Google Stadia...are you in?
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In November Google will begin shipping it’s new Stadia controllers.
https://store.google.com/us/product/stadia_founders_edition?hl=en-US&srp=/us/magazine/stadia
Stadia is the controller for Google’s new game streaming platform. Streaming platforms are a wake up call to Nintendo, Xbox, and Playstation consoles.
There is a free version available for everyone with the controller. With Stadia Pro for $9.99/mo you can get free games (like xbox live does), 4K resolution, 5.1 surround sound, and other exclusives. But the free package does include up to 1080p resolution and stereo. The lowest recommended download speed is 10mbps, with 35mbps required for optimal gaming and resolution. The first free games will be Destiny 2: The Collection (including the Shadowkeep and Forsaken expansions with Annual Passes, Curse of Osiris, and Warmind).
More information is available in the link I provided above.
Google is currently offering the Founders Edition Gaming Controller (special Blue Edition) for $129.00 (pre-order). This comes with a 4K Google Chromecast, Founders Badge, 3 free months of Premium service, a buddy pass to give to a friend - 3 free months, and the ability to create a unique Stadia gamer name (which will not require numbers at the end). The interesting thing is that any free games you get free while you are a member are still yours even if you cancel your subscription - this makes it interesting on a month to month basis. The founder edition is the first pic I posted. The second is what will available to everyone else. Cost is $69.00.
Some of the games that will be available upon launch:
DRAGON BALL XENOVERSE 2
DOOM Eternal
Wolfenstein: Youngblood
Destiny 2
GRID
Baldur’s Gate 3
Metro Exodus
Thumper
FINAL FANTASY XV
Rage 2
Tomb Raider Trilogy
SAMURAI SHODOWN
Football Manager 2020
Get Packed
The Elder Scrolls Online
Gylt
The Crew 2
The Division 2
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
Ghost Recon Breakpoint
Just Dance
Trials Rising
NBA 2K
Borderlands 3
Farming Simulator 19
Mortal Kombat 11
Darksiders Gen
I am such a sucker for Founders shit. Yes, I bought it.
- 12 comments, 23 replies
- Comment
I guess I won’t get one. I’m running out of room in my nightstand drawer.
@Barney what else is in there? Lol
@Barney But you can get the username “Barney” (and a badge)!
@mfladd That’s all right. I didn’t get the user name “Barney” at Woot, so I guess I can survive this too.
@tinamarie1974
You mean besides my cell phone and my purple Woot vibrators?
@Barney wait, Woot sold vibrators? Well damn, I missed that!
@tinamarie1974
They sell out pretty quick. I think they’re collectors’ items.
@Barney well now I am jealous!
@Barney @tinamarie1974 I seem to remember there was a lot of buzz about them at one time
@Barney @chienfou
I wouldn’t by any means call cloud streaming a ‘wake-up call’ to established console companies or the market as a whole, at least at this time, or even for the near future. Given that the device itself cost $70, there’s a $10 monthly charge to use the cloud service, AND the games cost the same as standard titles do at retail, I’m definitely out. (There also won’t be any games on it that I will want to play, but that’s a personal opinion.) There’s also the matter of how much data streaming your games uses, especially at higher resolutions and framerates, so some people may reach their WiFi data caps. I honestly just don’t think the world is ready yet for cloud streaming gaming.
Here’s a good video from ReviewTechUSA that discusses Stadia in more detail. (Rich is awesome.)
LEGOS! EGGOS! STRATEGO! AWESOME!
@PooltoyWolf That’s a good review. The TB data cap will be a problem even for me after checking comcast’s data cap usage (1TB). But I have until November to make a decision whether or not to purchase the controller. I guess I will wait to hear more.
@PooltoyWolf Great, great point. We get really close to our ISP data cap each month with all the roku streaming we do. I suppose we would download fewer digital games on the Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, but I don’t think that would totally offset the 1-time download data vs streaming data each time you play.
Personally, I dislike games that require an Internet connection to play. Seems like that started with some game on the Xbox 360 where it was trying to track your stats or something and you HAD to be connected to even play the campaign mode. Super annoying. Also annoying when the xbox live servers are down. Some games won’t let you play unless you log into your xbox live account; if that’s down, then you don’t get to play.
I’ve always had a pretty solid Internet connection, but I’ve experienced my share of frustrating lag in online matches. I don’t see how these 4k games are going to stream without being choppy. Time will tell, but I’m also sitting this one out.
@medz Honestly I see streaming games as a novelty at this point. There aren’t even any games for Stadia (to my knowledge) that are exclusives to that platform.
