are missing a big trick by not launching it in Japan and getting that market involved too, unless they tried and failed.

 

Getting the likes of Capcom, Bandai Namco and Square Enix invovled (Konami don't really count anymore) would bolster the appeal of the service tremendously beyond the traditional triple A games. I feel like Google's knowledge of gaming is only really the mainstream western stuff that comes out of big third party publishers.

[Nicktendo]

Would rather hook up an N64. The future sucks.

[Mandalore]

Digital Foundry's article is a good read for understanding the new things this tech brings.

The bit about player numbers in multiplayer could be a game changer if developers make use of it. Battle Royale is the big thing at the moment, imagine if Google has 1000 players all on at once.

[Kaepora_Gaebora]

Really intrigued by this and how it could work, two examples from Monday night that hindered me gaming like I wanted to; 

Thought about getting the division 2 on my Xbox; after a 50gb install from the disc and then a 50gb day one patch to download, I'd be lucky to have started it 24 hours later let alone that night! 

My girlfriend has a PS4 and was out for the evening, set up a profile, even went on PS Now to see how that would work...games I wanted to play had to be installed etc etc (or so it seemed, either way it wasn't clear enough to make me want to delve further) so I faffed around on the Switch instead of maybe playing the game I'd want to

No install times, pick up and play as and when you want...I'm on the Google side of the phone/devices choices as well, so if I can play quality games with that controller from my phone...then I'll be in!

Or certainly once pricing is announced I'll see if it's worth me trialling it etc, love a bit of new tech and new ways to play as well.

[LazyBoy]

14 hours ago, Dcubed said:

This Stadia platform feels more geared towards Youtubers than it does to actual game players.  Another way for Youtube to engage their audience and have them pay through the platform...

 

Perhaps that's their real end goal here? Perhaps their competition isn't Sony and Microsoft, but rather its Netflix, Twitch and Amazon Prime? They want to pull people away from those video streaming platforms and back onto Youtube.

 

It's the next logical step after the failure of Youtube Red, where they double down on the main thing that people are using their video platform for.  Game content.

 

This is Google/Youtube's answer to the threats of Twitch and Netflix; which have both already moved into the realm of interactive video content with things like Twitch Plays Pokemon and Netflix's interactive movies like Black Mirror: Bandersnatch and Minecraft: Story Mode.  I don't think that they're really considering Playstation and Xbox to be their competition.

That's the read I got from it as well. Transferable save states may allow streamers to publish their builds for their subscribers to use as well. There's too many unknowns to reason how this will do, but at least they know their market.

But putting the business sense of this behind and getting to whats important - fuck Google they aint getting my money. They got enough.

The software will be bland as all hell - highlighted by the presence of Jade Raymond, helm of the blandest game series of all time, so I doubt I'll be missing out on anything.

This bit really pissed me off (I'm in a bad mood today):

"Someone could be watching a trailer for a game, click the option to play now and be playing within five seconds. “No download, no patch and no install,” Harrison said. “Stadia offers instant access to play.” He said it reduces the friction between being excited about a game and playing it."

Fuck off with your friction bullshit. You know how impulse buying works, and you know the easier you make it to buy the more you can take advantage of people's weakness to it. Delayed satisfaction is a virtue, an indicator of self-control and a path to creating a good work ethic. This erodes that.

Older generations give a lot of shit to the millennials and younger generations for how much we spend, but this is what we're up against, the power of big corporations, massive teams of data informed, elite educated sociopaths spending every last waking hour trying to figure out how to squeeze every bit of cash out of individuals who have never been more defenseless against their methods.

/rant. Blood sugar low.

[Dufniall]

Lol, I didn't see this thread and was already wondering why nobody was talking about it over here:

 

[Hero-of-Time]

14 hours ago, Nicktendo said:

Would rather hook up an N64. The future sucks.

Funny you should say something like that because I sent this text to lostmario yesterday.

For me this conference boiled down to YOUTUBE! YOUTUBE! YOUTUBE! It was essentially everything I hate about modern gaming all summed up in a press conference. I'm honestly not surprised in the slightest that they are pushing the YouTube angle. More views on YouTube content means more advertisement money for Google, not to mention being able to collect data from you.

I hate this push that companies are giving to YouTube personalities. What happened to just playing the game for your own enjoyment without the need to stream your live over reactions? I read an article at the end of last year about streamers and how many of them get depressed and stressed out because they get no or very little views. I find it really weird. Surely you should be playing the game because you want to play it and enjoy it, not just so people can watch you play it, right?

The streaming tech is nifty if it works but the data caps and speeds just aren't there yet in many parts of the world. You are essentially relying on a constant and stable connection for you to be able to play your games.

Another thing i'm not keen on is how easy it could be to access games. I like that there is a disconnect between where I game and where I don't. Mobile gaming has already become a problem for many people due to the addicting nature of certain games and how easy it is just to access your phone at all times. If this does take off I imagine that many publishers will be rubbing their hands together and thinking of ways that they can exploit users now that their games can theoretically be played anywhere. 

If this is the future of gaming, an industry made for streaming tech and YouTube personalities, then you can count me out.

