We can only hope Stadia is as big of a failure as Google Plus was.
At the Game Developers Conference, Google announced its biggest play yet in the gaming space: a streaming game service named Google Stadia, designed to run on everything from PCs and Android phones to Google’s own Chromecast devices.
As of press time, the service’s release window is simply “2019.” No pricing information was announced at the event.
Google Stadia will run a selection of existing PC games on Google’s centralized servers, taking in controller inputs and sending back video and audio using Google’s network of low-latency data centers. The company revealed a new Google-produced controller, along with a game-streaming interface that revolves around a “play now” button. Press this on any Web browser and gameplay will begin “in as quick as five seconds… with no download, no patch, no update, and no install.”
Ars Technica commenters are skeptical about Stadia.
“Can’t wait for this to be killed off in a press release in 6 years! I really need more reliability from Google in supporting their platforms,” wrote one.
“Annnd will quickly forget about it in 1-2 years. Buyer beware,” said another.
“My past experience with Google products suddenly disappearing really discourages me from trying this, let alone sink money into it,” agreed a third.