Cliffs?
After hyping up its big “vision for the future of gaming” for weeks, Google took the stage at GDC 2019 on Tuesday to unveil a new cloud gaming platform called Stadia. As expected, Stadia isn’t a new console or a suite of hardware, but rather a service that will allow users to play games on virtually every device they own. At launch, Stadia will support desktops, laptops, TVs, tablets, and phones, and you can seamlessly jump between them all.
Set to release before the end of the year, Stadia will allow unprecedented access to games. During one stage demo, Google showed how you could be watching a trailer for Assassin’s Creed Odyssey (for example), and click a button to begin streaming that game on your device just seconds later without any downloads or installs.
Google has partnered with AMD to build a custom GPU that will power instances from its datacenters. Said to deliver 10.7 teraflops of power, the GPU will significantly outclass the 4.7 teraflops of the PS4 Pro, and the 6 teraflops of the Xbox One X. The Stadia instances will also feature custom 2.7GHz x86 processors with 16GB of RAM.
As stated above, Stadia is not a console, but Google did introduce new hardware at the event. The Stadia controller is the latest addition to Google’s hardware line, and unlike a standard Bluetooth controller, it actually connects via Wi-Fi to the game you’re playing, which should significant cut down on lag and latency. It also has a capture button (for easy access to streaming, another key pillar of Stadia), and a Google Assistant button.
Unlike the Project Stream technical test from last year, Stadia is capable of streaming games in 4K resolution at 60 frames per second. In the future, Google says Stadia will support 8K as well. And while you’re streaming a game to your device in 4K, you can simultaneously stream that footage to YouTube in 4K resolution.
Multiplayer is also a priority for Google, and cross-platform play across any other console or system that allows it will be supported. And there’s also a feature called Stream Connect which Google believe will revitalize couch co-op by letting users play split-screen games over the cloud as if they were in the same room. Another fascinating feature, State Share, will let users take a specific state in their game and share it like they would a link.
Unsurprisingly, creators (YouTube creators, specifically) are being catered to with a variety of features, such as Crowd Play, which lets viewers jump in a queue to play with their favorite YouTuber in an online game.
Google announced a wide selection of partners that have already committed to porting their games to Stadia, and one of those games is the upcoming Doom Eternal from id Software. Q-Games (the studio behind the PixelJunk series) is also working on a game for Stadia, but many other major triple-A titles showed up in stage demos as well, including Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and Shadow of the Tomb Raider.
Google is also launching its own first-party games studio called Stadia Games and Entertainment, which will be led by Jade Raymond, founder of Ubisoft Toronto and executive producer on the Assassin’s Creed series.
Stadia will launch in the US, Canada, UK, and most of Europe in 2019. More details to come this summer.
More like until Google abandons the service in 3 years after not updating it for 2.Forever?
1,000 people at the same time!? Will the servers be able to handle all those racist and homophobic comments?Not into Battle Royale games but they are talking about battles with over 1,000 people playing simultaneously
I'm just worried about all my mother's new sexual exploits. She's been pretty tame since I stopped logging onto xbox Live, but I'm afraid a platform this large will really open my eyes to all the terrible things people seem to be doing with her.1,000 people at the same time!? Will the servers be able to handle all those racist and homophobic comments?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXSg5ZAKQpUI'm just worried about all my mother's new sexual exploits. She's been pretty tame since I stopped logging onto xbox Live, but I'm afraid a platform this large will really open my eyes to all the terrible things people seem to be doing with her.
Are gaming habits really that personal of a thing?I'm a gamer. I like to play video games. I like to play offline games and occasionally online games. I don't like latency or lag. I don't see how this can deliver games without substantial latency. I also don't need GOOGLE knowing everything about my gaming habits. I also don't want to rely on my WiFi (or wired Internet) for my gaming when I'm playing an offline game.
All that being said, I see some advantages. I travel a lot. If I could pack a controller and then play my STADIA games from my hotel room that could be enticing. Also could I play literally anywhere w/ Internet? Airplane? Bar? etc, etc.
Do we know yet if this will be a pay as you go service? Like AAA games are $60 each. Or a subscription service where I pay $30/month and I can access any game?
