Google Stadia better not blow its VR plans if it wants to survive any longer

Date:
Thu, 16 Sep 2021 16:30:19 +0000

Description:
Opinion: Google Stadia might let you stream VR games at some point in the future, and we think this is its best chance to save itself from obscurity.

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Be honest, when was the last time you thought about Google Stadia ? For us it was discovering the forgotten box our Founders Edition came, in gathering
dust in the back of a cupboard, the midnight blue controller placed
pristinely on its cardboard pedestal.

While many of us had given up on Googles ill-fated game streaming service - and for a time it looked like Google was pulling the plug too when it ditched its first-party game lineup earlier this year - it looks like the tech giant has one final trick up its sleeve.

Job postings were recently discovered by RoadToVr that show Google is hiring VR experts to work on its Stadia team. We dont yet know what exactly the
final product will look like, but this move into VR could be what Stadia
needs to return to the spotlight. Check out the best Stadia games PS5 vs Xbox Series X : how to choose 5 things Stadia got wrong, and 5 ways to fix it
Where it all went wrong

If you're unfamiliar with the service (and there's a decent chance you are) Google Stadia is like Amazon Prime Video but for video games. You can buy digital games and even subscribe to a service to get some for free, but
theyre not run on your own hardware. Instead, Googles servers manage nearly all of the heavy lifting, and all you need is a controller, a stable internet connection, and either a compatible smartphone, laptop, or Google Chromecast
, to play. Your input from a controller or touchscreen is essentially directing a server-side computer somewhere up in the digital clouds.

The big advantage of this system is that you dont need a brand new PS5 or an RTX 3090 powered gaming PC to enjoy a great gaming experience, you just need
a good enough internet connection.

However, while Google Stadias early trailers promised big, the service didn't deliver many of its stand-out features at launch (and some took the best part of a year to finally arrive). Early adopters felt like theyd been burned by false hope, and generally negative reviews were unlikely to encourage new players.

We dont know for sure how well (or poorly) Stadia sold, but reports have
given us a glimpse at the situation and it doesnt seem good . Rival streaming service Amazon Luna doesn't seem to have dazzled audiences either, though
Xbox may turn things around thanks to its Xbox Cloud Gaming service also
being tied into the hugely popular Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription.

Could a Googles switch into VR see Google Stadia rise up better than ever before? Like a phoenix from the ashes

The Oculus Quest 2 s astounding sales figures (such as it outselling all
other Oculus VR headsets combined in around half a year on sale) show that players want cheaper wireless VR experiences. Oculuss Quest 2 delivers just that, but while we loved our time with the device you might occasionally notice its underperforming hardware.

Unfortunately, its hard to balance price with performance in tech; something always has to be compromised. For the Oculus Quest 2, its processing power took a hit but it costs less than most other VR headsets and doesnt need to
be tethered to a $1000+ PC to run. With Stadias help though, those
compromises could vanish.

By having Googles servers do all the hard processing work, VR headsets would just have to handle streaming the final image and passing back player movements. This would not only be beneficial to Facebook's Oculus Quest headsets but could see Google Cardboard or Daydream revived too as even underpowered smartphones might finally be able to output a decent VR performance.

Sure there are glaring issues to be solved, as even the smallest movement delays can cause serious motion sickness and loss of immersion when youre living in the experience. But the potential of Google Stadia in VR has us excited to play the service again (and that's from people who abandoned their Stadia controller before our three-month free trial expired).

We just hope we don't feel burned by our over-excitement yet again. The best Google Stadia prices and sales in September 2021



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/news/google-stadia-better-not-blow-its-vr-plans-if-i t-wants-to-survive-any-longer/


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