Google Is Throwing Their Hat Into The Gaming Arena

hmmm... what could it be about?

Last week I got an email about some announcement that had to do with the Google Stream project that I participated in last fall. It was a mildly cryptic email with an infinite hallway looping gif, it also contained a link to their live feed at GDC.  (Or the recording for those that missed it.)

It's a very long video that had a few people on to talk about this new tech and platform. The real meat and potatoes of the announcement is this...

Google Stadia is a game streaming service (cloud gaming) where your gaming rig/console lives in the clouds. They are boasting that you can practically play everywhere. From a mobile device to a woefully undergunned Chromebook (read as NO hardware graphics acceleration) to a decent computer or laptop, it was demonstrated that not only could a variety of client platforms handle this performance, it can seamlessly change from one to the next so you can grab and go if the situation arises. Along with that, they are integrating launching Stadia into YouTube so if you are watching a game video, you can click the Play Now button and it will flip to Stadia so you can instantly jump in and start playing.

That's not the only thing they were bringing to the table.

Official Stadia Controller

They also announced the Stadia controller. While this looks like a pretty regular controller for today's standards, there is a little bit under the hood to make this standout more than a run-of-the-mill Bluetooth instrument of gaming. They are claiming that it will also have wifi built in. They stated that it will connect to the servers and give you the most direct connect experience possible. (While the controller is not a requirement, they seem to lead people to believe that this will be the solution to lower delays/ping/lag and give the edge over those with regular wired/Bluetooth controllers.)

While the Stadia platform could seriously stand in the big boys console arena and boost content creators/online broadcaster abilities (such as your very own GameBlips!) there are serious hurdles to overcome while they are prepping to release this year.

• The amount of bandwidth available for regular US consumers will be a hindrance to those with a data cap
• Laaaaaag - nobody likes it and it's the a bane to those that rely on pixel perfect timing during competitive gameplay

All that aside, I look forward to this being released and taking advantage of being able to play anywhere aspect and integrate it into my mobile streaming setup on Twitch!

If you want to watch the (almost) hour long GDC announcement, you can find it here.