Just a few thoughts on Stadia and personal observations on where it stands today.
A blazing success!!! No.
A tragic bomb! No.
Another canceled Google project? No (well, as much as anything from Google can claim that, so 'not yet')
But it has definitely grown and evolved, and continues to show promise that will hopefully not end unfulfilled.
As of today, a very wide number of mobile phones are supported. Chromecast. Chrome.
Support for a large number of 3rd party controllers. On-screen controller option for phones. More and more of what Google promised initially is coming out - a lot of it horrifically late, but coming out nonetheless.
Most recently, wireless Stadia controller support for mobile devices, and ('beta') 4G/5G support for mobile devices.
With that last one, Stadia is entering into a new realm of functionality, with gamers being able to start a session on PC or chromecast, and pick it back up later while out and about, without the mandate of having a WiFi connection. I've toyed around with it a bit and, having a good quality 4g connection, am very pleased so far with the performance. Unfortunately, the on-screen controller option is a very poor substitute for tactile buttons and joysticks, and the Stadia Controller is a bit cumbersome to tote around, but.....
Razer's switch-like Kishi snap-on phone controller is now available and supports Stadia. Being directly connected to the phone through USB-C, it should have comparably low latency to the Stadia Controller's direct connection. That paired with 4G looks to be a great match, only to become even better with 5G's ultra-low network latency. As to data caps, that might be a concern, but I've pushed north of 1TB of mobile data use in a month without throttling in the past, so while I might not be able to game on it 24/7, it should still certainly afford a good bit. Just bit the bullet and ordered the Kishi, will pass along general thoughts of how it works compared to the Stadia controller once I've had a chance to play around with it on my Pixel 3 XL.
It's still way too early to gauge whether Stadia will be able to compete effectively in the long run vs other streaming services, but it's also way too early to rule them out. For now, I'm still enjoying the heck out of it (side note - 'Orcs Must Die 3' is fantastic).
A blazing success!!! No.
A tragic bomb! No.
Another canceled Google project? No (well, as much as anything from Google can claim that, so 'not yet')
But it has definitely grown and evolved, and continues to show promise that will hopefully not end unfulfilled.
As of today, a very wide number of mobile phones are supported. Chromecast. Chrome.
Support for a large number of 3rd party controllers. On-screen controller option for phones. More and more of what Google promised initially is coming out - a lot of it horrifically late, but coming out nonetheless.
Most recently, wireless Stadia controller support for mobile devices, and ('beta') 4G/5G support for mobile devices.
With that last one, Stadia is entering into a new realm of functionality, with gamers being able to start a session on PC or chromecast, and pick it back up later while out and about, without the mandate of having a WiFi connection. I've toyed around with it a bit and, having a good quality 4g connection, am very pleased so far with the performance. Unfortunately, the on-screen controller option is a very poor substitute for tactile buttons and joysticks, and the Stadia Controller is a bit cumbersome to tote around, but.....
Razer's switch-like Kishi snap-on phone controller is now available and supports Stadia. Being directly connected to the phone through USB-C, it should have comparably low latency to the Stadia Controller's direct connection. That paired with 4G looks to be a great match, only to become even better with 5G's ultra-low network latency. As to data caps, that might be a concern, but I've pushed north of 1TB of mobile data use in a month without throttling in the past, so while I might not be able to game on it 24/7, it should still certainly afford a good bit. Just bit the bullet and ordered the Kishi, will pass along general thoughts of how it works compared to the Stadia controller once I've had a chance to play around with it on my Pixel 3 XL.
It's still way too early to gauge whether Stadia will be able to compete effectively in the long run vs other streaming services, but it's also way too early to rule them out. For now, I'm still enjoying the heck out of it (side note - 'Orcs Must Die 3' is fantastic).
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram