1 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:07,800 Speaker 1: Welcome to tech Stuff, a production from my Heart Radio. 2 00:00:12,039 --> 00:00:14,960 Speaker 1: Hey there, and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host, 3 00:00:15,080 --> 00:00:18,360 Speaker 1: Jonathan Strickland. I'm an executive producer with Heart Radio and 4 00:00:18,400 --> 00:00:21,880 Speaker 1: I love all things tech and you know, guys, I 5 00:00:21,920 --> 00:00:25,880 Speaker 1: really I enjoy playing PC games a lot. But one 6 00:00:25,920 --> 00:00:30,280 Speaker 1: thing I am not super crazy about is having to 7 00:00:30,400 --> 00:00:33,720 Speaker 1: upgrade my system on the RAG in order to keep 8 00:00:33,840 --> 00:00:37,280 Speaker 1: up with the latest advancements in gaming. This is something 9 00:00:37,320 --> 00:00:41,040 Speaker 1: that first started happening to me back in the nineties, 10 00:00:41,280 --> 00:00:43,720 Speaker 1: and I hated it then and I hate it now. 11 00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:46,240 Speaker 1: I'm one of those folks who gets rubbed the wrong 12 00:00:46,280 --> 00:00:49,479 Speaker 1: way when I have to turn down a graphics setting 13 00:00:49,479 --> 00:00:52,080 Speaker 1: in a game just so that the game will run 14 00:00:52,200 --> 00:00:55,280 Speaker 1: more smoothly. You know, in my head, I'm always thinking, 15 00:00:55,880 --> 00:00:58,520 Speaker 1: this isn't how the game is supposed to be played. 16 00:00:58,560 --> 00:01:01,280 Speaker 1: It's supposed to be played at the top of those settings. 17 00:01:01,320 --> 00:01:03,920 Speaker 1: That's what they made it for. But my machine just 18 00:01:04,160 --> 00:01:07,760 Speaker 1: can't do that. Keeping up with the latest in graphics 19 00:01:07,800 --> 00:01:12,600 Speaker 1: hardware is really expensive, and sometimes it's just plain impossible 20 00:01:13,040 --> 00:01:16,280 Speaker 1: because of all of the gosh dang bitcoin miners who 21 00:01:16,280 --> 00:01:20,360 Speaker 1: are scooping up all the ding dang during GPUs pardon 22 00:01:20,520 --> 00:01:25,720 Speaker 1: my language. Well, consoles are an alternative to two PCs, 23 00:01:25,800 --> 00:01:28,959 Speaker 1: I mean, obviously, but they come with their own drawbacks. 24 00:01:29,000 --> 00:01:31,880 Speaker 1: For one thing, tracking down a PS five is a 25 00:01:32,080 --> 00:01:34,679 Speaker 1: devilish lee hard thing to do right now as I 26 00:01:34,720 --> 00:01:38,920 Speaker 1: record this episode. For another, the latest generation of consoles 27 00:01:39,280 --> 00:01:42,760 Speaker 1: don't really have a robust library to draw from yet 28 00:01:42,880 --> 00:01:46,600 Speaker 1: their their brand new. The pandemic really messed up video 29 00:01:46,640 --> 00:01:50,000 Speaker 1: game development. Most games that are available right now are 30 00:01:50,360 --> 00:01:54,960 Speaker 1: remasters or titles that span generations of consoles. So you 31 00:01:55,000 --> 00:01:58,560 Speaker 1: could get the PS five version of a game, but 32 00:01:58,640 --> 00:02:00,760 Speaker 1: you're also thinking, yeah, but this is also available on 33 00:02:00,760 --> 00:02:03,120 Speaker 1: the PS four. I could just play this game on 34 00:02:03,160 --> 00:02:06,600 Speaker 1: a cheaper console. Plus, you still have to upgrade every 35 00:02:06,600 --> 00:02:08,440 Speaker 1: so often, right, I mean, if you want to keep up, 36 00:02:08,760 --> 00:02:11,480 Speaker 1: you've got to buy another console when a new one 37 00:02:11,520 --> 00:02:14,920 Speaker 1: comes out. Those some companies like Sony have a reputation 38 00:02:14,960 --> 00:02:18,320 Speaker 1: of supporting older systems far beyond the launch of the 39 00:02:18,360 --> 00:02:22,640 Speaker 1: subsequent PlayStation console. Uh. The PS four is not really 40 00:02:22,720 --> 00:02:26,040 Speaker 1: one of those, actually, because in order to try and 41 00:02:26,080 --> 00:02:29,919 Speaker 1: meet more demand for PS five, Sony recently announced that 42 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:34,560 