Stadia, Google Game Streaming platform [2019-2021]

you can get a ps4 or xbox one on sale for $200. So its a $70 difference on the hardware. Stadia will stream at 4k but your paying monthly just for that option aside from the cost of the game. it will end up costing you more.

 

And I wonder if playing a game on a 10 TFLOPs Vega 56 that then needs to go through a lossy 0.28Gbps video codec will really look better than a mid-gen 4.3-6 TFLOPs console through a 14.4Gbps lossless video link.

 

Its funny you should ask because I have a vega 56. I can play the majority of multiplatform games at 1440p 60 or 4k 60. Its a 4 year old card I believe that I spent $380 on at launch. A 5700xt would be better or a 1080 or 20x0 series card. Heck in a few months we will see RDNA 2 and new Gerforce cards. So the stadia deal is really odd.

I think Google really didn't think it through. I also think the mid gen consoles and the new consoles kinda squeezed it in a tough spot. Later this year you can most likely get a used ps4 pro and xbox one x for under $200 used. That would surely be worth the $70 over stadia I think

 

I'm sure they got Vega really cheap, and I don't believe RDNA GPUs have the virtual GPU tech of Vega that Google needed.

 

I only found this, but it doesn't say anything about active users.

https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/m...e-stadia-app-surpasses-one-million-downloads/

 

Might be able to look at multiplayer lobbies to get an idea, but the free tier doesn't include any games. I dont think anyone, even Google has announced number of games sold.

 

Series X might have something along the lines of that. Scarlett SOC is designed to run 4 instances of XBO titles on a single chip to serve on cloud. Not sure if it is being outfitted to do non-gaming workloads as well

 

ms added some really cool stuff for series x in terms of streaming compression. I don't know how much they will announce publicly but there is a lot of good stuff and the results for xcloud will be really great. Also depending on what they expose for twitch/YouTube/ mixer the xbox series x could easily be the default streamer console until 3rd party hardware boxes catch up

 

No free games?! So while Epic is handing them out hand-over-fist, Googles doing nothing and hoping people pay to try their streaming system out and if they don't like it, Google pockets the game sale anyway?

That's a dumb way to try and push a new service. We're unconvinced. Convince us with a free sample.

 

Maybe they're hoping a Google service remaining operational for more than 6 months will convince people through word of mouth hype?

 

From what I can tell, the collection of games is part of Stadia Pro which is $10 a month. But they are offering 1 months free for first time users. They had 2 months free but changed it on June 3rd. The biggest games of that freebie packmis Destiny 2 and PUBG. There is nothing on their site to making it quick and easy to get in without being pushed for the Pro subscription.

Some may say that is their freebie, but you need to enter payment details on signup, which will tend off some, as I'm sure many are tired of signing up for things and forgetting to cancel before being charged. Also, as soon as you cancel, you can no longer play any of those games unless you buy them. So its genuine subscription service, no freebies unless there were some included with the Stadia Console package.

From their last monthly update:

• Get six new games for free with Stadia Pro in June: Get Packed, Little Nightmares, Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid, SUPERHOT, Panzer Dragoon Remake, and The Elder Scrolls Online (June 16).
• 12 existing games still available to add to your Stadia Pro collection: Destiny 2: The Collection, PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS, GRID, Serious Sam Collection, Spitlings, Stacks On Stacks (On Stacks), SteamWorld Quest: Hand of Gilgamech, SteamWorld Dig 2, SteamWorld Heist, Zombie Army 4: Dead War, The Turing Test, and GYLT.

Here is what they recently added and have touted as coming soon that you can buy

Recent content launches on Stadia

• DOOM 64
• DOOM Eternal - Update 1
• Embr (Early Access)
• Jotun: Valhalla Edition
• Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath
• Sundered: Eldritch Edition
• The Turing Test
• Zombie Army 4

New games coming to Stadia

• Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
• CHORUS
• Little Nightmares
• Mafia 2 Remastered
• Mafia 3 Remastered
• Metro 2033 Redux
• Metro Last Light Redux
• Panzer Dragoon Remake
• PGA TOUR 2K21
• Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid
• Serious Sam 4
• SUPERHOT
• The Elder Scrolls Online

