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[Phase]

I honestly think they'll keep it on life support while trying to improve all this shit, because if they can figure the annoying stuff out it could probably be a gold mine. Even if hardcore gamers don't take to it, the platform is set up for loads of casual gaming. All they'd really have to do is get rid of game prices and keep a subscription model.

 

[dalekjay]

It will not and I say more, Amazon will do it and at least one more will enter the ring

 

[FranXico]

http://stadiacountdown.com/

Very optimistic in my view.

Why is the logo inverted?

 

[A.Romero]

They had the servers for all the other death products on the cementery. They didnt care. Stadia is just another afterthought.

The other services didn't charge for use, their revenue came from traffic.

This one does produce some kind of income.

 

[JareBear: Remastered]

I’m giving it two years. In about a year they will move to a full subscription model but it will be too late.

 

[Elektro Demon]

I dunno. I mean, this shit wasn't made for people who spend time here on gaf, let's be realistic.
This is aimed at a more casual crowd, and I think it may succeed in those circles.
I have a neighbour, I drink coffee with him sometimes on his porch and chill out. I helped him build a pc a few years back so that he could play racing games.
He's really into cars. And he uses that pc for burnout, forza horizon and that stuff. And web surfing, of course.
Lately he's been complaining to me that his pc is having trouble running the latest forza horizon game. It's a very old low/mid range gpu he's got in there.
I think that stadia is for people like my neighbour, you know, casual people. So while I personally hate the whole streaming games crap, I do see it potentially being successeful for casual people if they manage to reduce the lag and streaming quality.

 

[username12]

Google Plus was still around until 3 months ago?

 

[JareBear: Remastered]

This is aimed at a more casual crowd, and I think it may succeed in those circles.

I would guess a large portion of the causal crowd have data caps, which makes Stadia inconvenient and not cost effective at best

 

[Elektro Demon]

I would guess a large portion of the causal crowd have data caps, which makes Stadia inconvenient and not cost effective at best

I didn't think about that.
Good point.

 

[lock2k]

Staydead

 

[Coflash]

It just boggles my mind that something with so many negative aspects is expected to take over the gaming world in the future! just because it may one day be a viable choice.

When you argue for PCs against consoles, the first rebuttal you will run into is simplicity. With Stadia you will need...

• To forfeit the ability to edit game files
• To forfeit the ability to edit system files to make older games / input devices work
• To forfeit the ability to mod games
• To forfeit the ability to use any input method you want
• To realise that this is nothing like Netflix and that any analogies relating to it make no sense (passive vs active)
• To have faith in google with their history of killing products
• To have faith in google with privacy concerns
• To acknowledge you don't own anything
• A high tolerance for input lag
• A high tolerance for compression
• Fast internet (at home and 'playing anywhere')
• Reliable internet (at home and 'playing anywhere')
• No data caps (at home and 'playing anywhere')

...and google will need...

• To have their centralised service up and running 100% of the time (didn't they have a major outage earlier this year?)
• To be competitive with pricing for any subscriptions or game purchases
• To keep up with evolving technology as time progresses (higher resolutions, frame rates and so on)
• To keep up their hardware updated on a massive scale
• To maintain quality streams during peak hours
• To quickly fix issues in launch titles that users would otherwise be able to sort

...and only then are you good to go - assuming you want to experience Stadia with all of its selling points. None of this seems simple and there are many boxes that need to be ticked at any one time.

Then when you begin playing... you will need to worry about...

• Every problem listed above for every other Stadia player you come into contact with, particularly in COOP/MP games where your experience will be affected
• Intermittent lag
• Other devices in your network hogging bandwidth
• Save game corruption with no real way to back up specific files

Now compare all of this to popping in a disc / downloading a game and being able to play it despite every issue listed above, and having total control of what you've got in front of you (on PC anyway). That seems far simpler to me.

