RichC2

*shrug* I still think the ability to turn almost any device into a game console is a smart move. I'm just curious as to how well it actually works, Shadow.tech was a mixed bag performance wise.

Mike86

That aspect is kinda cool admittedly, but it’s going to take a really good connection to make it work well. I feel like not many people have the ability to make it work to it’s best potential or if they do are going to run into problems with data caps or when others in their home want to use the internet. I just think when so much of your product is reliant on super great unlimited internet that it’s going to face problems. Unless you live in an urban area and only game minimally.

RichC2

For 4K absolutely, that's going to be an issue for some users, but using it on smaller devices which is a big thing to me for some reason, 720p@60fps is perfectly do-able and would likely be fine on a tablet (eventually I assume at least) sitting on a table a foot or two away from my face.

Of course, I'm one of those people with gig fiber and no data cap, so the 4K better work flawlessly if I choose to go that route.

Mike86

Resolution isn’t even the biggest concern (although it is one). The bigger thing to me is the data caps. Like I say unless you don’t game often streaming games has to eat up data fast. That also isn’t taking into account the amount of data usage for other things an average person does. I actually work for a cable company and our data isn’t capped either, but I know the vast majority of providers have caps.

RichC2

Resolution has a direct effect on bandwidth usage, only reason I was bringing that up. The 4K@60fps eats up a rather large 35mbps or about 15.7gb/hour, where as 720p would taper out to about 4.5gb -- 4K will eat up say 1TB in 60 hours, 720p winds up around 222 hours of gameplay per 1TB cap.

That and I see shitty wifi hurting some people.

Sonny Corinthos

A guy on twitter said he felt like he was playing an online game on dial up with a person from another Country on the Dreamcast.

Michael Corvin

My group of friends have been discussing the Stadia and one seems to think this is the next big thing and revolutionize gaming. Nevermind that I doubt he will even buy one. I tend to look at PSNow and think, if this tech was the next big thing wouldn't PSNow be the biggest thing going already? Or wouldn't OnLive still be around and kicking everyone's ass?

I think this thing is gonna be DOA and Google will abandon it within a year.

I think the concept behind game streaming devices is sound, I just don't think we're to the point where it seems practical for numerous reasons.

mattysemo247

I also think Project X Cloud is going to hurt it. The fact that you will be able to play your Xbox games on your phone or computer, with a huge library for $10 a month, is just insane. I get that Stadia is going with the ease and high fidelity, but you still have to pay a monthly fee and buy games for full price.

lopper

I like this as a solution to playing console quality games while traveling without having to haul around the console itself. That’s really appealing.

But having no support for my existing libraries, and having to actually buy the game again for close to full price is totally asinine. Wake me up when they roll out a subscription service similar to Game Pass.

spainlinx0

So does anyone who owns it have any updates or impressions about the service?

DJariya

I watched a review from Tech Chap on YouTube and he does not recommend it right now

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qKUlG04AnL4" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

He shows in this video that it does have bugs.

DJariya

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/k7MXp6jyNns" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>


IGN gave it a 6 out of 10. The controller is $69. That's expensive.

spainlinx0

I've seen the overall unfavorable reviews, but I was hoping some people who purchased it here might chime in with some impressions. I personally was not a believer, as we can see in this thread, but I would like to know how the average DVDTalker is experiencing the service.

fujishig

Did anyone here even buy one? I'd think if they had they'd have chimed into this thread by now (unless it's an Xmas present for some kid who's going to be really disappointed)

I'm not even sure how you'd play this while traveling. Every time we travel with the family it's hit or miss whether the hotel internet will even support my roku, let alone a streaming games device.

spainlinx0

I had remembered someone talking about buying it, but I only saw Sonny pre-ordered, but he subsequently canceled that. I guess maybe none of us did.

DJariya

So nobody here wants to buy it and are just waiting for someone to be the lab rat and spend the money 1st.

spainlinx0

Oh, I'm definitely not going to buy it. I think it's a terrible idea, but I know some people seemed excited about it, and I was curious if it was meeting their expectations, but I guess it's DOA.

Noonan

IMO this will be in discount bins before Jan. Who did they think would ever buy this thing?

DJariya

Are they even selling this at B&M stores? Thought this was sold directly from Google.

Yea it's expensive for this type of tech and you need to have an expensive high speed internet connection to not risk getting drop outs in video quality. Plus, I saw the biggest flaw is the lack of games and a lot of them have to be bought at full price.

Noonan

Oh, is it? lol that's even worse!

DJariya

Yeah it's only sold directly from Google.

$129 for the kit with 1 controller and a Chromecast

and if you want an extra Controller it's another $69

So you're theory is very likely wrong. No Walmart bins for this baby.

Noonan

You're right. If that's the case, Google will probably end up trash compacting pallets of these things after the holidays.

fujishig

So besides not being sold at B&Ms, being too expensive, requiring uncapped high speed internet, not having many games and having those games be expensive... this should be a hit, right?

RichC2

They'd probably just re-package it. It's just a Chromecast Ultra + Controller + 3 months of Premium service in a package.

The Chromecast Ultra ($70) still sells fairly well on its own, so the only thing they'd really waste from that package is the gamepad and a card with a number on it. The backend costs have got to be high though.

DJariya

All the reviews I saw said it has potential. But with this day and age with so much new tech and games, consoles and devices coming out year after year, will people even have the patience to wait for this to improve?

Or will those who actually splurged on it feel like they got ripped off because the tech isn't good enough right now and toss this in the closet?