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Vapourware Google Stadia - "a game streaming service for everyone"

baud

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RPG Wokedex Strap Yourselves In Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag. Pathfinder: Wrath I helped put crap in Monomyth
Seems there's been some more info on Stadia (other than BG3)

From:
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2019...-130-upfront-10-per-month-at-november-launch/

Google Stadia requires $130 upfront, $10 per month at November launch
Free tier launches in 2020, but both require a la carte game purchases.
KYLE ORLAND - 6/6/2019, 6:20 PM

P6_FE_R03-1440x840.png

The hardware you get with the $129.99 Stadia "Founder's Edition."

Players will have to pay $129.99 up front and $9.99 a month, on top of individual game purchase costs, when Google's previously announced Stadia game-streaming service launches in November. A free tier will be available some time in 2020, as will a paid subscription tier that doesn't require the upfront purchase.



The Stadia Founder's Edition and its contingent Stadia Pro subscription will be the only way to get access to the Stadia service when it launches, Google announced today. That $129.99 package, available for pre-order on the Google Store right now, will include:

  • A Stadia controller in "limited-edition night blue"
  • A Chromecast Ultra
  • Three months of Stadia Pro service and a three-month "buddy pass" to give to a friend
  • First dibs on claiming a "Stadia Name"
After the first three months, Stadia Pro users will have to pay $9.99 a month to maintain their membership. For that price, they will get access to Google's highest-quality streams, at up to 4K/60fps with high-dynamic range (HDR) and 5.1 surround sound. In 2019, users will not be able to sign up for Stadia Pro without investing in the Founder's Edition hardware package, and Founder's Edition packages will only be available "in limited quantities and for a limited time."

STADIA SIDE-BY-SIDE
STADIA PRO/FOUNDER'S EDITION STADIA BASE
AVAILABLE November (only option at launch) "2020"
UPFRONT COST $129.99 None
INCLUDED UP FRONT Chromecast Ultra, Stadia controller, three-month subscription + three-month "buddy pass," Destiny 2 Nothing
MONTHLY COST $9.99 None
MAXIMUM STREAM QUALITY 4K resolution, 60 fps, 5.1 surround sound, HDR color 1080p resolution, 60fps, stereo sound
SUPPORTED DEVICES (AT LAUNCH) Chromecast Ultra; Computer w/ Chrome browser; Google Pixel 3/3a
ADDITIONAL GAMES Purchase a la carte on either tier
OTHER BENEFITS Discounts on game purchases; free games at "regular cadence"; early reservation of "Stadia name" None

COUNTRIES
At launch, Stadia streaming will be available in the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland. Additional regions will be added in 2020.

Pro subscribers will also receive PlayStation Plus/Xbox Live Gold-style benefits, including discounts on game purchases and free games released at a "regular cadence." The first of these freebies, Destiny 2, will be available to Pro subscribers at launch in a package including all current and future expansions plus the ability to transfer an existing Guardian from the PC or Xbox edition (PS4 transfers are currently "pending approval by Sony"). These free titles will remain accessible as long as users maintain their monthly subscription.

Sometime next year, Google says it plans to roll out a free tier of Stadia service, called Stadia Base. Users on this tier will be limited to 1080p, 60fps streams with stereo sound.

Games and hardware support
stadia5-1440x806.jpg

A 10 Mbps connection is recommended for the lowest-end Stadia experience.

Alongside its pricing announcement, Google announced a lineup of 21 publishers and 31 games that will be available on Stadia in the "launch window" (see sidebar). It's a list that includes yet-to-release titles like Borderlands 3 and Ghost Recon: Breakpoint as well as the newly announced Darksiders: Genesis and Baldur's Gate III. That list will grow as new announcements are made leading up to the November rollout, the company said.

Aside from free titles on the Pro tier, all Stadia games will be purchased on an a la carte basis. Google was not ready to discuss individual game pricing, but Stadia VP of Product John Justice told Ars those prices will be set by the publishers themselves. "We're working with them to make sure it's competitive pricing to what you would see on other platforms," Justice said.

While there are no free-to-play titles amid the first round of announced Stadia titles, "you will see us start to include some on the platform" as time goes on, Justice said. Google also didn't show off the Stadia system or store interface, but Justice said the latter would be "as frictionless as possible, [needing] as few seconds as possible from finding out about a game to be[ing] able to jump in." Justice would not discuss revenue sharing arrangements between Google and its publishing partners.

Google is now recommending users have at least a 10mbps Internet connection to use Stadia. With that connection, users can expect to run games "at least" at 720p and 60 frames per second. Pro users who want the highest-end streaming experience should have a connection of at least 35mbps, Justice said, though streaming quality will scale seamlessly below that level.

