Google Stadia: The big upset in the digital world of Gaming!

After a lot of rumors about the details and a trial period of the game streaming service called "Project Stream", Google came to change everything in gaming, officially introducing Google Stadia.

Τgame streaming is nothing new Play The PlayStation Now service (not available in our country) is based on this, games that could not run on Nintendo Switch hardware are available in Japan and players can enjoy Assassin's Creed Odyssey and Resident Evil 7 on the hybrid platform of the company that under "normal conditions" does not have the resources to lift them. Microsoft made its famous statements several months ago at E3 2018 about game streaming, with the next Xbox embracing the idea.

For the first time, however, we have an official presentation of the first gaming platform that will operate via streaming. To get a picture, this means that you will be able to play the available games, such as Assassin's Creed Odyssey and DOOM Eternal on your mobile phone, TV, laptop and tablet. Immediately, without downloading. This eliminates problems such as waiting for updates, say. At the same time, loading is reduced to a minimum thanks to the SSDs available on Google's cloud servers for Stadia (special test shows that Assassin's Creed Odyssey initial load is reduced from the 24 seconds needed for the Xbox One X to 6 seconds! ). All you need is a good internet connection and you will be able to play the games with the best possible graphics. Depending on the connection, you will be able to enjoy resolutions up to 4K at 60 fps with HDR support. Google said that in the future all this will be improved with resolutions of 8K, 120fps, etc.

In a Digital Foundry trial of the current version of Stadia, they found that Google "forces" developers to test how their games will run on connections "below 15Mbps" (which is considered the worst case. DF found in this case that the game dropped to 720p resolution, with a slightly higher input lag, but was still highly playable, with the input lag just a few ms higher than the Xbox One X (with which it was compared).

Commonly, the input lag will not increase much, but the resolution will drop, in a similar way to YouTube. At the moment you can stream some video in 4K / 60 without any problems with 50p line. When it comes to gaming, 50Aps VDSL is probably around 1080p / 30fps. We refer to it as let's a calculated prediction mainly, without implying that this is exactly what will happen.

This is the future of gaming, as we have mentioned in the past. Google was the first to present it during the GDC 2019 conference. will change dramatically. Game consoles (PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo) as we knew them, will now be a limitation. Through streaming any such obstacle disappears and in fact you do not need expensive graphics cards and equipment to be able to play the game in its best form.

The innovations that this new way of playing will bring will significantly change how we see gaming so far. For example, the implementation of split-screen, the classic "double" game that you play with your friends from home, requires rendering of two different screens. One of the reasons we've seen fewer and fewer titles have such a feature lately is definitely the technical limitations, as the quality dropped significantly to create two scenes. Google informs us that this is a thing of the past, and even in the same space if you play, each part of the screen on which each user will play will be created separately, pulling as much power as needed from Google's servers (elastic) to create individual sections on your screen, without dropping the quality at any point.

Along with the service, a controller was presented, quite simple in its appearance, which is slightly reminiscent of that of the Xbox One. It has two extra buttons: one is for capture, as we have seen on the PS4, but also the Nintendo Switch, only here the meaning of sharing changes a bit, as you will be able to share the material in its best form (4K / 60) even if you play in lower quality. At the same time, there is a new "Google Assistant" button, which helps you immediately if you get stuck somewhere in the game, showing you videos from the point where you are stuck, for example.

One interesting point is that the controller connects directly via Wi-Fi to the internet and therefore to Google's servers. This avoids any delays you would face if the controller were connected to your device and the cloud data left εκεί

Another example has to do with battle-royale games. Consider that while you are now playing with 99 other players, through Stadia you will be able to play with thousands of other users in the same virtual place at the same time. We have been promised cloud gaming in the past, but so far we have not seen the benefits implemented.

Other conveniences have to do with how you find each game. Suppose you are watching a live game on YouTube and you want to play with those you see… You will be able to press a button to indicate that you want to log in. So simple. As Phil Harrison mentioned, any internet link can become a link to play a game. A friend will be able to send you a link on Viber or Messenger and you will be able to play directly. The new prospects are endless.

You will be able to play a game on your mobile, then transfer to your home, on your TV, continue right where you were and then take your game with you to the tablet in bed again with the same top quality graphics and right where you left off. All this is possible with Google's servers and network, via the Internet, as you can simply open Google Chrome and play from there.

Game streaming obviously requires more bandwidth than watching a movie or listening to a song, but now we get to that point. Like online movie services (eg Netflix) or music (eg Spotify), Google Stadia is the first game streaming service. Interaction was the key, as sending player data to Google's cloud servers and capturing on-screen the move you made is now instantaneous or even delayed, slightly larger than we are used to. This is the so-called input lag. Those who have tried the Google service so far can not believe that it works so quickly and that will be the focal point. If the reaction is really instantaneous or within a permissible limit so as not to spoil your experience, then Google will change gaming once and for all.

The format that we will see in Google Stadia will probably have to do with a subscription, through which you will be able to access the content. Google's service interface can boost this access, as those in charge, as mentioned, want to make gaming available to everyone. Consider that it may offer a combination of services, such as extra Google Drive space, along with a YouTube Premium subscription and Stadia with 100 games or something available. We have seen the first step from Microsoft with a similar product: the Xbox Game Pass. In the future, individual downloads may be available, such as Netflix, Spotify and Apple Music, but Google will have to rely on the features of the device you are using, so this may not be possible. Competitors (PlayStation, Xbox) may be different in this area.

The service, as they say, is ready and will be launched in 2019 for the USA, Canada, England and most European countries (we do not yet know if Greece will be in the first wave). We will have more information about this brilliant new technological step in the summer, as we were informed.

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