Stadia has been out almost a week now and it has been met with both scrutiny and excitement. Having one myself, I will try and see if I can answer the critiques from the critics.
Chromecast getting too hot
I want to start with the initial complain of the Chromecast Ultra getting too hot. So I have been playing a mix of Samurai Shodown, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Destiny 2, mainly Read Dead and Destiny 2.
After playing for several hours I did notice that the Chromecast did get hot but I did not encounter an issue where it shutdown. I actually played several days for hours to try and duplicate the issue. So, for now, I am going to chalk that issue up as possibly being faulty Chromecast units.
Not delivering the 4K60 that Google promised
I actually could not test this because I have a 1080P TV. So I am going to take the critics’ words for this and this may be one of those failed promises that hurt them in the long run if they do not deliver. They called out Microsoft and Sony to promise a better experience and they are the ones that promised 4K 60 frames per second with 5.1 surround sound. Had they may have not made that bold statement that it would be available at launch, people may not have held them to that. But this is a case of them not being able to cash the check that their mouth wrote. They instead chose to blame game developers, customer wifi speeds, and televisions. This to me is not a good look for Google and is further hurting its reputation.
Input lag
I actually was not able to duplicate this, but I did notice that when I switched from my Chromecast plugged into my router to my Chromebook over wifi, I did notice several animation glitches and hiccups. But over wifi, I could not duplicate this issue. I even tried putting more of a load on my network by streaming live football or a movie and still could not duplicate.
Lack of games
MK11 and NBA2K20 are the newest games available right now, with most games being 2-3 years old. This is a fair critique and one Google needs to resolve soon, especially for those that are paying that $10 a month subscription fee.
Final Thoughts
Overall I actually am loving this thing. To imagine that a person can play high powered games like that over the cloud in itself is amazing. And though the critiques for Google are valid, they do deserve some credit for being able to bring an awesome gaming experience over the cloud. From the moment I picked up the controller, I found myself unable to put it down. I am so amazed that Google managed to produce such a quality experience over the crowd. Is it worth the $130 to jump in now?
That depends. If you already have a console then probably not. But if you are someone like me who game casually and do not want those long loading and update times, then this may be appealing to you. I know I am enjoying every minute of this but if I am to be honest, I am OK with the critiques.
First, Google should not have made all of these bold claims if they could not live up to them. And it’s not like they fail short of one or two, it’s the opposite. They only fulfilled a small number of their promises. And this to be is understandable if someone demanded a refund.
I think if Google did not boast like they did people may have been more willing to give them a pat on the back. But given the situation now, people are more focused on the failed claims, and rightfully so. That said, I think when a person picks up the controller and step back, they will realize that a Chromecast is able to produce this high quality of gaming. And that in itself is something worth appreciating.
If you are someone wanting to try this out make sure your ISP (Internet Service Provider) does not have a data cap. Because you are very well likely to exceed it. Google prompts the user that they could pull around 20GBs per hour streaming up to 4K 60 fps. Now since we know we are not (likely) getting the 4K 60fps that Google promises, customers may not be quite hitting that 20GBs per hour. But I am sure customers will be right on that number.
Another way a person can try this out is to stay tuned as I will be giving away a Google Stadia Premium edition. Further details to follow.
