| December 4, 2019 | Juan Ibarra | editor-in-chief |
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The Google Assistant button on the Stadia controller has been touted as a core piece of the service, but when it’s pressed, a prompt appears on the screen saying, “Google Assistant on Stadia is coming soon.”
This completely useless button is the best example of the failings of this service.
Stadia is Google’s latest project, which promises a full experience without the need for a gaming console or powerful computer. While Stadia succeeds at creating the best streaming tech in gaming, it falters in every other category.
Google launched Stadia Nov. 19 for people who purchased the “Founder’s Edition.” The $130 bundle includes the Stadia controller, three months of Stadia Pro membership, a Chromecast Ultra and a Buddy Pass, which allows people to give a friend three free months of Stadia Pro.
A free version is scheduled to release next year allowing anyone to purchase a game at full price and use any Bluetooth controller to play on any device with no major issues, as long as they have a stable internet connection.
With Stadia, all the processing power and intensive workload that a console or PC does typically are handled by Google at one of their data centers.
If Google is using its powerful data centers for the heavy lifting, then once the signal is streamed to the user’s screen, it can look like it is running the best graphical settings no matter what machine it is being played on.
Similar to any video streaming service, users on Stadia are looking at a video, but they are in control of what is happening on screen.
Stadia users can play games on their phones, in a Chrome browser or on TV using a Google Chromecast Ultra. The performance on each of those options is smooth and accomplishes the service’s basic goal despite some stuttering and a small bit of input delay.
At first glance, that sounds like Google has accomplished its mission, but it is just part of the whole.
Stadia was announced in March with the promise of being the most powerful “console,” and that remains unproven. Reports have shown games running on an Xbox One X not only have greater graphic fidelity, but they also perform better.
A suite of features was announced as the big selling points for Stadia, such as sharing save files with friends and playing multiplayer games with a unique interface exclusive to Stadia. However, none of those features are available at launch and are scheduled to release next year with no time frame given.
The aforementioned pointless Google Assistant button is a joke, and Google should be embarrassed.
Basic features such as achievements for accomplishing things within games and the ability to buy games on the Stadia interface are also missing, with some expected to launch before this year ends, but again with no time frame given.
Google is new to the video game industry, but it feels like they created their service within an echo chamber due to the lack of features available at launch.
On the bright side, Stadia is an ever-growing digital platform, so even though the features are not available at the moment, this is the worst Stadia will ever be.
Ideally, for those patient enough to wait for the free release, the issues present right now may not even be relevant.
Stadia proves streaming games over the internet is a viable option, but the launch is simply disguised as a beta that it is hard to recommend it at this time.