A lotta those games are damn near unfeasible without a stable low latency and I refuse to believe this will, or even can, offer that until I see otherwise.
@nogoodwithnames That is the question everyone is asking online. It will be interesting to see what rolls out.
@mfladd @nogoodwithnames I’m not a big console person, but I’ll be interested to hear the reviews as they come in.
No.
I’m not even a gamer but I want one just to say I’m one of the first.
@cinoclav
I don’t like games/devices that depend on an internet collection. I’ll take offline devices any day over “always online” ones.
@JT954 Just like television streaming, which went thru an infancy and now has become a norm, is the way of the future for gaming too. Microsoft has already announced plans for their streaming game service to compete with Stadia - Project xCloud.
@JT954 @mfladd I hope not that in addition to crappy streamed audio and crappy streamed video we’ll have crappy streamed gaming too. Not everyone lives in an area (or can afford) the bandwidth to support this stuff as normal, and the quality in general suffers from VHSification that most people don’t seem to mind.
Not to sound neo-luddite, but I used to work in the computer graphics and video production industries and am spoiled in terms of what things should sound, look and react like. Gimme CDs, DVDs, and consoles that can download the games …
I keep dropping hints to my Google Home, I hope one shows up.
@Nate311 I think Google Home will be dropping hints to your Google Pay
@mfladd I know it seems ridiculous, and I was half joking, but only half. Every couple of months a movie from my Play wishlist shows up in my library. One time my kids asked the home many questions about Google Cardboard and how it worked, and three days later four sets of goggles showed up. And yes, I’m sure I didn’t pay for any of them.
/giphy fingers crossed
@Nate311 I wish you luck. And I will tell you what - if you just end up buying the regular controller I will give you my buddy pass for the 3 months of free premium service
But I will not get the buddy pass until like 6 weeks later after my controller is delivered.
Free service does not start until 2020. They are doing it this way so founder’s get the earliest access to pick their usernames. I think I read only founders will get free access to Destiny 2 package. But that could be wrong and just from an early report.
I’m not particularly interested in this, just like I was not particularly interested in OnLive. Though I’m sure this will work a bit better.
I don’t even like modern consoles due to all of the day-one patches and DLC required. I don’t want to buy a game if I can’t let it sit on a shelf for a decade and then pick it up and play it. The newest game console I own is a Wii. I’m pretty sure my backlog of classic games will be more than enough to last me the rest of my life.
To paraphrase: ‘Mobile phone gaming is a wake up call to the big 3 console makers’ said every gaming publication ca. 1998, 2002, 2009, 2013, etc.
Yes, the end of the gaming console era is coming. But I agree with @PooltoyWolf: Not right now. He makes several compelling arguments why not, and why not this device.
I would say Nintendo is much closer to the mark, beginning with the Wii U seven years ago, and evolving into the Switch two years ago. Both of those devices bridged the gap between the limitations of handheld gaming devices and inconvenience of traditional console gaming. Stadia doesn’t really bring anything new to gaming that hasn’t already been done, and with little advantage over tradition console gaming.
I’m good.
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/06/google-stadia-in-4k-might-push-you-past-your-home-internet-data-cap/
@RiotDemon Me too. I was hoping for good things, and getting in the ground floor sounds fun to me. But everything posted here, since I did not know much of the tech stuff involved, has made me decide to cancel my order. I am not paying comcast more money to increase my data limit.
@RiotDemon Yeah, we’d definitely be hosed.
We’re using more data this summer than previously because kid is at home more and we have a live-in babysitter who streams shows in the evening. We also have 2 more Roku 4K TVs now, so more of our streaming content is in UHD. (previously only had 1 4K Roku device)
We have a data cap of 1024GB and we’ll probably go over for the first time this billing cycle. That’ll be $10 extra for just 50GB more. ISP offers data add-on plans: 500GB more for and additional $30 or Unlimited for $50 more. The crappy part is I could upgrade service speed from 150Mbps to 1Gbps BUT the 1Gbps plan still only allows for 1024GB data usage. I’m more likely to just add the unlimited data to my current plan which would be just $20 more (in total) than the 1Gbps plan.
I would be sold on upgrading to 1Gbps if it included more data allowance.
In the short run, we’ll try not to leave shows streaming as background noise (ex: The Office) and I’ll try not to download free xbox games unless I actually plan o playing them.
If they’re offering games also available on consoles, they should do some partnership stuff to offer free or discounted games if you already own them on another platform. I know I sure don’t like paying for the same thing twice.
One thing to note is that if you order the Founder’s controller you will not be charged until it ships in November. You can cancel the order up until ships - just in case you want time to decide if you really want it.