Google Stadia (Image courtesy of Google)
Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft are currently the three publishing titans in the gaming industry, all producing their own hardware and rosters of exclusive games. However, technology giant Google has been eyeing the industry and on Tuesday they announced their foray into it: Google Stadia.
Introducing #Stadia, an all-new way to play from Google. Coming in 2019 → https://t.co/k04HS5hrVw #GDC19 pic.twitter.com/UQvD3m4jkJ
— Google (@Google) March 19, 2019
Whereas its competitors are traditional gaming machines, Stadia is a cloud-centric streaming service. All it requires is a device that can use Google’s Chrom browser, meaning smartphones, tablets, televisions or computers are usable. “The future of gaming is not a box,” Google claims. “It’s a place.” It will require a controller, however, which with a layout familiar to gamers.
YouTube implementation will also be a major component to Stadia, with a button press allowing players to automatically add any gameplay clip to the video sharing platform. Additionally, Stadia is powered by a custom AMD GPU and is poised to offer 4K resolutions at 60 frames per second, potentially increasing in the future.
Currently few titles have been announced for Stadia, although id Software’s Doom Eternal will be among the first games to hit the service. However, over 100 studios have development kits, including Google’s own Stadia Games and Entertainment branch.
However, the biggest hurdle facing the Stadia is in its requirement of an internet connection. The controller will connect directly to Google’s servers in an effort to minimize or cut input lag, but utilizing any of this will require ready access to the internet to sync with Google’s servers. And as the platform is cloud-based, that means there will be no offline play.
Stadia will arrive sometime this year in the United States, Canada, Europe and the United Kingdom.
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