Depends on where you draw the line on privacy. Also, I work from home a decent amount. I get my work done on time. (Fill in the blanks here.)Are gaming habits really that personal of a thing?
That makes sense.Depends on where you draw the line on privacy. Also, I work from home a decent amount. I get my work done on time. (Fill in the blanks here.)
I don't need those details logged on the cloud.
We all saw it heading in this direction. I thought the current generation of consoles may be the last, but your correct the network infrastructure probably isn't there yet. I thought there would be more of a hybrid system with TV's and possibly phones.Changed? No. It's too early to go to a full stream system. America's network infrastructure isn't up to snuff yet to take over the market. They might be able to pull out a niche market in the cities which would be your biggest share, but that's it for right now. Full streaming systems that could possibly eat a decent chunk of the console market is still 2 console gens away, at least.
Once 5G infrastructure is fully in place, this won’t matter.I also don't want to rely on my WiFi (or wired Internet) for my gaming when I'm playing an offline game.
Yeah, I could see it working maybe if they have gone all-in on this like Netflix did with their data centers. To make sure you connect to one nearby, they built a bajillion of them all over the place. And I suppose Google may have the resources, and who knows, maybe they have already done that. If they haven't though, I have a hard time believing they won't have lag issues.This has been tried a number of times. I don't doubt that Google has the resources to make it work, but it's hard to imagine latency not being a problem in a mass scale/low bandwidth scenario.
It's a brilliant business move if it can work. Forks streamers/viewers away from Twitch and onto Youtube. Forks players away from Microsoft/Sony consoles and onto theirs.
Their test userbase was basically streamers and dedicated players, who are generally in more metropolitan areas with higher bandwidth.Yeah, I could see it working maybe if they have gone all-in on this like Netflix did with their data centers. To make sure you connect to one nearby, they built a bajillion of them all over the place. And I suppose Google may have the resources, and who knows, maybe they have already done that. If they haven't though, I have a hard time believing they won't have lag issues.
I'd be super-embarrassed if my friends knew how much Leisure Suit Larry I play.Are gaming habits really that personal of a thing?
I think you forgot GlassChief among them is that google sucks at rolling this kind of stuff out. They suck at getting their message out, they suck at focusing on a streamlined approach. They can't pick a direction and stick to it. They change their mind and re-design things. Look at how they rolled out their digital content store (which went through like 10 names before finally becoming "play movies" etc like 5 years later), their messenger apps, google+, etc. They really really suck at this.
Sounds like it. Your PC monitor, phone, TV just displays the image that the data center processes.So am I understanding this right that no matter how weak the GPU is in your device you play on, you can still play any Stadia game at full resolution because the GPU stuff is being done in the cloud?
That is really cool although as some one mentioned earlier, the bandwidth needs must be huge for this.Sounds like it. Your PC monitor, phone, TV just displays the image that the data center processes.
Yeah, if for nothing else, we/they would need it just to avoid lag in controller input. I can't even wrap my head around the tech for this.That is really cool although as some one mentioned earlier, the bandwidth needs must be huge for this.
This tech has existed for a long time now. It was almost a decade ago that OnLive launched literally the exact same service.That is really cool although as some one mentioned earlier, the bandwidth needs must be huge for this.
I mean that's a given. But then again, I just assume anyone can watch everything I do nowadays if they so chose to.its a horrible name, my god whoever came up with it should be tarred and feathered.
But......sounds amazing. I'm sure since its a google product it will have all kinds of creepy built in spyware in it as well
Totally disagree, if broadband speeds weren't good enough then none of the streaming services would survive. I'd argue that majority of consumers don't game using 4k on a console. That's the first market to hit IMO.Changed? No. It's too early to go to a full stream system. America's network infrastructure isn't up to snuff yet to take over the market. They might be able to pull out a niche market in the cities which would be your biggest share, but that's it for right now. Full streaming systems that could possibly eat a decent chunk of the console market is still 2 console gens away, at least.
I wonder if PlayStation will do similarly with Amazon or Google.ETA: Microsoft and Nintendo are getting extremely cozy these days. Just a hour ago, Nintendo announced Cuphead is being released on the Switch and now available for preorder.
That didn't work out too well for Lydia.Stadia sounds like something chicks put in their coffee.