So we just witnessed the first ever Google Stadia Connect. A showcase for the latest game streaming service, backed by Google. The Livestream itself was just half an hour but had a lot of content packed into it. While we will dive it into details later. Here are the 5 most important things we can take away from the event.
1. It’s Not Coming To India in 2019
Well, that was kind of a gimme. But it’s now official, Google Stadia will be launching in 14 countries this year, but India is not on that list. They did say they will be expanding to more countries in 2020, and India might be a part of that, but as of now, we can only complain about our internet, because.
2. Stadia will need 10Mbps -30 Mbps to run smoothly
For the premier 4K, 60 FPS, 5.1 Surround sound experience, Google says a connection with 35 Mbps should be enough to get you what you need. The minimum though needs your internet to be clocking in at 10 Mbps, with the quality adjusting to your bandwidth on the fly, very similar to how YouTube adjusts its video quality. In fact, Google mentioned that they are leveraging their experience in infrastructure for applications such as YouTube, and Google Drive etc. to make Stadia smoother and faster and more reliable.
3. You can buy a monthly pass or buy Games A La Carte
There was a lot of speculation, on what pricing model Google Stadia will pursue. Well instead of the Either Or, they have gone for AND. Google Stadia will offer a monthly membership plan called Stadia Pro, where for a monthly fee of $9.99 each month, you can have access to all the Stadia library across all platforms.
On the other hand, they also offer Stadia Basic, where you can only buy the games that you want and then play them at any time for any duration across any platform that supports it.
It’s important to note here that the Google Stadia service itself will be free, not unlike Google Movies. Its the access to the library where the pricing gate is placed.
4. Stadia also has a Founder’s Edition
Stadia boast that you don’t need to buy any new hardware to start with its service. But it does have a Founder’s Edition, which is up for pre-order right now on www.Stadia.com. The founder’s edition consists of a Google Chromecast for your 4K HDTV, a Google Stadia controller (a limited edition color), 3 months of Google Stadia Pro, and 3 months of Google Stadia for your buddy, so you can play together with a friend.
5. Baldur’s Gate, Destiny 2 & Breakpoint are all coming to Stadia
As good as a service can be, it can only be as good as it library. The Livestream opened with Baldur’s Gate 3, coming as a lunch game for Stadia and made by the same dev team who worked on Divinity Original Sin 2.That’s big in itself, what with a long-awaited sequel to a beloved RPG. Google also announced that Destiny 2 will be coming to Stadia as well, with all its expansion up till now playable in their entirety. And if you are worried about your progress, well Bungie promises Cross-saves so you can move between consoles and Stadia without a hitch (Unless you are on the PS4, that cross-save is still pending approval).
Finally, Ubisoft seems to have gone all in on this Stadia effort. From Assassin’s Creed Odyssey which was the game that was used for Google Stadia’s Alpha testing to announcing that both The Division 2 and Ghost Recon Breakpoint will be coming to Stadia. Ubisoft seems to have decided that this is the future of gaming.
Of course, apart from the big names, Google also showed off a plethora of games, which will be coming to the platform when it launches.
So what do you think of Google Stadia? Does this future of gaming which involves no discs, no downloads, no patches excite you? Or you think that this is leading to even less power for gamers at large. Let us know what you think in the comments.