It's not as if we aren't able to game on our phones, Switches and every other handheld device. And at what point do you want to be on your phone playing MP games at 4K using touch controls?

Anyone gamer who buys into this, accepts those possibilities and surrenders all of that freedom, in my eyes, is objectively stupid. The pros do not outweigh the cons, and for google to be in charge of it all... yeah, nah.

 

[Barakov]

I'm still saying six months. I mean it could go longer. Especially if it gets an influx of people who play casual games. The problem with that though is the people who play casual games have many different and better ways to play them. This thing is on borrowed time right now.

 

[Bakkus]

Jesus Christ. Can't we get better alternatives than that? Personally I think the point were next to no one is using it, Google are still going to keep life in it for a few more years afterwards. So, maybe 5-6 years in total.

 

[FStubbs]

Two years. It'll be soft cancelled after 8 months, but get the occasional stability update until Google pulls the plug.

I'm still saying six months. I mean it could go longer. Especially if it gets an influx of people who play casual games. The problem with that though is the people who play casual games have many different and better ways to play them. This thing is on borrowed time right now.

The problem is Stadia's intended audience isn't casual gamers/candy crushers/etc. It's AAA gamers.

It will not and I say more, Amazon will do it and at least one more will enter the ring

Amazon would probably prefer to put more gaming functionality into the hardware they already sell.

 

[Vawn]

I'm still saying six months. I mean it could go longer. Especially if it gets an influx of people who play casual games. The problem with that though is the people who play casual games have many different and better ways to play them. This thing is on borrowed time right now.

6 months starting when? Because, make no mistake, Stadia hasn't really launched. If there is a market for it, it will come from the people using it "for free".

Google is using the whales to beta test the servers in a very slow roll out, while getting the people who are somehow willing to pay to help recoup some of its early losses.

 

[JLB]

Add a new walking dead to the list.
Fresh from today: https://support.google.com/chrome/a/answer/9633006

 

[Rest]

The poll should have a 90 day option.

 

[TylersProphecy4.0]

No option for a rebrand?
My guess is they rename this shit and try again once it, ya know, actually works right.

I see google lasting two years on this current incarnation of stadia, tops.

 

[CJY]

They might not shut it down, I see them shutting down the store, but the technology will be available for publishers to use as they see fit. (most likely: instant demo stream from YouTube link. This would be a killer feature.)

 

[Virex]

No, Google will improve it.

 

[EverythingsOverrated]

If they stick with the current business model I don't see them sticking with it for more than 2 years.

I think the best way to go would be a tier based Netflix/cable television/modern Sega channel of kind of deal.

Let's say you pay 10$ a month for a tier of mostly older games with some newer indie types thrown in, and have higher tiers with various rotating games along with some that stick around.

I think that would connect more with the crowd they're going after.

 

[Kagey K]

I think they give it 5 years, unless it really tanks.

I know they have a rep for killing things, but something tells me they really want to try to make Stadia work.

I just don’t think they know the market well enough to understand this is not how you approach It.

i certainly see some adjustments coming to pricing and packages very soon.

 

[Mista]

I’ll go with 3-4 years. They’ll try as hard as possible to make it work just to pull the plug later on

 

[xrnzaaas]

I give them two years. May close down even sooner depending on what the next generation of consoles will have to offer and how Microsoft will continue to develop xCloud.

 

[Kagey K]

I give them two years. May close down even sooner depending on what the next generation of consoles will have to offer.

That’s really the thing, upgrading or choosing sides right before new consoles come out seems like a fools errand. That 10 teraflops they recited, May sound silly very soon.

 

[wordslaughter]

If this were like Netflix, you may a monthly subscription and then you can play whatever you want, I would consider it. I would PROBABLY try it.

But it's just laughable that Google expects you to buy each game outright on their service. And when the service shuts down ( and that is likely ) your entire gaming library with them is gone.

No thanks Google. I just don't trust you.

