We got our first look at the Google Stadia streaming platform back in March of this year. Since then, gamers and techies have been at the edge of their seats awaiting more information. With frames per second and latency being a big deal to most these days, Stadia has a high bar that it needs to reach. Google just had their first Stadia direct and there is a lot to unpack here.
Price
The cost has been one of the main things many of us have been wondering about for the past few months. If you want to just get in and play, Stadia Base level is free. This is a big relief for most gamers who already have to pay for an internet connection, a pc or laptop, a television, etc.. You will still need to purchase games if you plan on entering at this level. Games will be able to be played at resolutions up to 1080p at 60 frames per second. The next level is called Stadia Pro. Here you can buy games (sometimes at a discount) and you get access to a certain amount of games as a part of this plan. You can play games at up to 4k resolution at 60 fps. This plan starts at $9.99 USD per month. If you preorder the founder’s edition, you get the full Destiny 2 collection, 3 months of pro access for yourself and a friend, a special edition controller and a Chromecast Ultra. The Founder’s Edition will cost you $129 USD.
Where Can You Play
For now, you will be able to access the Stadia service via the Chrome browser on all PCs and laptops, Chromecast enable devices (not compatible with all), Google Pixel 3 phones, and other Google tablets. It was stated that there will be more devices supported down the line. We are not sure if that will be exclusive to the Google Android operating system or not? Depending on what Microsoft announces during their E3 conference, they may need to open up to Apple phones and tablets.
What You Need to Play
As stated before. You will be able to play from Chrome browsers and devices as well as certain Android devices. The speed requirements to play games at high fidelity has been a big question since this was announces. Luckily, it doesn’t seem like the requirements are that bad. With the minimum required 10mbps, you can play games at 720p at 60fps. With 5G technology becoming more available, this isn’t bad at all. Most 4G networks get you 25 or more Mbps. At higher speeds, gamers will be able to achieve 4k/60fps with no issue. As far as input devices, you are able to use most USB or Bluetooth controllers on pc and mobile. When connected to the Chromecast, you will need to have the Stadia controller. This will retail for $69 USD.
According to the Stadia website, we can expect this to be releasing around November of this year. Google is really attacking the gaming market hard. If Stadia lives up to everything they have said so far, this is great from the gaming community as a whole. This will put a lot of pressure on Microsoft and Sony in the coming months. So far, they have about 31 games confirmed for release with big titles like Destiny 2, and the Division 2. Stadia is shaping up to be a really good choice for the gamer with less space or who moves around a lot. Cloud and streaming is definitely the future. We are excited to see more from this technology.
