Stadia: Google's game streaming system arrives in November

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The system, originally announced in March, will act as a Netflix for video games. Google says that it will eventually allow people to play games directly via WiFi from any TV with Chromecast, a computer with a Chrome browser and Google Pixel phones. There is no download because the games themselves exist on Google Cloud servers. This means that Stadia can also sync game progress across all devices.

Google will only release a limited version of the system in November. Stadia will work on TVs with a Chromecast dongle or Chromecast support at launch. Those who use computers or mobile devices have no chance up until 2020.

Internet users will need to purchase a special package if they wish to play this year: The Founders edition of $ 129.99 will include a Stadia controller, a Chromecast dongle, a three-month subscription to Stadia streaming and a free download. pass free to allow a friend to play also three months. The company already accepts pre-orders for the founder's edition.

Stadia will be launched in 14 countries in November, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden, France and Italy. Google plans to expand to other countries next year.

Next year, Google will launch a regular streaming subscription called Stadia Pro, which will cost $ 9.99 per month and will access 31 games, including Destiny 2, Assassin's Creed Odyssey, Borderlands 3 and Rage 2.

It will also offer a free version of Stadia, with a lower resolution. People have to pay for the titles they want.

Chrome and Pixel 3 and 3a browsers will also be deployed next year.

Michael Pachter, an analyst at financial services company Wedbush, told CNN Business that the current selection of 31 game titles was disappointing. "It looks like a buffet that only contains 31 dishes – they do not have what you want, they will not have your business," he said.

Google told CNN Business that individual game publishers will announce more Stadia-compatible titles at the annual E3 video games conference, including new, highly anticipated releases.

Participants play at the new Stadia gaming platform at the 2019 Game Developers Conference.

Similar streaming services have failed in the past, wrote Pachter in an analyst note. Cloud game services such as GameTap and OnLive have not taken off among the players. OnLive was finally abandoned and GameTap was sold to a new company, where it still lives today. (GameTap was originally part of Turner Broadcasting, which is now WarnerMedia, the parent company of CNN.)

The problem lies in the price that companies can charge for a subscription service, according to Pachter. Charge $ 20 per month and they will have better access to third-party content, but players will not bite. Charge $ 10, and offers will be derisory.

Still, there is hope for Google, according to analysts. The free version of Stadia from the company will not require the purchase of a separate console and could be attractive. Pachter predicts that the commercial model of the showcase will be "a huge success". "Publishers would probably accept this model and we see few obstacles to its success," he wrote.

Google has invested heavily in Stadia. She started her own studio Stadia Games and Entertainment to create Stadia games. A spokesman said that the original content could be available from next year.

Google also recently recruited Jade Raymond, a vice president of Google who previously worked for Sony, Electronic Arts and Ubisoft, according to his LinkedIn profile.

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But his competitors are preparing for the fight. Microsoft's next xCloud game streaming service is still under test and the company may provide an update to E3.

Analysts predict that Amazon will eventually market its own streaming game service by the end of the year. It would be different from the Amazon-owned Twitch, which allows people to watch others play video games.

Wool Nooney, assistant professor and video game historian at New York University, said that even though Stadia had the advantage of being the first on the market with cloud broadcasting, Google had to still determine who he was serving.

"Does Google expect to attract players from Xbox, PlayStation or Nintendo, companies that define what it means to be a player for 20 or 30 years, or does Google hope to open new player markets?" Nooney said. "It seems that Google hopes to have both."

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