[LazyBoy]

@Hero-of-Time so much I agree with there. 

[Happenstance]

I think it’s all looking really interesting and can’t wait to see more.

[Dcubed]

1 hour ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Funny you should say something like that because I sent this text to lostmario yesterday.

For me this conference boiled down to YOUTUBE! YOUTUBE! YOUTUBE! It was essentially everything I hate about modern gaming all summed up in a press conference. I'm honestly not surprised in the slightest that they are pushing the YouTube angle. More views on YouTube content means more advertisement money for Google, not to mention being able to collect data from you.

I hate this push that companies are giving to YouTube personalities. What happened to just playing the game for your own enjoyment without the need to stream your live over reactions? I read an article at the end of last year about streamers and how many of them get depressed and stressed out because they get no or very little views. I find it really weird. Surely you should be playing the game because you want to play it and enjoy it, not just so people can watch you play it, right?

The streaming tech is nifty if it works but the data caps and speeds just aren't there yet in many parts of the world. You are essentially relying on a constant and stable connection for you to be able to play your games.

Another thing i'm not keen on is how easy it could be to access games. I like that there is a disconnect between where I game and where I don't. Mobile gaming has already become a problem for many people due to the addicting nature of certain games and how easy it is just to access your phone at all times. If this does take off I imagine that many publishers will be rubbing their hands together and thinking of ways that they can exploit users now that their games can theoretically be played anywhere. 

If this is the future of gaming, an industry made for streaming tech and YouTube personalities, then you can count me out.

You pretty much just quoted what a friend said to me, word for word, when I was chatting to him about Stadia the other day!

 

Creepy!

 

Totally agree with you BTW! 

Edited March 20, 2019 by Dcubed

[Ganepark32]

I'm definitely intrigued by it as a concept but it's definitely something I'd need to try myself to see just how it all works and I just need to know more about what's there. With more info coming in the summer (I'm doubting it'll be at E3 as I suspect they'll want all eyes in them with their own event), they'll really need to nail the specifics then and there as this thing will live or die on the content available and the price.

I am wondering what storefront they'll use. They're apparently pouring a lot of money into this venture (on both a tech side and man power side as they've been scooping up developers for the past half and a bit from all the rumours swirling) but getting a storefront up and running and maintaining that with the feature set they're wanting is going to be a significant hurdle. Perhaps they'll integrate an existing one to cut out the middle man? Epic are at GDC in numbers but with it being a burgeoning storefront with new features coming over the next months, maybe that could be a way for Google to come sprinting out the gates.

The new Splitscreen over at Kotaku has an interview with Phil Harrison where he suggested that they recommend a connection speed of at least 25 megabits/sec and that will give 1080p at 60fps, the same as what was needed for Project Stream last year. He also said they've made improvements in their end to iron things out there and that for 4k you'll only need 30 megabits/sec. I personally don't see how they'll manage the latter but if they can broadly speaking hit the former then that would be amazing. As other's have said though, the latency will be the biggest drawback.

Anyway, intrigued to hear and see more. Not going to replace traditional gaming  but in the absence of having a high end PC for gaming, I could possibly see myself getting involved. Could've done with a better name though.

[RedShell]

So I really don't know what to make of this. On the one hand (if it truly does work as intended) it's an incredible technical achievement and very clever. But it's also... kind of terrible... and actually a bit scary.

I mean if this were to take off in a big way, well, it pretty much feels like the beginning of the end for the video game industry we all know and love. And although we've known that this type of all-digital future was inevitable, seeing it start to materialise like this is still kind of jarring.

When Dylan Cuthbert appeared on the stage I was once again reminded of what happened to The Tomorrow Children and how Sony just one day decided to delete it. A game that never had a physical release, was only playable online, completely wiped from existence! What's to stop that kind of thing from happening with titles on Stadia? Nothing at all, that's what.
Game preservation is basically completely down the toilet once we reach this point, and that is not cool at all.

Anyway, it's all very intriguing and I'm interested in exactly how Google plan to handle the business side of things, whether it'll be purely a subscription service or if games can be purchased individually. I'm guessing it'll require both though, similar to how all the console makers now charge separately for online play. I suppose we'll find out at E3.

[Goafer]

12 minutes ago, RedShell said:

When Dylan Cuthbert appeared on the stage I was once again reminded of what happened to The Tomorrow Children and how Sony just one day decided to delete it. A game that never had a physical release, was only playable online, completely wiped from existence! What's to stop that kind of thing from happening with titles on Stadia? Nothing at all, that's what.

Game preservation is basically completely down the toilet once we reach this point, and that is not cool at all.

This is what bothers me most. The PlayStation classic made me realise that a lot of games can't be re-released due to licensing issues and I assume it'll be the same in the future. I still remember Outrun 2006 being taken off online stores because of the Ferrari licence expiring. Get used to that with any game with a licenced soundtrack or licensed cars.

*Thinks of a world where Sega Rally was digital only and is no longer available*

[Happenstance]

It's one of those things where I find it a shame but have just accepted that games have gone this way. I just try to enjoy them in the moment rather than worrying that I wont be able to enjoy them again later.