Google tries to reassure gamers it’s behind Stadia for the long haul

Google tries to reassure gamers it’s behind Stadia for the long haul

Jill T Frey
Gaming & Culture / Google / Stadia / streaming

Enlarge / A Google Stadia controller sits behind glass with a mock-up of a retro game store. (credit: Kyle Orland)

In a Reddit AMA yesterday, Google Stadia Director of Product Andrey Doronichev provided a few more tidbits about what features will and will not be available when the streaming game service launches in November. But as he did so, he had to convince some skeptical potential customers that Stadia won’t end up in the same corporate graveyard as many other Google service experiments.

Doronichev compared Google’s commitment to Stadia to services like Gmail, Docs, Music, Movies and Photos, which have persisted for years with no sign of imminent shutdown. “We’ve been investing a ton in tech, infrastructure, and partnerships [for Stadia] over the past few years,” Doronichev said. “Nothing in life is certain, but we’re committed to making Stadia a success… Of course, it’s OK to doubt my

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Here are All of the Games on Stadia

Google: ISP Data Caps Not Seen as Challenge for Stadia

Jill T Frey
Google / News / Stadia


Phil Harrison, vice president and general manager of Google, was recently asked how data caps could affect Stadia gamers. Quite matter of factly, Harrison stated that data caps aren’t seen as a challenge for the service, because ISPs have a strong history of, “staying ahead of consumer trend.”

The question is valid, though. With Stadia offering the potential of streaming 4K games at 60fps, a players ISP-controlled data cap could be hit quite easily. However, Harrison says, “If you look at the history of data caps in those small number of markets — and it’s actually a relatively small number of markets that have [data caps] — the trend over time, when music streaming and download became popular, especially in the early days when it was not necessarily legitimate, data caps moved up. Then with the evolution of TV and film streaming, data caps moved up, and we expect that … Read the rest

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Stadia’s E3 Doom Eternal demo made me a cloud gaming believer

Stadia’s E3 Doom Eternal demo made me a cloud gaming believer

Jill T Frey
cloud / E3 / e3 2019 / Gaming & Culture / Google / Stadia / streaming

  • These images were taken from an earlier, local Doom Eternal demo, but give you an idea of the kind of fast-paced action that looks and plays just fine on Stadia.

LOS ANGELES—Since Google’s Project Stream beta test in October and the company’s March announcement of the full Stadia platform, one question has loomed large over the service: will it actually work well enough for fast-paced, reflex-intensive games? After playing a demo of Doom Eternal for about half an hour Wednesday, I’m ready to say that the answer to that question seems to be yes—at least in Google’s controlled testing conditions.

Google invited me out to its downtown LA YouTube Gaming creator’s space—away from the Internet-congested E3 show floor—to try out the latest build of Stadia. My demo was running locally on a Pixelbook with the Chrome browser, connected to a TV via HDMI, and remotely to data centers over

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Here are All of the Games on Stadia

Here are All of the Games on Stadia

Jill T Frey
Android Games / Apps / games / Google / News / Stadia


When Google’s new Stadia game-streaming platform launches this November with Pro ($9.99/mo) and Base (free) options, you are going to want to know every single game that is available in order to choose the correct tier. The difference between those means up to 4K streams, better sound, and more free content, but depending on what you are playing, you may not need the best of the best.

At launch, these are the games that Google says will be a part of Stadia:

  • Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
  • Baldur’s Gate 3
  • Borderlands 3
  • Darksiders Genesis
  • Destiny 2
  • DOOM
  • DOOM Eternal
  • Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2
  • Farming Simulator 19
  • Final Fantasy XV
  • Football Manager
  • Get Packed
  • GRID
  • GYLT
  • Just Dance 2020
  • Metro Exodus
  • Mortal Kombat 11
  • NBA 2K
  • Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid
  • Rage 2
  • Rise of the Tomb Raider
  • Samurai Shodown
  • Shadow of the Tomb Raider
  • The Crew 2
  • The Elder Scrolls Online
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Google Stadia Launches This November, Pro Subscription Priced at $9.99/Month

Google Stadia Launches This November, Pro Subscription Priced at $9.99/Month

Jill T Frey
Android Games / games / Google / News / Stadia


Stadia launch details have been announced by Google, with pricing and the game selection all made public.

The service is set to launch in November, with a special Founder’s Edition available for pre-order starting today.

Here’s what you need to know right now.

Stadia Details

Stadia is a cloud-based gaming service that will feature two tiers, Stadia Base and Stadia Pro. Stadia Base is accessible by anyone who has a certain game or games they wish to purchase themselves for playing on any compatible device. Stadia Pro is a monthly subscription that costs $9.99/month, allowing for game streaming at 4K and 60 fps at just a download speed of 35Mbps.

