Stadia. Heard of them? I think I've mentioned their name a couple of times on this blog. There this really small time set-up that proposes to push forward the gaming landscape by bridging the gap between consumer tech and the very best of gaming; at an absurd premium. I've said it before but Google could have really done to operate at a loss for at least the first year of this system's life cycle in order to work up a crowd but apparently that just wasn't on the table for one of the most profitable companies in the world. (Why actually put effort into something when you can slap some turd on the table and demand to be respected for the act of having done anything at all?) Google wanted people to pay for their crappy subscription, alongside paying for the actual games themselves at full price, all so that they could experience a choppy ecosystem that devoured your Internet usage and barely had any games to it's name anyway. There's Stadia in a nutshell.
Now before I've expressed that I kinda feel bad for dunking on Stadia all the time. Not because I actually feel bad for the company or the employees themselves, guys are getting paid and I say 'good for them', but because I feel inherently regressive fighting what seems like the future of gaming. TV has decidedly moved away from networks and physical boxsets into digital libraries and... honestly so many streaming services that it's only a matter of time before someone starts offering bundles deals and we end up with networks again. Movies, just this past year, have transcended the theatre experience for the most part as folk have been literally unable to attend screenings. Yeah, admittedly this is a temporary situation and a good chunk of bigger studios are holding back their movies until they can secure a theatre release, but I'm sorry guys, the seal has been broken. There's blood in the water now, people know what it's like to enjoy a brand new movie from the comfort of their own home. I don't think that we'll completely usurp movie theatres in the same way that TV has been axed off, (that's just unfeasible) but a definite paradigm shift has been set into motion and I'm not sure that anyone can stop it. Therefore is it so 'out there' to think video games might do the same?
Gaming isn't a pass time that is inherently reliant on huge 50 inch screen and sound systems in order to sell the full experience, you just need to be able to play the darn thing. If you can pull that off on any system you can get your hands on then that's great. This is a reality I've always been inwardly accepting off, even if it rang somewhat wrong with me, and just because I opposed Stadia's approach to it, that didn't mean I hated the idea altogether. I think that the thorny issue of software ownership is still a tricky conversation that needs to be approached; in that I have no problem in buying my games provided I have the benefit of being to play them without fear of that access being deprived after the fact. (But then I suppose you could say that's an issue with or without streaming involved. Those buyer rights really need to be revised.)
But I like to be the kind of person who looks forward to the future and embraces the changes that tomorrow might bring. That is to say, I don't want to be the one 'fighting windmills' so-to-speak, when it comes to talking about Game Streaming. I think that if it's done well then I could really see a world where the art of gaming is bought to more and more people worldwide in a really inclusive manner, and though these sentiments have certainly been shared by me before, I'm just looking for that example to latch onto as a real testament for the best this concept can be. And that is actually the reason why I'm writing this article today, because I think we may be on the verge of such an example coming to the world.
Project Xcloud. I'm not sure how much longer we can keep calling it 'project' given that it's shaping up to become Microsoft's newest poster child. This is a system wherein adopters can stream the games that they want to into compatible devices. Sounds familiar and all, we know where this is going. But here's the rub, the games can be those already owned on the Microsoft store, the infrastructure is being put together by Microsoft and, apparently, there's work going on behind the scenes to make this so much more financially sensible than Stadia that it isn't even funny. I'm talking such a good deal that you would literally have to be a moron to sign up to Stadia over what Microsoft have going on. So good that Google might as well start shuttering their service now, if they haven't already started. Apparently, Microsoft intend to bundle their Xcloud service with the Xbox Game Pass, as soon as this December.
Now for those who are unfamiliar, when Stadia was first announced there was the implication that it would take the place of a 'Netflix for games', wherein your subscription opens you up to a library of games to play at your leisure. At it turns out this was not the case, everything had to be purchased after the fact with the exception of a few complimentary titles that were provided each month, in the style of most console manufacturers. Xbox Game Pass, however, was that 'Netflix' model, with a ludicrous amount of good games (the service advertises over 100 but I think it's past 150 right now) and more games get added there all the time. And know that I'm not saying this as Microsoft fan boy, I think they've dropped the ball in a thousand stupid ways these past 8 years, but I am a fan of great deals to the consumer and Game Pass is that.
With the series X launching this December, Microsoft is apparently ready to completely kill the premium price for online play, apparently, and make Xcloud available with Game Pass at no extra cost. Now when I think of a future for gaming, that sounds pretty much like the ideal to me. Paying a decent monthly subscription in order to browse as many games as I can get my grubby mitts on should be an example to all the industry, and a huge wakeup call for Stadia. Usually I find myself dreading what kind of dour new future awaits the industry as greedy corporate crap works it's way into the ecosystem, but today there's an actual win-win scenario being offered and I couldn't be more happy about it. If this is what the future of gaming looks like, provided there always remains that place for actual hardware and the ability to buy the games we want to play whenever, then I'm willing to lay down my arms and endorse it.
There only lies one more step, and it's one where Microsoft are dragging their heels. (Again, obviously Microsoft can't do everything right off the bat. It's against their nature.) There's rumour about the potential of bringing the Game Pass to Playstation and Nintendo, but Phil Spencer has poured water and that with some nonsense about 'we need to able to ensure the quality Xbox experience' or some such gibberish. Listen Phil, we're not talking about working with the Ouya or the chuckle-heads currently running Atari; Nintendo and Sony are respectable, they're not going to trash your service if they stand to make a profit. As soon as Microsoft can get their collective heads out of their rears and establish the Game Pass for the entire gaming world, the sooner we can work towards a gaming infrastructure even more united than the current TV one. Don't get caught up in the 'exclusivity' or 'console war' nonsense that the baser elements of the community do, work to make this deal compatible for everyone, before we end up on a trajectory back to square one in 5 years like the TV market currently is. The streaming ball is in your court, Microsoft, and everyone is watching.
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