 

[Sleepy Buddha]

The past couple of years I keep getting the feeling that Google has become so big and so up its own ass, it's getting increasingly out of touch with reality. The way Youtube is going down the drain, limiting cloud and email storage, Pixel phone choices and now this Stadia business model (not even mentioning the issues) seem proof of this disconnect.

 

[Jacknapes]

I don't trust Google enough with this service, it's high risk that you would lose all the gaming library if they pulled the plug on Stadia.

 

[Shifty]

Tomorrow. I'm going full doom on this speculative analysis.

 

[Fox Mulder]

Streaming will be the future at some point, at least good enough for most people. Even if Stadia fails now, someone will keep trying and Google is in a position to keep improving it.

 

[Saber]

One month, because I'm daring today

 

[H4ze]

Everyone so mad, bet 95% here don't even tried it theirself and it just
launchen THREE FUCKING DAYS AGO!

Jesus fucking christ, how retarded is the world

 

[The Bloody-Nine]

Everyone so mad, bet 95% here don't even tried it theirself and it just
launchen THREE FUCKING DAYS AGO!

Jesus fucking christ, how retarded is the world

I haven't tried Sphincter Shrinker hot sauce, either. I know it's hot, though.

 

[H4ze]

I haven't tried Sphincter Shrinker hot sauce, either. I know it's hot, though.

Okay, to compare some hot sauce with a streaming service makes totaly sense.
Then xcloud will fail too ofc, oh and the scarlett and ps5 too, cuz why not

 

[The Bloody-Nine]

Okay, to compare some hot sauce with a streaming service makes totaly sense.
Then xcloud will fail too ofc, oh and the scarlett and ps5 too, cuz why not

I'm making the point that you don't have to have tried something to be knowledgeable about it.

 

[H4ze]

I'm making the point that you don't have to have tried something to be knowledgeable about it.

And in most instances I would agree, but this is a completely new service that just launched.
Did PSN always work like a charm, especially in the beginning? Did Xbox Live never fuck up or had bad connections?

There is just no point in talking shit about a new service, that just launched, Stadia is not something like a small server farm for 500 players, ofc it will have a troubled start, everyone who thinks different must be blind to the obvious.

Stop shitting on Stadia all the time, if it still sucks balls in a year from now, fine, then I would call it a failure too, but not after three goddamn days.

 

[The Bloody-Nine]

And in most instances I would agree, but this is a completely new service that just launched.
Did PSN always work like a charm, especially in the beginning? Did Xbox Live never fuck up or had bad connections?

There is just no point in talking shit about a new service, that just launched, Stadia is not something like a small server farm for 500 players, ofc it will have a troubled start, everyone who thinks different must be blind to the obvious.

Stop shitting on Stadia all the time, if it still sucks balls in a year from now, fine, then I would call it a failure too, but not after three goddamn days.

It's pretty much been a disaster, of course people are going to shit on it.

 

[Deleted member 740922]

Everyone so mad, bet 95% here don't even tried it theirself and it just
launchen THREE FUCKING DAYS AGO!

Jesus fucking christ, how retarded is the world

Voost Kain's brother?

 

[MeatSafeMurderer]

Did PSN always work like a charm, especially in the beginning? Did Xbox Live never fuck up or had bad connections?

Difference being that if PSN or Live goes down or you lose internet for a few days...or your internet just isn't good enough, you can still play your games.
If Stadia goes down or you have shit internet (as 99.9% of the world does) then the service is as useful to you as a turd with glitter on it.

 

[H4ze]

Difference being that if PSN or Live goes down or you lose internet for a few days...or your internet just isn't good enough, you can still play your games.
If Stadia goes down or you have shit internet (as 99.9% of the world does) then the service is as useful to you as a turd with glitter on it.

Not my problem if someone has a shitty connection, easy solution for them, don't use Stadia. Problem solved.
This Stadia bashing just seems like a lot of ignorant kids are yelling about something they don't understand.

