Despite everywhere you look there's always someone pointing to the Google Graveyard, the game streaming service Stadia is still soldiering on in the face of overwhelming competition.
In a new interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Stadia's developer marketing lead Nate Ahearn says the service is actually "alive and well" and went on to mention how they have over 100 new titles launching for Stadia through 2021. They're also continuing to grow their Stadia Makers program where they help Unity developers port to Stadia (with another 20 coming from that) along with continuing partnerships with many AAA studios like Capcom, EA, Square Enix, Ubisoft and others.
A while ago Google shut down the Stadia Games & Entertainment studio, which seemed like a bad sign. Following that, they lost key developers like Jade Raymond, John Justice and a bunch of other staff members recently who all joined Raymond's new Haven Studio. Were those all signs of a service in trouble? Not quite, it's pretty much just the tail-end of SG&E closing. Still, no big first-party exclusive games to pull people in isn't doing the service any favours.
Stadia, much like Linux desktop gaming, faces a huge uphill battle to actually win people over. The tech is there, it just needs a lot more games and people to actually use it. For Stadia especially, they have to fight off the upcoming Amazon Luna along with Xbox Cloud Gaming - both of which will give a much more Netflix-like subscription model rather than buying individual games. Then there's GeForce NOW giving access to existing libraries - how will Stadia continue to progress? That remains to be seen.
In other news, Stadia recently finally got a search bar and more UI changes planned.
Play Stadia on Linux on Stadia.com with a Chromium browser.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
I don't know why this false perception persists? You rent a PS Plus like game catalogue. I'm a Stadia user, you don' need the subscription to use Stadia or to buy games. I don't know why people keep saying this, it's just plain wrong.
That's because of the terrible communication from Stadia.
A couple month ago I was corrected by Liam on that topic. So, I searched why I understood I had to pay to use stadia.
Well, to put things simply in a lot of language Stadia choose a translation from English and a choice of words that will make you think you have to pay to use Stadia. I don't think that an innocent choice. I feel like they are trying to push Stadia Pro. For example, each time I went to Stadia in French I was understanding things as "you have to pay", it's only looking at the English website I discovered the difference in choice of word. In French, they go as far as never mentioning that Stadia is free.
On this article topic well ... the possible failure of Stadia is a self-fulfilling prophecy, unfortunately. Google/Alphabet has killed so many projects over the years that now people have cold feet using their new products. Many people feel like: "Why should I use it if it will be kill in 2 years". That makes few users > less revenue > non-profitable service > terminating the service. Google has put themselves where they are now. No one trust them any more, look at this comment section, it's the perfect example.
Well, to put things simply in a lot of language Stadia choose a translation from English and a choice of words that will make you think you have to pay to use Stadia.
I looked that up in German, and... yes. I didn't see anything mention a free version. There's even an FAQ on the front page (retranslated):
How much does Stadia cost?
You can test Stadia Pro for one month for free and are getting immediate access to an ever growing amount of Stadia Pro Games (automatically 9,99 €/month (incl. VAT) after testing period. Cancellable any time. Bid terms apply.)
You can also buy single games in the Stadia store - even if you don't have an active Stadia Pro subscription anymore.
So, aside from them not mentioning Stadia Free a single time, taken literally that would mean you could only buy games after a Stadia Pro subscription. Ok, that might be the free month. But, it's very clear what they want the customer to know and what they don't want to push...
Mohandevir May 14, 2021
Well, to put things simply in a lot of language Stadia choose a translation from English and a choice of words that will make you think you have to pay to use Stadia.
I looked that up in German, and... yes. I didn't see anything mention a free version. There's even an FAQ on the front page (retranslated):
How much does Stadia cost?
You can test Stadia Pro for one month for free and are getting immediate access to an ever growing amount of Stadia Pro Games (automatically 9,99 €/month (incl. VAT) after testing period. Cancellable any time. Bid terms apply.)
You can also buy single games in the Stadia store - even if you don't have an active Stadia Pro subscription anymore.
So, aside from them not mentioning Stadia Free a single time, taken literally that would mean you could only buy games after a Stadia Pro subscription. Ok, that might be the free month. But, it's very clear what they want the customer to know and what they don't want to push...
Yep... Formulated like this... Quite confusing. Thing is, you just have to take de free month and then cancel the subscription. You gain access to all the games you bought, no subscriptions, even the ones bought with a Stadia Pro deal (which are usually the best deals)... But yeah, Google avoids talking about it.
Last edited by Mohandevir on 14 May 2021 at 8:53 pm UTC
There's even an FAQ on the front page (retranslated):
Couple month ago that FAQ wasn't even there. At least they've changed that. Now the information is there, but you have to get out of your way to find it. It's better but not quite there yet. I can imagine why people who went on Stadia website last year would not want to go back. And keep the idea in their mind that Stadia is a paid service that you have to pay games on top of it.
This kind of miscommunication can easily stain a reputation for a long time. And when you add to that Google reputation of killing projects, you have a nice explosive cocktail.
What I like about Stadia right now as a gaming platform is, well, its users.
Very spot on. I play with a large group of women (daughters, wife, SILs, and more) and so far they all talk about how chill it is to play with others on the mic when they do join public games on Stadia.
I don't know if Stadia is doing any policing but it seems to be an easier place for others to play with strangers.
I just recently started to allow users from outside of my family and friends to join our sessions and it seems to be on the money like everyone else in my circle has been saying but you're right about how long will this last.
For now it's been back to back fun.
I think that by now is crystal clear that the "classic" gamer doesn't like Stadia. Is just too different from what he knows and what he values, to wrap his mind around it.
tl;dr: Not everyone who dislikes Stadia is necessarily a stodgy, closed minded neo-phobe.
I consider myself a classic gamer who doesn't like like Stadia, and I'm not some sort of petty, myopic lump opposed to change. I'd like you to consider that not all "classic" gamers dismiss Stadia for what might be called its insubstantial nature, nor because we have a PC-Master-Race-like bias nor hate change qua change. In fact, we dismiss Stadia for the same reason many non-gamers would: Google.
Personally, I like almost everything about Stadia itself. I truly think the model's great, for exactly the sort of reasons you cite. I simply don't like nor trust Google (for all the usual reasons) and, for me, that's reason enough not to use Stadia. I feel reasonably confident that there are other gamers who share my thinking.
Thanks for listening. :)
sgtnasty369 Jun 19, 2021
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