 

https://blog.google/products/stadia/focusing-on-stadias-future-as-a-platform-and-winding-down-sge/

Focusing on Stadia’s future as a platform, and winding down SG&E

We launched Stadia with the goal of making your favorite games instantly available wherever you want to play them. With the recent successful launch of Cyberpunk 2077 on Stadia, gameplay on all types of devices, including iOS, growing our slate of YouTube integrations, and our global expansions, it’s clear that Stadia’s technology has been proven and works at scale. Having games streamed to any screen is the future of this industry, and we’ll continue to invest in Stadia and its underlying platform to provide the best cloud gaming experience for our partners and the gaming community. This has been the vision of Stadia since the beginning.

In 2021, we’re expanding our efforts to help game developers and publishers take advantage of our platform technology and deliver games directly to their players. We see an important opportunity to work with partners seeking a gaming solution all built on Stadia’s advanced technical infrastructure and platform tools. We believe this is the best path to building Stadia into a long-term, sustainable business that helps grow the industry.

Creating best-in-class games from the ground up takes many years and significant investment, and the cost is going up exponentially. Given our focus on building on the proven technology of Stadia as well as deepening our business partnerships, we’ve decided that we will not be investing further in bringing exclusive content from our internal development team SG&E, beyond any near-term planned games. With the increased focus on using our technology platform for industry partners, Jade Raymond has decided to leave Google to pursue other opportunities. We greatly appreciate Jade's contribution to Stadia and wish her the best of luck in her future endeavors. Over the coming months, most of the SG&E team will be moving on to new roles. We’re committed to working with this talented team to find new roles and support them.

What does this mean if you're a current or future Stadia gamer? You can continue playing all your games on Stadia and Stadia Pro, and we’ll continue to bring new titles from third parties to the platform. We’re committed to the future of cloud gaming, and will continue to do our part to drive this industry forward. Our goal remains focused on creating the best possible platform for gamers and technology for our partners, bringing these experiences to life for people everywhere.

 

So I'm guessing Stadia just isn't getting any traction.

Did they ever offer the $10 a month or whatever the price was option, so that people didn't have to shell out hundreds upfront?

I think the demand for XSX and PS5 shows people prefer to pay upfront rather than be locked into monthly subscriptions forever.

 

So I guess they are moving towards - "Stadia as service" - similar to XCloud where you can technically can use its infrastructure to create their own service? Or they just become a service that buys some other games and put them on Stadia?

I think MS' approach in a long run will bring benefits as it will allow easier transitioning to streaming due to having option of a console.

 

I think stadia is dead going forward unfortunately,
why would I, as a publisher use the stadia service as a white label game streaming service when it means I have to make a linux version of all my games? And would even have to convert my back catalog?

Compared to xcloud were I already have xbox versions of all my games anyway I would just use microsofts (presumably incoming) white label game streaming service powered by xcloud, I wouldnt even need to do any work, probably just send microsoft a spread sheet of the game id's that I want to appear on my service and I'm done

 

Agent Phil doing his duty again.

 

Because linux is the future.

I jest but Microsoft are all over linux hence WSL and Azure linux.

 

Isn't Ubitus (or whatever it is called) that powers cloud versions of Hitman and Control on Nintendo Switch use XCloud/Azure?

I bet their long term plan integrate themselves into Linux and become Linux itself! If Windows is ported to Linux all other distros will die overnight (c)

Excellent work, 47

 

Good 'ol Phil Harrison. I swear he has the technological touch of death. Though this isn't a full death toll, just severely crippling any incentive to look into Stadia for exclusives.

 

They're also making odd decisions in hardware. Their newest hardware platform, the Google Chromecast with Google TV, is a solid piece of kit for streaming but they do not support Stadia on it.

Why would Google release a new Chromecast device and not support their very own Game Streaming platform on it? Google is promoting the hell out of it with bundles of Netflix making the cost $12 or YouTubeTV making it free, or even give them out free to YTTV subscribers before November 2019. It's not about performance, because it has plenty, and it's not about streaming codecs because it supports plenty. Conspiracy theorists might say it's because they know it's a dead product.