 

[The Bloody-Nine]

Not my problem if someone has a shitty connection, easy solution for them, don't use Stadia. Problem solved.
This Stadia bashing just seems like a lot of ignorant kids are yelling about something they don't understand.

Likewise, you can just ignore Stadia bashing threads. Problem solved.

 

[cucuchu]

It will surely see an upsurge of engagement next year when its available to everyone and on more devices but will steeply fall in popularity as the new consoles are ramping up for launch. One of the reasons I think they chose to soft-launch it right now was to beat the hype of the PS5/Scarlett out of the gate, but I think that worked against them. They should of held off for a couple of years because the infrastructure to support anything close to being competitive with what the PS5 and Scarlett will provide is not anywhere close to be being available to most of the world.

So my vote is 2 years. This time next year, it will still be around but just not very popular. It will limp along another year before google lets it die.

 

[Deleted member 471617]

Within two years or so.

 

[MeatSafeMurderer]

Not my problem if someone has a shitty connection, easy solution for them, don't use Stadia. Problem solved.
This Stadia bashing just seems like a lot of ignorant kids are yelling about something they don't understand.

"Just don't buy it." - The marketing strategy of every successful company ever.
The problem is that we do understand it. That's how we were able to accurately predict Stadia would be such a dumpster fire. Some of us have a background in IT and networking; which is why we know that the internet is basically held together with duct tape and prayers. Even if you have "fibre" there is still a TON of copper between you and any given server...and copper is slow. Even if you had fibre the whole way you're still adding latency at each hop. It will never be as responsive as running it on a local machine, it's physically impossible, the laws of physics do not allow it.

 

[Sleepy Buddha]

"Just don't buy it." - The marketing strategy of every successful company ever.
The problem is that we do understand it. That's how we were able to accurately predict Stadia would be such a dumpster fire. Some of us have a background in IT and networking; which is why we know that the internet is basically held together with duct tape and prayers. Even if you have "fibre" there is still a TON of copper between you and any given server...and copper is slow. Even if you had fibre the whole way you're still adding latency at each hop. It will never be as responsive as running it on a local machine, it's physically impossible, the laws of physics do not allow it.

Hey now, don't knock copper. It's much more reliable than most streaming software.

 

[kraspkibble]

my bet is 2 years.

i reckon they will keep it for over a year minimum but unless they seriously turn it around then it will be a matter of a few years before it's dead.

I don't think it'll see 2022.

 

[raduque]

We've seen streaming work for Netflix, Hulu etc. streaming may be the model going forward.

Streaming works for Netflix and Hulu and so on because you pay a monthly sub and get access to everything on the platform. You don't have to buy movies or tv shows individually to watch them in addition to your monthly sub.

 

[Starlight Lotice]

Hopefully never as Google will want to improve it more and more to prove it has a stance in the Gaming Industry.

NothingStopsThisTrain.gif

 

[Yoda]

Launching early was clearly a mistake. Getting developers to port their games to Stadia is now harder to justify for said developers. This'll starve Stadia of content, which it's in desperate need of. Google could throw $$ at devs to try and keep the channel open, but I question if the executives above Harrison would approve it. Given Stadia's stingy business model, I suspect no one wants another YouTube situation with a product that has to be subsidized.

Aside from content, there's the number of people who have a good enough connection to play Stadia. Per reviews it seems to only work consistently on wired connections (i.e. not phones), I think the possible market of people who'd subscribe/pay long term is smaller than Google thinks due to poor internet infrastructure.

I'd give it 2 years, they clearly put A LOT of engineering into it, but knowing Google I suspect they'll kill the product once it's clear there's no chance for explosive growth.

 

[JLB]

Streaming will be the future at some point, at least good enough for most people. Even if Stadia fails now, someone will keep trying and Google is in a position to keep improving it.

Of course. Streaming will succeed. But it will be Sony, or Microsoft, or another company. Not an ADHD company like Google.