So Stadia went free the other day. Did you notice? Did anyone? This was just the latest attempt by Google to pimp out their brand new 'solution' to the expensive hardware issue, and to be fair it should have been rather a decent proposition. The ability for rando's to have a go at Stadia and see the systems for themselves is sure to renew some traction in the flagging service's life, and the inclusion of 2 free game (how generous) ensures that people can make use of this quarantine time to keep themselves busy. The only problem comes from the service itself, which is still as temperamental and jittery to play as always. I would have given it a shot myself but my Internet's not even in the ballpark for 'recommended speed' so it probably wouldn't even function. As it is, I haven't seen a great many people rave about this deal and I'm starting to wonder if this will make the splash Google want it to, or just be seen as the frantic failing of a drowning service.
It's a shame because let us be absolutely frank with one another: If this doesn't work to put Stadia on the map than literally nothing will. The service will be even more dead than it already is. Think about it: people have nothing else to do except for sit inside and try to take their mind off of the turmoil outside, Stadia couldn't have prayed for a more ripe opportunity; and yet they seem incapable of capitalising off it; so how could they possible cope in the normal everyday? Heck, for me this lockdown has managed to do the impossible and drag me into the Kingdom Hearts series, (I'm 37 hours in the first game and just beat the Kurt Zisa secret superboss. I think it's safe to say I'm hooked) and yet by simple lack of means I'm incapable of taking advantage of this Stadia offer. How many others are in that exact same conundrum? (Okay, maybe not exact same. Kingdom Hearts is pretty tough.)
At this point I find myself confronted with a peculiar conundrum, as it should be seeing as how I invented it for myself: Should the impending demise of Stadia be applauded or mourned? Now the only reason this struck me was because I recently became aware of how negative I've been towards Stadia ever since it's inception. I've acted like a professional heckler towards this product, laughing when it stumbles and poking it when it's down, but do I actually want to see it go away and die a painful death? (I'm exaggerating, obviously.) I guess what I'm really asking is whether Google Stadia is shaping up to be a failed venture of a promising concept, or a foolhardy proposition that was doomed from day one.
Firstly, of course I never wish for anyone to lose their jobs, and that will most certainly be the case once Stadia goes under. Many big tech companies are looking to get their mitts into gaming now that it's officially been crowned the most profitable entertainment medium in the world, and this serves as a great opportunity for a slew of promising future tech and game developers looking to make their first step into the industry in a big way. These are kinds of people that we need in gaming, and I just hope that this stumble won't end their careers prematurely. (The same goes for Amazon's 'New World', which I just have this really bad feeling about.)
On the otherhand, Stadia was an insanely stupid salespitch from the getgo, and supremely shortsighted for something that it's creators were selling as 'The future of gaming'. I mean sure, if you cast an uniformed preliminary eye over the gaming landscape then it would be easy to deduce that tech restrictions are the biggest issue facing the everyday gamer and if that were eliminated then all 'internal storage' will become redundant, but there's a little bit more to it then that, isn't there? When it comes down to the preservation of older games, modding, playing whilst offline or literally any other of the standard gaming aspects that clashes with Google's vision, the team were silent. Their ads already said it all; ' The big box in your room is ugly, toss it out and get a Stadia subscription so all will be right with the world.'
That isn't to take into account the whole idea of buying every single game you want to play on Stadia exclusively on their malnourished and under developed storefront. (Seriously, these guys make Epic Games look like overachievers) All on top of paying a monthly subscription for the right to use that purchased software. (And then there's the way that they 'magnanimously' gave their premium subscribers free access to Destiny 2, neglecting to mention the fact that Destiny 2 would be going F2P just a month prior.) Honestly, Stadia just seems like a poor financial investment no matter what you look at it, with Google swindling their consumers at ever step under the guise of "This is such a new concept! That means we get to establish the value of everything and the consumer has no say!" To that end there are so many controversies and broken promises from Stadia (Many of which would have been soften if they just admitted this was a 'Beta' service, rather than going around marketing it as a full release) that it's really no surprise why I, and so many others, are actively hostile to this platform.
But with all that said, I still think this concept is a rather cool one that actually has some legs to travel on, at least when handled by folk who aren't trying to supplant all traditional media and establish their own monarchical monopoly. Microsoft and GeForce have active beta projects delving into streaming games directly to people's devices and both of those seem like pretty cool additions to the world of gaming, rather than their new future. It does help bridge the gap between envy and tangibility, and I can imagine the future possibilities of a world perfectly synced to such tech. And some of those ideas and dreams were sparked by Google's own posturing for Stadia, so I cannot discount that they've had some good ideas along the way. (I'm still in love with the idea of streamers literally beaming their game for the audience to try their hand at, talk about interactive!)
So I guess it's time for me to dust off my old 'fence-sitting' crown as I declare that in my opinion: Google Stadia should be both praised and admonished. On one hand it was a naive adventure that you can tell spent more time in the 'creative conception' stage then in the actual tangible development stage; whilst on the otherhand it has been the most high-profile example of game streaming ever hoisted upon the public and has practically singlehandedly catapulted this concept right to the public's attention. So credit where it's due, Stadia's grave may become the bonemeal for a new chapter for gaming technology. (So, thanks Google?)
No comments:
Post a Comment