Google Stadia is Out, and Things Don’t Look Great

Google Stadia has been out for a few weeks now, and it’s safe to say many of you didn’t even know that. Yikes. Those who know about Stadia’s release know that it hasn’t gone the way Google was hoping.

Many Stadia players have posted videos showcasing Stadia in action, and things have not been great. One of the most consistent themes is the latency. Almost all of these videos show a button press followed by several seconds of nothing, and then finally the input registers in the game. It’s hard to say many players are surprised, because Stadia requires consistently good internet speeds.

Not only this, but many fans are unhappy about the business model that comes with Stadia. Even with the paid subscription, Google still expects you to pay full price for many games that aren’t new titles. It’s pretty cool that you can, in theory, jump right into a game without any downloading or waiting, and Stadia does come through on this promise. You can jump into any game you own instantly, but then you deal with the latency.

Players are taking to social media to voice their concerns about Stadia. Many players and even industry veterans such as Jason Schreier of Kotaku are wondering if Google will drop Stadia if it continues to disappoint. Google is known to drop underwhelming services, but given the number of studios they brought to their team and how much money they’re putting into it, maybe Stadia is here to stay.

Stadia does (technically) work for many, but the biggest hurdle is internet speeds. The expectation Google has for Stadia to run well is simply unfair. To run just 720p on Stadia, you need at least 10mbps internet speed. If you want Stadia to run in 4K with 60fps, your internet needs at least 35mbps. It is unrealistic to assume gamers everywhere have these internet speeds. Google wants Stadia to be for everyone, but if you need extremely high internet speeds and your old games still cost $60, it’s hard to see everyone getting in on this.

One of the main arguments many people are making is that this is cool, but you don’t really need it if you already have a console. You don’t need to worry about internet speeds or latency if you are playing a game you have downloaded on your Xbox One or PS4. It’s important to remember that streaming in video games has a long way to go, and the industry is heading in the direction of a streaming future. Most of the reviews of Stadia say the same thing, it is not a great piece of technology and not worth getting – yet.