By Marcus Axford, Lead Personality.

Editor: Joshua Francom, Content Creator from YouTube channel: Frakbox.

Since Google’s announcement of its newest endeavor at the Game Developer’s Conference known as GDC 2019, back in March, many of us here at the GamerFuel Studios Network still have tons of questions: Can Stadia succeed in a gaming market already saturated with competing consoles? How will this affect worldwide internet infrastructure? But the most important question: Is Stadia for me? As we have been learning more and more about the new platform, the less we like what we hear. We have tons of stuff to cover, so without further adieu, let’s dive into Google’s newest project: Google Stadia.

What is Stadia?

According to its initial press release, it’s a cloud streaming service for video games without the need for a dedicated console. You can play and transition between games on the fly on any device that has a Chrome browser (i.e. your phone, PC, tablet, etc.). During GDC 2019, Google showed off Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and ID Software’s Doom Eternal running on Stadia, transitioning somewhat seamlessly from Chromebook to phone. Stadia promises to “break down the walls” and create a gaming environment that’s friendly for everyone. This isn’t a bad concept considering how many people are tired of the whole “console wars” debate and not being able to play with friends if one is on Xbox and the other is on PlayStation. However, with companies like Epic, Activision, and Gearbox pushing for crossplay with Fortnite, Modern Warfare, and Borderlands 3 respectively, soon those walls won’t be relevant anymore. Epic clearly showed us last year that it’s literally a matter of “flipping a switch” although it is a little more complicated than that; nevertheless, Epic has shown us it can be done.

Speaking of which, even PC has its own “console war” issues emerging with a turf war between the Steam and Epic stores. However, most of this bad blood is consumer created and has nothing to do with the companies themselves. Yes, they’re competitors, but they keep their act professional and friendly towards each other. In fact, Microsoft has been growing very close to Nintendo, even making moves no one ever thought would happen like releasing Xbox exclusives onto the Switch. The most notable of those being Cuphead and releasing Banjo-Kazooie as a character in Smash Bros. Ultimate. It has also been speculated that Game Pass might eventually make it’s way to the Switch which would be extremely beneficial to both parties. As Nintendo sells more hardware, Microsoft sells more software.

So, with console walls apparently crumbling at a fast pace, is Stadia really revolutionizing on that front? Up until recently I would have thought no, however, a developer friend of ours has given me a different perspective. Google has one goal in mind: connecting all its services together. If you’d like to hear the full discussion on that subject, go listen to episode 23 of GamerFuel Studios Live. Towards the end of the episode during the Stadia conversation gaming developer, Tony Costa explains to us some amazing facts on the subject that I could not do justice explaining here.

What does Stadia have to offer?

When it launches, Stadia offers 31 game titles, with at least one free game every month starting with Destiny 2. Games can be streamed at 4k/60FPS (with a promised capability of 8k/120FPS later on), 5.1 Dolby surround sound, discounts on games, and as stated before you’ll be able to stream to any google service device. This is all for $9.99 a month. Pretty cool, right? Also, if you get the founders pack for $129.99 you receive a Chromecast Ultra, a limited edition night blue Stadia controller, three months of Stadia pro, a three month buddy pass to give to a friend, Destiny 2: The Collection, and dibs on selecting a Stadia name. A free tier will be available later in 2020, however, you are severely downgraded to just 1080p and stereo sound. I would like to make a comparison between Stadia and Microsoft’s upcoming streaming service: Microsoft Xcloud.

First of all, let’s assume we are approaching this from a new gamer’s perspective. You’ve never spent time or money in anyone’s “camp,” and are viewing them from a neutral perspective. How could Microsoft possibly compete with all that Stadia has to offer? Also, before you go, “What about PlayStation?” We’re only focusing on these two because Sony hasn’t formally announced their cloud service yet aside from calling it Playstation Now. When considering price, Stadia beats out Xbox. However, Microsoft is also streaming content to other devices, so for now lets cut out the hardware and focus on the cloud service. Although, for the record, the newest hardware will also be running 8k/160FPS on both PlayStation 5 and Xbox Scarlett. Microsoft currently offers Game Pass Ultimate for $15 a month, which gives you Game Pass for both console and pc, as well as the Xbox Live Gold Membership. There is no word yet on how much Xcloud will cost or if it will bundle with the other services. However, Game Pass offers access to a huge library of games including first-party titles like Gears 5 and Halo: Infinite on day-one. Games With Gold, another service offered by Microsoft, offers an extra four titles a month for free. Not to mention all the other great deals on games they offer if you have this service.

Pros and Cons of Stadia

A few downsides to Stadia overall are in addition to needing a pro subscription to get the maximum experience which offers somewhat of the same as Xbox and Playstation, you also have to buy the games outright on top of it. Google recently came out and said that Stadia is not a Netflix of games service and it’s unfortunate because it’s seemed to have inherited all the negatives of a Netflix type service and none of the positives, the most notable being the fact that you have to have internet even for single player games, so even though you bought that game, let’s say Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim at full price you don’t technically own it. In addition, you will need a recommended connection speed of at least 25mbs which not everyone has, and a lot of people have data caps. This delves into a much deeper issue, which is overall global internet infrastructure, but Stadia along with other high end streaming platforms like Xcloud might just be able to solve this issue, though not overnight.

We in the games journalism biz, pontificate often about how games change the world on a level most people, politicians in particular, don’t understand. Currently, some of the greatest internet infrastructures in the world include places like Japan and South Korea, countries that are very heavy in the tech industry. We need that kind of infrastructure we need here in The States. If Stadia and other services are expected to thrive, then the availability of new 5G networks needs to grow. Companies like Google and Microsoft have the power to make that change which will benefit everyone. Google has shown that power in providing Google Fiber while Microsoft touted that their network infrastructure for Xbox alone was up to 300,000 servers in 2013.

One final thing to note, Stadia provides great competition for other companies. Xbox Head, Phil Spencer was happy to see validation that they were going in the right direction when Google made it’s presentation at GDC 2019. This means that their own project Xcloud isn’t alone in the industry. We here at GamerFuel Studios Network believe this only means good things for everyone no matter who’s “camp” you’re in.

Overall I would say, “be excited, but keep expectations low.” While Google may have been working and researching this project for years, practice and theory are two different things. Stadia has a long road ahead of it if it survives Google’s constant cancellations of projects. The Founder’s Edition is well and good for people with money to burn, but if you’re on a tight budget then I recommend waiting awhile to see how well Stadia “does what Nintendon’t.”