When Google releases something new, you know it’s going to be a game changer.
The landscape of gaming is changing. Whether we like it or not, it is becoming increasingly likely that console gaming will soon become a thing of the past. Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot even went as far as to say that this generation will be the last console generation because streaming will become more accessible to players worldwide, making it unnecessary to have big hardware at home.
All the signs seem to point to him being right. Technically, the tech isn’t new, with Playstation Now already in existence but with Google entering the market with Stadia, which seems to be a refined, more polished version, could this be the catalyst for the start of the end of consoles?
Stadia is Google’s new video game platform powered by AMD Radeon that delivers instant access to your favorite games on any type of screen—whether it’s a TV, laptop, desktop, tablet or mobile phone. Their goal is to make those games available in resolutions up to 4K and 60 frames per second with HDR and surround sound. Stadia will be launching later this year in select countries including the U.S., Canada, U.K. and much of Europe basically not Malaysia (as of yet).
Advanced game streaming
Streaming today’s most demanding titles from the cloud requires massive processing capabilities and advanced technologies to tackle unique datacenter challenges from security to scalability. That’s why Google has chosen AMD’s optimized datacenter GPUs – featuring fast, efficient HBM2 memory and critical datacenter features – for the platform.
Google took into account not just the experience of the gamer, but also the people who love watching others play and built their new platform around that, ultimately looking to converge these two distinct worlds. Utilising their globally connected network of data centers, Stadia aims to free players from the limitations of traditional consoles and PCs. Players will have access to their games at all times, pretty much anywhere and on any screen.
One of the main advantages that Google has is their strong data center infrastructure, allowing developers to have access to nearly unlimited resources to create the games they’ve always wanted to create. Add to that a powerful hardware stack combining server class GPU, CPU, memory and storage, its plain to see that Stadia is well positioned to evolve quickly.
Another advantage is how Google Stadia will work with in tandem with other Google services. Just imagine watching a live stream on Youtube of your favourite streamer. You’ll be able to actually play that game at the click of a button and within seconds, you’ll be in game! No need to start up your console, no need to wait for patch updates or downloads. You pretty much just click and play.
Google even released their own gaming controller to complement Stadia. The controller will come equipped with a direct connection to the data center through Wi-Fi to ensure the best possible gaming experience. It also comes with standard buttons for instant capture, saving and sharing of gameplay.
Stay tuned for more updates on when exactly Stadia will hit our shores.
