Reaction to Google’s streaming-based games platform, Stadia has been somewhat mixed. There’s no denying the ambitions of the idea, and how wonderfully it could work if Google indeed has all the groundwork ready. But equally as common are apprehensions about if Google has the needed infrastructure in place.
There is also plenty of apprehension because of just how much Google haven’t talked about. What Stadia’s pricing will be, what sort of a model it will follow, what games we can expect to see when it launches- all of this is stuff that Google have either spoken about very little, or not at all. As per industry analyst Michael Pachter, the lack of any clear information on this front suggests that a proper business model is something Google themselves are considering right now.
While speaking with GamingBolt, Pachter said that having a model that allows consumers to purchase games permanently, rather than one that is based on subscriptions, would be more beneficial for Stadia, as that is what would attract the most interest from publishers.
“Initially, it appears there is no business model,” said Pachter. “It is clear that games will be available to stream, but it isn’t clear whether the consumer will buy the game, pay for a subscription, or stream games on a ‘rental’ basis based on time. I think the first option is the most likely, and would drive the greatest interest among publishers, as it is like iTunes. The other options are less likely to attract publisher support, but the lack of granularity suggests to me that Google is still thinking about its business model.”
We also asked Pachter what he feels about Stadia’s impressive tech specs, and whether he thinks a possible lack of infrastructure is something that could impact Stadia. Though Pachter admitted to not being an expert as far as either of those two matters are concerned, he said that infrastructure issues probably won’t be a problem for Stadia, while also saying that the PS5 and the next Xbox, according to him, will be more than competitive enough as far as tech aspects are concerned.
Stadia, which boasts some very impressive specifications, requires 25 Mbps connection to run games at 1080p and 60 FPS, which isn’t the sort of internet connection you can expect to see all around the world all that commonly. Whether or not these are issues Google can overcome is something that remains to be seen- Stadia launches later this year in the US, UK, Europe, and Canada.