The gaming industry is in a bit of a transitional period as of late. More and more companies are shifting their priorities towards game streaming. It makes sense for a lot of reasons. Most notably, the ability to play strictly digital copies is pretty user-friendly. You don’t have to go out and buy physical copies, nor have to worry about cluttering entertainment stands.
The search engine giant Google has put their name in the mix of game streaming with their latest service announcement. They’re apparently coming out with a streaming service for games called Google Stadia. Evidently, it will do for games what Netflix did for movies.
This recent announcement came Tuesday at the GDC 2019 press conference, which was highly anticipated by gamers all over the globe. Many speculated Google would be announcing their very own console. As it turns out, you won’t need a console to use Google Stadia. Instead, all you need is a device and a strong internet connection.
It seems like Google is prioritizing convenience over innovative technology. Imagine being able to connect a smartphone or tablet up to the internet, and then instantly have access to thousands of games that you can play on demand. In theory, this sounds like a great idea.
However, key details were missing in Google’s gaming announcement. Most notably, the type of internet speed that is needed to use this streaming service was never announced. We’ve seen many gaming companies in the past have problems with their streaming services.
Take PlayStation. Their streaming service saves you from having to download games. However, if your internet connection gets even a little bit weak, you’re disconnected from the servers.
Google will need to fine-tune this aspect of their service if they hope for it to catch on with gamers. After all, not every gamer around the globe has access to a fast internet connection. Also, we don’t really know what games will be available for Google Stadia. Will there be some exclusive titles or for the most part, will the service just offer games that most other consoles do?
Although there are a lot of details missing from Google’s recent announcement, it is interesting to see them dive head-first into the gaming sector. They’ve had a lot of success with the mobile marketplace, and certainly have the resources to make a splash early on with their upcoming gaming endeavors.
Hopefully, we get more information about what Google Stadia will offer in terms of games and network features.
