Insider
Gaming
When is a games console not a games
console? Introducing Google Stadia...
Google vice president Phil Harrison shows off the new Stadia controller
Getty Images
By Ben Shahrabi
Google has squared up to Sony, Microsoft, & Nintendo with its own entry
into the video game market - a new digital gaming platform called Stadia.
Google announced ‘Stadia’ - a cloud-powered game streaming service - at the 2019 Game
Developers Conference in San Francisco on the 19 th March. Those giving the Conference
claimed that the service will allow players to stream video games to any screen - phone, tab-
let, TV, or computer.
Alongside the service, Google also revealed its proprietary controller - despite also saying that
it will be compatible with consoles from other companies which have USB compatibility. Goog-
le’s controller looks like a traditional console gamepad, however the Stadia version has a but-
ton for capturing and sharing gaming content directly to YouTube, along with a button to acti-
vate the ‘Google Assistant’.
Some gamers in the past have complained of ‘lag’ when streaming services in the past have
suffered due to the difficulty of offering high-end games via an internet connection. In games
where split-second reactions are vital, high latency rates can infuriate players. In an attempt to
avoid this, Google has said its Stadia controller would connect directly to the internet, com-
municating with Google’s servers independently from the other hardware.
While no pricing was revealed at the event, Google did say that Stadia would launch this year
in the UK, Europe, the US, and Canada. Can Google become a significant competitor for the
major gaming companies - such as Sony and Microsoft? Only time will tell, but it would be fair
to say that the immediate reaction has been largely positive.
Read our articles online: sixthformmag.blogspot.co.uk