While any any desktop, laptop, or tablet running a desktop version of Chrome will be able to use Stadia (with a required Pro subscription, at launch), mobile support will be limited to the Pixel 3 and 3a line at launch. Google says service will be "expanding to other phones over time."

Stadia users will also be able to stream games through a Chromecast Ultra connected to a TV if they use Google's proprietary Stadia controller. Extra Stadia controllers, beyond the one included in the Founder's Edition, will cost $69 in the US and be available in three colors: Just Black, Clearly White, and Wasabi.

As previously announced, Stadia games run on custom Linux-based server hardware maintained by Google, promising "10.7 teraflops of power in each instance." Game audio and video is streamed from those servers to a user's device, and inputs are streamed from the user to the server over a network of what Google says are "7,500 edge nodes" around the world. Users will be able to immediately jump into supported games without having to wait for downloads or installs, and they will be able to carry gameplay from device to device seamlessly, Google says.

Today's announcement does not mention any possible "first party" games produced by Google's internal gaming studios. Google's Phil Harrison has previously hinted to future Stadia games leveraging platform-specific perks like "distributed physics" processing in the cloud or the official Stadia controller's built-in microphone.


STADIA LAUNCH WINDOW GAMES/PUBLISHERS
Announced as of June 6, here are the titles early Stadia users can expect:
  • Bandai Namco: Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2
  • Bethesda: Doom Eternal+, Doom(2016), Rage 2, The Elder Scrolls Online, Wolfenstein: Youngblood+
  • Bungie: Destiny 2
  • Capcom*
  • Coatsink: Get Packed+
  • Codemasters: GRID
  • Deep Silver: Metro Exodus
  • Drool: Thumper
  • Electronic Arts*
  • Giants Software: Farming Simulator 19
  • Larian Studios: Baldur’s Gate III+
  • nWay Games: Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid
  • Rockstar*
  • Sega: Football Manager
  • SNK: Samurai Shodown+
  • Square Enix: Final Fantasy XV, Tomb Raider Definitive Edition, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Shadow of the Tomb Raider
  • 2K: NBA 2K, Borderlands 3+
  • Tequila Works: Gylt+
  • Warner Bros: Mortal Kombat 11
  • THQ: Darksiders: Genesis+
  • Ubisoft: Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, Just Dance, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint+, Tom Clancy’s The Division 2, Trials Rising, The Crew 2
* - No specific games announced yet
+ - Games not yet launched on any platform.

There's a few more pics of the controller in the article and the STADIA SIDE-BY-SIDE comparison is readable there.
 

DalekFlay

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I think that was a poor video, but I also don't think it matters. Once the service expands to everywhere with free trial everyone's going to try it and the typical convenience factors will take hold.
 

cw8

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Thank goodness this streaming crap is not available in Asia. Paying monthly fees to play single-player games. Fuck off. It can't die soon enough.
 

deuxhero

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"a game streaming service for everyone" reminds me of that Saint's Row II radio ad "being fabulous is a lifestyle that anyone can achieve, assuming you're not poor".
 

Alpan

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Grab the Codex by the pussy Pathfinder: Wrath
This is going to be a disaster of a very slow variety, though obviously the casual gamer will gain greatly in convenience. The price though will not be limited to ownership: When the target hardware for a developer stops being the game console or an average PC but the near-infinite processing power of Google's datacenters, we'll essentially be facing a Google monopoly on game development and choice of gaming platform.
 

deuxhero

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Any indications of what kind of hardware the actual box has? Since softmodding it and playing old emulators on it is all it will be good for in a year or two after launch.
 
Self-Ejected

unfairlight

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Wait, so it's upfront plus subscription PLUS HAVE TO PURCHASE THE GAMES? Thank god, I was worried this might actually take off.
No, subscription gives access to a selection of games like Microsoft's Game Pass thing, but you can alternatively just buy the games alone.
I'm not gonna use it anyway because I don't like subscription services, but this could be huge. Availability is too small, though.
 

toro

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First Stadia exclusive because EpicStore exclusivity affair worked so well.

 

Xor

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Codex 2014 PC RPG Website of the Year, 2015 Codex 2016 - The Age of Grimoire Divinity: Original Sin Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Divinity: Original Sin 2
No, subscription gives access to a selection of games like Microsoft's Game Pass thing, but you can alternatively just buy the games alone.
Well, you can until google decides you're guilty of wrongthink, bans you, and takes your games with them. You're not actually buying a game, you're buying the right to use it on a streaming service. It's essentially a permanent rental.

