Once Google had finished their revolutionary gaming presentation on 19/03/2019, gamers around the world were experiencing two things. The first feeling would be that of pure excitement – a gaming platform that wasn’t limited to any device, that could be fully enjoyed on the weakest of PC gaming hardware and that could change the way we play games. The second feeling was that of pure confusion – Controllers that don’t connect to hardware and shared server technology that can not only outperform current consoles, but stream the latest games in 4K at 60fps???
Yup. That last one still has us baffled as well.
Google dropped quite the bombshell during its Keynote presentation, so here are our biggest questions recovered from the shrapnel:
Q1: How can a controller that doesn’t connect directly to the gaming hardware, not suffer from harsh latency issues?
Why the concern?: Google confirmed that whatever pad you use would in fact, connect wirelessly with Google servers…not the device you’re playing on. While this makes sense (as you can’t connect your wireless pad to a standard TV), this does cause concern over how this communicates with Google servers and just how reliable the connection would be.
Q2: Stadia’s Price model (it was never mentioned once during the presentation)
Why the concern?: While we can imagine why Google are keeping this close to their chest, it doesn’t help that such a model hasn’t yet been fully structured (especially with the launch of Stadia happening this year). While many believe this will just be a monthly subscription, in reality, Google couldn’t afford to price accordingly. Remember, we’re not talking 99p music tracks here. We’re talking full AAA games that cost £40-60 a pop. Google would have to create a model that would work out affordable for the customer, while still providing publishers and developers with cuts they need to continue producing and growing.
A few Google searches will show you how little profit streaming services now produce for musical artists today. The music and gaming industries are worlds apart in terms of production costs, so this will be no easy decision for Google and don’t be surprised if you see a combination of free-to-play (micro-transactions), monthly subscription and pay-per-game options for Stadia.
Q3: Hardware that’s more powerful than the PS4 and XBOX One combined…but on shared servers???
OK, so these servers contain hardware that can offer each player ‘better than current-gen’ experiences…through an online ‘shared’ network. How the Mario-jumping, Sonic-spinning, Master Chief dual-wielding hell does that work???
Why the concern?: While we could easily believe a Stadia console offering 4K resolutions at 60fps, we still can’t get our heads around dedicated servers, promising this horsepower to such a broad audience. Surely Google’s network of servers can’t provide such performance for every individual player? (providing their broadband speeds at least meet the minimum requirements).
That final question is easily the biggest one we have for Google. Although all the above issues will need to work in harmony with each other, in order to truly make Stadia the revolutionary gaming experience it so wants to be, we can’t help but feel Q4 needs a heck of a lot more explaining.
Keep it at D4G for the answers to these Google Stadia questions and more.