As for compatible devices, essentially anything that can access a Chrome browser is compatible, such as a desktop, laptop, tablet, and Pixel 3 devices (Pixel 3 XL, Pixel 3a, Pixel 3a XL included). You can also access Stadia via a … Read the rest

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Despite “revolutionary” promises, Stadia’s biz model is pure establishment

Despite “revolutionary” promises, Stadia’s biz model is pure establishment

Jill T Frey
cloud based / Gaming & Culture / Google / Stadia / streaming / streaming games

Enlarge / “Play Now”… but first, do you want to pay full price to buy the full version of the game?

In announcing Stadia this March, Google executives sold their streamed-gaming ambitions as a way to revolutionize the gaming business and the community surrounding it. With today’s announcement of Stadia’s pricing and business model, though, the company seems to be stuck in a decidedly old-fashioned mode that doesn’t really exploit streaming’s biggest benefits.

It starts with the initial hardware purchase requirements. A big part of Google’s sales pitch for Stadia was the fact that the service would work on any computer with a Web browser, as well as generic mobile phones and tablets, using non-proprietary USB controllers. Requiring early adopters to purchase $129 worth of Chromecast Ultra and Stadia Controller hardware cuts against that “open to anyone” messaging. In a world where an Xbox One with a bundled

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Google Stadia requires $130 upfront, $10 per month at November launch

Google Stadia requires $130 upfront, $10 per month at November launch

Jill T Frey
Gaming & Culture / Google / Stadia

  • The hardware you get with the $129.99 Stadia “Founder’s Edition.”

Players will have to pay $129.99 up front and $9.99 a month, on top of individual game purchase costs, when Google’s previously announced Stadia game-streaming service launches in November. A free tier will be available some time in 2020, as will a paid subscription tier that doesn’t require the upfront purchase.

The Stadia Founder’s Edition and its contingent Stadia Pro subscription will be the only way to get access to the Stadia service when it launches, Google announced today. That $129.99 package, available for pre-order on the Google Store right now, will include:

  • A Stadia controller in “limited-edition night blue”
  • A Chromecast Ultra
  • Three months of Stadia Pro service and a three-month “buddy pass” to give to a friend
  • First dibs on claiming a “Stadia Name”

After the first three months, Stadia Pro users will have to pay $9.99

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Google Stadia Pricing, Games, and Launch Details to be Announced on June 6

Google Stadia Pricing, Games, and Launch Details to be Announced on June 6

Jill T Frey
Google / News / Stadia


We’re finally getting the details we need for Stadia. Ahead of E3, Google will unveil all of the stuff we need to know, such as pricing and games that will be available, all on June 6.

For those unaware, Google is launching a cloud-based gaming service called Stadia. Think of it like GeForce NOW from NVIDIA. With Stadia, you’ll be playing AAA titles on what should be any compatible device, with all of the powerlifting being done by super computers in the sky. Google even has a little cute controller to go along with the service.

Stadia will deliver up to 4K resolution streams at 60fps, in HDR, and with surround sound. Eventually, they’ll be able to scale to 8K too. As far as gaming performance goes, Stadia is boasting 10.7 GPU teraflops, compared to 4.2 and 6.0 from a PS4 Pro or Xbox One X, respectively.

The event … Read the rest

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This Summer, Google Will Answer Stadia’s Most Important Questions

This Summer, Google Will Answer Stadia’s Most Important Questions

Jill T Frey
Google / News / Stadia


We haven’t heard much about Google’s Stadia gaming system since they first revealed it back in March, only that it’ll show up some time this year. We still don’t know pricing, a list of games to expect, or when we’ll be able to sign-up. We’ll apparently find all of that out in the next couple of months.

Google’s Stadia Twitter account said this morning that “this summer” they’ll share the most important info about Stadia. After all, if we don’t know how much it costs or which games will be available through the service, it’s going to be hard for anyone to get excited about it.

We still taking guesses on … Read the rest

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PlayStation boss: “We believe the streaming era is upon us.”

PlayStation boss: “We believe the streaming era is upon us.”

Jill T Frey
Gaming & Culture / Google / PlayStation / playstation now / Sony / Stadia / streaming

Enlarge / PlayStation Now currently offers 780 streaming games, and Sony promises to expand that catalog significantly going forward.

In a wide-ranging investor presentation that focused on Sony’s future gaming plans, Sony Interactive Entertainment president and CEO Jim Ryan echoed comments from companies like Google in saying “we believe the streaming era is upon us and is about to begin a period of rapid growth.”

To support that bold statement, Ryan cited Sony’s own internal data on the 5.6 million PS4 owners that use the system’s Remote Play functionality, which essentially turns the console into a home server that can stream games to PC/Mac, iOS, and Xperia-branded Android devices. The “growing appetite” for that feature among PS4 users is “one of the concrete reasons we feel the move to streaming is upon us,” Ryan said, and the feature will make a return for the PS4’s console successor.

Sony has

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