I can see so many ways for this to go wrong and I hope it fails, but the gaming market is very different today than it was when OnLive tried this, plus alphabet has basically unlimited money to waste on bad ideas, so there's actually a decent chance that this sticks around.
 

Kem0sabe

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Games cant possibly be priced at full price on Stadia. No offline play, always on DRM, no mods, no physical copy, if they arent at a heavy discount most people wont buy... most sane people at least.
 

Plaguecrafter

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Games cant possibly be priced at full price on Stadia. No offline play, always on DRM, no mods, no physical copy, if they arent at a heavy discount most people wont buy... most sane people at least.

You underestimate people's spending habits.
 

taxalot

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Codex 2013 PC RPG Website of the Year, 2015
The only possible way Stadia becomes a net advantage for gamers is if the game is also availalble offline on your computer if you buy it on Stadia : that way, you have a copy of the game you can run on your own machine if it has the specs, and if it doesn't YET have the specs you can play it on Stadia while waiting for the money to get an upgrade.

I would be into this, for a correct price. But it's never going to happen.

In the meantime, I'm fine with Playstation Now which is an actual cheap "Gaming netflix", something Stadia has already failed to achieve.
 

abija

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What do you mean? From my understanding it also includes a Playstation Now equivalent.
 

DalekFlay

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Games cant possibly be priced at full price on Stadia. No offline play, always on DRM, no mods, no physical copy, if they arent at a heavy discount most people wont buy... most sane people at least.

Just like with downloads, the distribution method doesn't really change development costs much. Also you're paying for the servers, and benefiting from the convenience and shit which is the whole selling point of the endeavor. No way "purchases" on there won't be the same exact price as everywhere else.
 

commie

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Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Divinity: Original Sin 2
Oh Look its shit! And no one was surprised.
You know you fucked up when Bethesda and Ubisoft are your flagship developers.


Actually I wouldn't include Ubisoft there. They don't really do RPG's (except their curious MMX foray, and maybe now the way Ass Creed is evolving into ARPG), and the shit they peddle doesn't encroach on the things I like. Conversely, I still enjoy their creation of historical sites and cities(sure, a lot of Hollywood 'sword and sandals' naivette), but it shows they actually tried to make an effort to appeal to some historical reality, and the huge expense to do so, when most gamers wouldn't really give a shit about it anyway. Ubisoft stuff is what I like to boot up when I just want to clear some icons on a map in short sessions, and it's fine for that.
 
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Games cant possibly be priced at full price on Stadia. No offline play, always on DRM, no mods, no physical copy, if they arent at a heavy discount most people wont buy... most sane people at least.
Why would they be priced at full retail price when the whole point of this thing is to be over 10x cheaper to get into than a console and simpler.

There's a precedent already for brand new AAA game stream pricing: Resident Evil 7 and Assassin's Creed Odyssey launched as stream-only games for the Nintendo Switch in Japan at a cost of 20$ for 3 months (with season pass/dlcs included). Switch games retail for 60$+. If a nintendo switch gamer wanted to instead "own" a copy of those games to run locally the alternative would cost him at least a few hundred bucks as he'd have to buy a console capable of running it.

The first real case for Stadia (and/or amazon's solution) will be made when the new consoles launch and Johnny McCasual who hasn't jumped aboard a new console generation until it's priced for less than 300$ with a game is confronted with a nextgen game he really wants (RDR2 remaster, GTA6, Assassins Creed Diversity or whatever) and the choice of:

- spend 500$ for the ps5/xo console at launch + 60-70$ for the game + 60$ for the sub that gives multiplayer access
- wait 2-3 years until the cheaper slim revision of the next gen consoles pop out (and he's sure which console is actually "better") and then only pay 300$+ 20$ for a used game copy+ 60$ for multiplayer access
- Pay google 10-20$ for one or several months of streaming access to the same game as soon as the new generation launches

Well, you can until google decides you're guilty of wrongthink, bans you, and takes your games with them. You're not actually buying a game, you're buying the right to use it on a streaming service. It's essentially a permanent rental.
Nothing new since 2004. And yet most pc gamers will still buy the same game on steam/uplay/whatever instead of gog as long as it's cheaper, or simply more convenient to them.
 
Last edited:

DalekFlay

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lol, in my view this whole idea is the most inconvenient thing ever

Then again I don't really have mainstream views on convenience, so.

You don't think the Netflix generation will see value in playing their games anytime, on any screen, with zero box or hardware involved? Of course they will, it'll be massive if Google can make it feel "right" (which is a big if). I personally have no interest in it for a variety of reasons, same as you, but we're not the target market.
 

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