For example, the adventure game “Red Dead Redemption 2” starts at $60.Īpple is also getting into the game-subscription business with Apple Arcade. The service currently offers 22 games - most carrying a separate fee. The service will eventually cost $10 a month, but it’s currently available only to those who bought a $130 bundle that includes a three-month subscriptions. It won’t work with other phones using the company’s Android operating system, or on iPhones, for now. But it requires a PC with Google’s Chrome browser or a Google-made device - a Chromebook laptop, a Chromecast TV streaming device or a Pixel phone. Stadia, on the other hand, isn’t meant for the console. Sony’s PlayStation Now, also at $10 a month, or $60 a year, lets users stream or download games on its PlayStation 4 console or a personal computer. The company is also working on a streaming service, Project xCloud, though few details are available.
Microsoft’s $10-a-month Xbox Game Pass lets players download more than 100 games on the Xbox console at no additional cost. Unlike Google, they also have decades of experience negotiating with game publishers and navigating the gaming industry. Ultimately, as more people use Google services, the company can collect more data on user habits and show more ads targeted to those interests.īut these tech companies have to compete with gaming stalwarts Sony and Microsoft, both of which have streaming ambitions of their own.
Google will try to tie Stadia with its other services, like YouTube and its digital assistant.
The benefits go beyond subscription revenue. Tech companies such as Google are trying to establish a foothold early - even with some kinks - before streaming becomes as established in gaming as Netflix is in video and Spotify in music. Such an approach lets gamers play from a variety of devices, picking up where they left off as they switch, without having to buy expensive equipment. Much like movies and music, the traditional video-game industry has been shifting from physical hardware and games to digital downloads and streaming. Google can learn from that and fine-tune the service as it grows and competition intensifies, he said. “At this stage it is really about getting the product into market and into hands of consumers.” “It is not at the moment a challenger to console companies or PC gaming,” he said. He said the real test will come next year, when Stadia begins to compete with new video game consoles due out from Sony and Microsoft. Piers Harding-Rolls, head of games research at IHS Markit, called Tuesday’s launch more of a public beta test than an actual debut. Google’s new game-streaming service Stadia demonstrates the possibilities of gaming from the cloud, but experts say it’s hindered by a lack of compelling video games and a convoluted pricing scheme.
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