CLOUD BUSTING
Google Stadia release date, games list and Pro subscription price – all we know
GOOGLE talks a good game, but will it deliver? We look at the questions on everyone's lips and dig out the answers for you.
First revealed on March 19, Google Stadia promises games at quality as good or better than a top-notch current-generation console - without paying top dollar for hardware.
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It does this by running the games themselves on computers that sit in Google's data centres around the world, and then streaming the video output to your screen.
Those computers are more powerful, by at least one measure, than a PS4 Pro and Xbox One X combined.
What do I need to play Stadia games?
You'll need a 10Mbps Broadband connection to play them in 720p HD quality with stereo sound, or 35Mbps if you want to play them in 4K with 5.1 surround sound.
If you want to play this year, you'll need to pony up £119 for a Founders' Pack, which includes a Chromecast Ultra to plug into your TV, a limited-edition blue Stadia controller, and three months' Stadia Pro subscription.
Once you've got that, you will be able to play using a Chrome browser on PC too, as well as the Stadia mobile app if you have a Google Pixel 3 or 3A.
It also comes with a second three-month subscription you can give to anyone else you want.
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The Stadia controller directly connects to the computer running your game rather than to whatever device you're streaming the game on, which should reduce streaming's main problem - latency.
Latency is the time lag between you pressing a button on the controller or keyboard and seeing the corresponding action on the screen in front of you.
If this isn't near-instantaneous, games become unplayable very quickly indeed -- it's like watching telly with the sound every-so-slightly out of sync with the video.
The demos running at GDC, where the platform was revealed, are all using regular Bluetooth controllers, though, with attendees reporting no noticeable lag whatsoever.
Google has promised you'll be able to use whatever input devices you want when it launches.
Google Stadia launches games in seconds, whatever device you're on
What about the games?
Some games on Stadia will be included in your subscription, with more free games being added on a regular basis.
Others you'll have to pay for, though we don't know how much -- but we do know you'll need to keep on subscribing to the service to continue accessing them.
If you carry on paying you can keep playing them at full quality; if you change to the free subscription you'll only be able to play in HD with stereo sound.
Google has revealed a slate of launch games and partners across a host of genres.
As well as the list of games below Google also revealed it has signed up Rockstar, makers of the GTA and Red Dead Redemption games, as a launch partner - but no games from Rockstar have yet been revealed or confirmed for the service.
FIFA publisher EA are also a partner, but has chosen not to reveal what games they're bringing yet either.
You'll be able to carry on playing games you've bought on Stadia even if the games are pulled from sale on the platform too.
Full games list so far
Google has revealed the following games so far, with more promised.
DRAGON BALL XENOVERSE 2
Devil May Cry 5
DOOM Eternal
Wolfenstein: Youngblood
Destiny 2
Power Rangers: Battle For The Grid
Baldur's Gate 3
Metro Exodus
Thumper
GRID
SAMURAI SHODOWN
Football Manager 2020
Get Packed
The Elder Scrolls Online
The Crew 2
The Division 2
Assassin's Creed Odyssey
Ghost Recon Breakpoint
Trials Rising
NBA 2K
Borderlands 3
Farming Simulator 19
Mortal Kombat 11
Rage 2
FINAL FANTASY XV
Gylt
Tomb Raider Trilogy
Darksiders Genesis
Just Dance 2020
Will the games look as good as the do on PS4 or Xbox One?
That is the promise. In time they can look even better, with Google promising much more processing power and streaming at 8K resolution promised for further down the line.
The initial demo promises better physics and more intensive graphical processing than either device is capable of.
The initial version of Google's Stadia platform should be much closer to that we're expecting from the PlayStation 5 and what we think the Xbox 2 will have.
However, with Google's promise to keep upgrading the Stadia platform, the battle between PS5 and Xbox 2 could be irrelevant before it even begins.
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When will it launch and what will it cost?
It's going to launch this November, and will cost you £119 to get started.
That includes three months' Stadia Pro subscription, which will cost £8.99 a month after that.
At some point next year you'll be able to get a Stadia Pro subscription without a Founder's Pack, and there will be a free Stadia Base tier too.
The free tier limits players to 720p streaming with stereo sound, and doesn't come with access to any games.
On top of the subscription fee, you'll have to pay a one-of-fee to play some games, and you'll need to maintain a Pro subscription if you want to keep on playing them at top quality.
Video game streaming – how does it work?
We explain it all...
- When you watch a movie, the images you see are already prepared
- That's why very unsophisticated computers inside your TV, DVD player, or computer can playback film footage
- But video games render the visuals in real-time, because a game never knows what you'll do next
- That means you need much more computing heft to produce game visuals, compared to a standard movie
- So if you want amazing 4K PC-style graphics, you'll need to fork out for an expensive computer
- Alternatively, you could use game streaming technology
- The idea is that a company like Microsoft or Sony would handle the generation of the visuals on powerful computers at its own HQ
- Then it would send what's effectively a video of that game to your smartphone
- You tap and play, and those commands get sent back to Microsoft or Sony, which then inputs them into the game, and sends you the visuals again
- Because modern internet connections are so fast, this all happens in milliseconds
- The resulting effect is 4K PC-style graphics on a smartphone – which is only possible because it's not the phone itself rendering the graphics
- It also means that you could potentially be playing an Xbox or PlayStation game on your console, and then leave the house and carry on playing using your iPhone
- This sort of technology could eventually kill off gaming consoles for good, because all you'd need is a TV with game-streaming tech built in, and a controller to play with
- But game streaming hasn't had any great successes thus far
- Sony bought a game-streaming called OnLive, but shut it down in 2015
- And Nvidia has its own game-streaming service, but laggy performance has prevented it from becoming a mainstream choice
Does it have any competition?
Microsoft's Project xCloud works on very similar principles but using a version of the Xbox One in data centre racks, while Amazon is also reported to be working on something very similar.
Google, Amazon and Microsoft between them provide the lion's share of cloud computing resources across the world -- anyone, including Sony or Nintendo, looking to offer a competing service at the moment would realistically have to piggyback on their services.
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