Do you play video games? A lot of people do, you could argue most people do. Not everyone plays every day though and for those people, myself included, the cost of the new game systems (Xbox, Playstation, Nintendo Switch) is high enough to make you not want to buy them at all. What if there was a system that you could play where you only needed the devices that you already own though? Lucky for you there is and it is called Google Stadia (TM).
What is Google Stadia?
Google Stadia is, in my opinion, the future of gaming. Stadia is a platform where you can play top games with no system at all. All you need is internet access. All of the processing is done on Google’s servers so as long as you can log in, on any device, you can play the games.
When I say any device I really mean it as well. You can play on your existing laptop, desktop, phone or tablet. Truly any device with an internet browser. All that you need is internet access.
How much does it cost?
This is where Stadia truly shines. There is no system to buy so really it doesn’t cost anything to get started. It isn’t completely free of course. You will need to buy a controller or use an existing Xbox or Playstation controller that has Bluetooth connectivity. You also will have to buy the games that you want to play.
There is also another option which I personally decided to go with. That is the Pro subscription. When you activate a Pro subscription you get,on average, 3-5 games per month that you can “claim”. Once you claim a game you can use it as long as you remain a pro subscriber. In just over a year of having my subscription I have access to over 100 games. You don’t get to choose which games but Google seems to do a good job of getting games from every genre. The downside is if you cancel your monthly subscription you no longer have access to those games. If you start back up in the future though you regain access to all of the games that you had.
The Pro subscription is very reasonably priced in my opinion. In Canada is runs $11.99 per month. There is also no extra charge for online play like a lot of the other systems have. With the cheapest game system (Nintendo Switch) running around $450 you can get Google Stadia for 37.5 months before the costs equal out. In that time you will also have accumulated hundreds of games where you would have none with the Switch. Xbox and Playstation cost even more. To me that is great value.
Special Features
Google Stadia also has some special features. First of all, you can try it free for 1 month so there is really no reason not to. Second, if you don’t have a controller and play on your phone or tablet you can use an on-screen virtual controller. I am not a huge fan of this controller but when out of the house and just wanting to play for a couple of minutes it works great. Third, since Stadia is a Google product you can stream your game play directly to YouTube. Fourth, since everything is on Google’s servers you don’t need to download anything and patches are instantly applied. So while your friends are stuck downloading the latest update you are playing the game. Of course you also have access to “Friends” lists, online play, free games and demos, etc.
How does it perform?
Like I mentioned above I have been playing Stadia for a little over a year at this point and for me it has worked great. You do need a decent internet connection and speed but nothing crazy. Google says you will need at least 10 Mbps to play in HD and 35 Mbps to play in 4K. These numbers seem about right to me. The stability is more of the issue. If you have a router which constantly drops the connection for a few seconds you may run into some issues since Stadia can’t buffer like a movie streaming service can. Mind you if you are having internet drops it is probably time for a new router.
I have played on my phone, my old laptop running Ubuntu Linux, Chromebooks, Chromecast Ultra and the new Chromecast with Google TV and it has performed great on all of these devices.
Conclusion
Overall if I was looking at getting a game system I would look into Google Stadia. It is great for people who game all of the time or who are casual gamers like myself. Like all game systems the only issue might be whether or not you have a specific game that you want to play. Just like every other system, that game may not be available on Stadia. That isn’t a Stadia specific problem though so I don’t hold it against them at all.
With the option of trying it free for 30 days I would definitely give Google Stadia a try. I did and I love it.
Stadia, the Stadia beacon, and related marks and logos are trademarks of Google LLC.