The best that comes from Google Stadia will live on after the service is down
While the game service Stadia was down on January 18, Google announced plans to keep its controllers alive. It may not seem like much since the entire catalog of cloud-streaming games is inaccessible, but the controller is really the silent highlight of Google’s first major step into the gaming arena.
While not revealing the full details, Google said on Twitter that it will “release a self-service tool to enable Bluetooth connectivity on your device. Stadia controller.” Google has promised to share specifics in time for the shutdown.
Currently, the Stadia gamepad can only connect to Google’s platform. Until these recently announced plans, when the service shuts down on January 18, the controller will become a useless mass of plastic, nickel and silicon destined for a landfill. Now it looks like you’ll be able to use the controller with other Bluetooth-enabled devices – most likely PCs and Androids; maybe Apple devices and even PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch.
We also have Bluetooth news: next week we’ll be releasing a self-service tool to enable Bluetooth connectivity on your Stadia Controller. We’ll share details here when it’s released. pic.twitter.com/6vYomngfmAJanuary 13, 2023
The beginning of the end
In a unit (opens in a new tab)This past September, Stadia general manager Phil Harrison announced that: “while stadiumOur approach to consumer game streaming was built on a strong foundation of technology, but it didn’t attract the users we expected, so we made the tough decision. is the beginning of the end of its Stadia streaming service.”
The news comes as a surprise, not because Stadia has been wildly successful, but because Google seems to have enough money to get through its tumultuous young years. Perhaps Google was able to make Stadia a success through sheer recklessness, as Epic did with the Epic Games Store. Instead, in the face of competition like Microsoft Xbox Cloud Games and Nvidia GeForce nowGoogle has chosen to close the store.
Harrison also confirmed in the post that Google will refund “all Stadia hardware purchases made through the Google Store, and all game content and add-on purchases made through the Google Store.” through the Stadia store.”
Another good news for players is that games like Orcs Must Die 3, originally launched as a Google Stadia exclusive, have ventured on other platforms, so we won’t lose access to them. everything that Stadia has to offer.
The best of a bad situation
While the good news is that Google won’t be pocketing the early adopters of Stadia, buyers will be stuck with perfectly fine and unusable hardware. Like our own Rhys Wood put it on time, “Google has clearly poured a lot of resources into the research and development of controllers for Stadia. Sadly, all that effort may now have gone to waste.
“At first glance, the Google Stadia controller looks nothing special. It has the same shape as the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller or the slightly thinner Xbox 360 pad. But, in my hands, the Stadia controller just feels… right.
“It’s a wonderfully comfortable controller to hold. Its buttons and sticks are high quality to the touch. And I love the collection of powerful shortcut buttons in the center of the keyboard that let you easily take screenshots, access Google Assistant for voice-based navigation, and more.”
Then the great news is that the controller will have a new lease. However, I doubt Google will start adding more gamepads to only sell it as a third-party controller. The device would turn out to be an odd ergonomic relic of the perils of launching a cloud gaming service to compete with Microsoft and Sony.
into thin air
Google Stadia’s rapid rise and fall is a stark reminder that we have less control over the games we buy as the video game market shifts to digital. It’s nice that Google can refund everything they’ve earned through Stadia’s early adopters, but they’re under no obligation to do good.
Google could easily shut down the server and walk away, not doing any work to make its controllers usable on other services or not working with the developers to allow players transfer their game save files from Stadia to Steam – as it did with the gearbox border zone 3.
Steam, Xbox Marketplace, PlayStation Store, Nintendo’s eShop, and Epic Games Store all seem too big to close, but there’s no guarantee that one day those digital store owners won’t be in financial trouble. and shutdown the server. On that day, you could lose access to every game you’ve purchased over the years without any of the security that owning a physical copy of the game offers. Although, admittedly, since games rely more on online features, even a physical disc does not guarantee long-term game ownership.
Well, this good news about the Stadia controller has really led me down a dark and dreary path. What can I say other than hugging your loved ones and backing up your saved files?