Stadia: Onlive 2.0

[kingoffighters]

I actually like Onlive quite a bit and bought a couple of games when they were on sale for a buck or so. I played through Bioshock on it, decent experience but did have some connection/graphical issues every now and then. I was shocked at how well it did but it was still early for the tech.

[Frogacuda]

What I think is most interesting about this compared to previous streaming attempts is the extent to which it really is a platform, with hardware and features that allow developers to do some things not possible with traditional gaming.

If Google can convince devs to really develop to the platform and leverage these things, the ubiquity and low barrier of entry could power a Fortnite-style breakout hit and blow this service up.

I don't see it taking off as just an alternative to buying games that run on local hardware, but if it becomes its own thing, the intergration with Youtube and social features could be pretty compelling.

[kedawa]

They need to have a system in place like with VR where it has a larger rendering window than what's currently displayed so that you can at least look around without any latency. That could make FPS games much more playable. With the advantages that come with having the server and clients in the same data-center, it could really work out well for online FPS. You would always have latency from the streaming itself, but if that's offset by the improved client-server latency, then it would at least be comparable to the dedicated console experience.

[Toupee]

Yeah, like Frog said I think the most interesting things from the announcement are for devs. The ability to make really persistent game worlds and plug tons of people into them. Have off-site computers do much more intense physics calculations and stuff.

Also ironically, render scenes for multiple players in couch co-op that a single console can't handle. Kind of ridiculous but I guess it makes sense.

Me personally I'm not so excited, but I do foresee/anticipate/slightly dread that this is the future in the next 5-10 years. If streaming music and video are any indication, folks will always go to the lowest price point and if they can skip the hardware entirely, that's a big savings. But it's a real loss for physical media. And a real gamble that you'll be able to play the same games even a few years after they're launched. Not to mention what's gotta be a crazy amount of energy and upkeep to keep those systems rollin'.

But I'm sure Microsoft will announce their own competitor at e3; and Sony's probably not far behind what with their PSNow stuff already.

I did try the beta Project Stream with Assassin's Creed Odyssey. I wasn't terribly impressed. Image quality was OK on smaller laptop screens but looked like garbage on a bigger TV due to hella intense artifacting. The latency was tolerable for a game like Asscreed which already feels like walking in mud to me. I would NOT want to play a Mega Man or Spelunky on it.

Anyway, the masses will probably tolerate it for their already-sluggish AAA games and the ability to say they're "playing in 4k!" even if it looks like trash. That's my cynical take. LOL. On the upside, we'll probably see some inventive new takes on genres that have been feeling a little stale and hey, if the price of entry if that low I'll probably try it out myself if something really appealing comes along. Hopefully the tech will improve enough over the next year or two that it actually feels like a local device.

[YellerDog]

I have never had a good experience with game streaming, even PS4 to Vita in the same house. Not for me.

[gamevet]

I have never had a good experience with game streaming, even PS4 to Vita in the same house. Not for me.

I used Steam to stream a game of Fallout 4 from my main PC, to my less powerful PC in the living room. I was impressed with how well it ran.

[YellerDog]

No surprise whatsoever, your mileage may vary.

[gameoverDude]

Sorry Google, I can't go for that. I'm out. It's better when the game client is on your own hardware & not some remote server. Input lag would be a killer I'm sure.

[BonusKun]

I really have no idea what to say about this. I loved Baulder's Gate but the rest of it is eh to me. I guess if this becomes a real thing it'll do ok but I have 0 desire to own this. Even at a price tag of under $150.00 for this thing, I just can't really think of this in the long term.

[kingoffighters]

I don't think it will do well. Our infrastructure still sucks and internet bogs down when multiple people are streaming. I will sign up for the free account later and maybe buy dollar games here and there just to test it out like I did with Onlive.