2 Attachment(s)
Uh Oh: Google Stadia Games Still Need to Be Purchased at Full Price
An interesting new detail just emerged about Google's video game streaming service: Stadia users will still have to pay full price for games. Google first announced Stadia at GDC 2019, a service builds upon the technology behind the company's Project Stream, which allowed players to test stream gameplay of Assassin's Creed Odyssey in 2018.
Previously, a leak by a Canadian publication unveiled details about Stadia pricing, which will give players one of two options. The first is a subscription that will cost 11.99 CAD per month that will grant users access to Stadia's games library, 4K resolution and 60fps. New games on the platform, however, will require individual purchases. There is also a free subscription option, but that will limit users to a 1080p resolution. This free option will also not become available until well after launch.
One might think that users paying for for a Stadia subscription would get a discount on new games. However, according to Eurogamer, Stadia users, including those paying for a subscription, will still have to pay full price for games. Stadia chief Phil Harrison spoke at a roundtable interview with UK games press and revealed that games will cost the same as they do on other platforms. However, Harrison justified this by stating that Stadia allows those games to be played on multiple platforms, and he feels that this offers additional value to the service.
Emerging details about Stadia continue to make many in the industry skeptical about its potential. Although the technology is innovative, Stadia seems to have its share of faults. Gaming on the go might seem like a great idea, but there is another price players will have to pay for the service: the massive amounts of data that Stadia requires. Stadia also doesn't have the connections in the industry to offer many exclusives to entice players to sign up, either, which could impact the platform's ability to get people to invest their time and money into it.
Sony already offers a game streaming service, PlayStation Now, that allows subscribers to play games (albeit older ones) for free. PlayStation Now is also going to be central to the PS5 moving forward. It's likely that Microsoft's Project xCloud will do the same. Is Stadia's ability to play newer games on multiple platforms enough to get gamers to shell out additional cash for both a subscription fee and full-priced games? The answer will come with the launch of Stadia in November.