Speaker 1: it was discontinuing nearly all PS four models in an 43 00:02:34,600 --> 00:02:39,640 Speaker 1: effort to switch their manufacturing process over to making more 44 00:02:39,680 --> 00:02:42,679 Speaker 1: PS five consoles. But what if you didn't have to 45 00:02:42,680 --> 00:02:45,000 Speaker 1: worry about any of that, right, what if you could 46 00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:48,480 Speaker 1: just subscribe to a service where you never needed to 47 00:02:48,480 --> 00:02:52,440 Speaker 1: worry about upgrading your system because the games you play 48 00:02:52,960 --> 00:02:55,480 Speaker 1: wouldn't be running on your device. It would be running 49 00:02:55,520 --> 00:02:59,440 Speaker 1: on someone else's computer and it would be a screaming 50 00:02:59,600 --> 00:03:02,760 Speaker 1: fast computer with the capability to push out four K 51 00:03:03,080 --> 00:03:07,160 Speaker 1: resolution video, and you could play these games pretty much 52 00:03:07,200 --> 00:03:10,160 Speaker 1: on anything, on a computer or maybe on your TV, 53 00:03:10,600 --> 00:03:13,960 Speaker 1: or even on your phone. That is the sales pitch 54 00:03:14,080 --> 00:03:18,080 Speaker 1: for Google Stadium, a game streaming service, something that Google 55 00:03:18,120 --> 00:03:23,520 Speaker 1: first unveiled in March nineteen during the Game Developers Conference. Now, 56 00:03:23,800 --> 00:03:28,359 Speaker 1: let's be clear, Google Stadia is by far not the 57 00:03:28,400 --> 00:03:32,960 Speaker 1: only cloud gaming service out there that does this. I mean, 58 00:03:33,000 --> 00:03:36,560 Speaker 1: you can do this with PlayStation now, on Sony consoles 59 00:03:36,680 --> 00:03:40,240 Speaker 1: or on a PC. Microsoft has x Cloud, which currently 60 00:03:40,320 --> 00:03:42,960 Speaker 1: runs on Windows ten and Android and will later run 61 00:03:43,000 --> 00:03:46,440 Speaker 1: on iOS devices. And sometimes we call these types of 62 00:03:46,480 --> 00:03:51,960 Speaker 1: models gaming on demand or sometimes cloud gaming. And Google 63 00:03:52,000 --> 00:03:54,680 Speaker 1: Stadia or these other services. None of these are the 64 00:03:54,760 --> 00:03:59,000 Speaker 1: first ones either. So today we're gonna talk about the 65 00:03:59,120 --> 00:04:03,360 Speaker 1: history of cloud gaming and Google Stadia in particular. Now, 66 00:04:03,360 --> 00:04:06,720 Speaker 1: I can't do just a full episode just on Google Stadia. 67 00:04:07,040 --> 00:04:09,480 Speaker 1: There's not enough to talk about, and that's a big 68 00:04:09,520 --> 00:04:12,600 Speaker 1: part of the problem with Google Stadia. But I can 69 00:04:12,720 --> 00:04:16,440 Speaker 1: explain the process of where this came from. Now you 70 00:04:16,480 --> 00:04:20,520 Speaker 1: could argue that we saw the groundwork laid for cloud 71 00:04:20,600 --> 00:04:23,960 Speaker 1: based gaming systems with games like the old M M 72 00:04:24,040 --> 00:04:27,440 Speaker 1: O RPGs of the late nineties and early two thousands. 73 00:04:27,480 --> 00:04:31,960 Speaker 1: I'm talking Your Ultimate Onlines, Your Ever Quests, and later 74 00:04:32,120 --> 00:04:36,839 Speaker 1: Your World of Warcrafts. These required players to install software 75 00:04:36,960 --> 00:04:41,159 Speaker 1: to their home systems that contained many of the assets 76 00:04:41,240 --> 00:04:44,920 Speaker 1: needed for the game. And then you have online servers 77 00:04:45,080 --> 00:04:48,640 Speaker 1: often called shards in the early days thanks to Ultimate Online. 78 00:04:49,240 --> 00:04:53,360 Speaker 1: And then you have those coordinating the actions of hundreds 79 00:04:53,440 --> 00:04:57,800 Speaker 1: or potentially thousands of players so that you at playing 80 00:04:57,839 --> 00:05:01,400 Speaker 1: locally on your machine see where everybody else happens to be. 81 00:05:01,400 --> 00:05:05,039 Speaker 1: Because of this relationship between your computer and the server, 82 00:05:05,920 --> 00:05:09,320 Speaker 1: these games typically took forms where problems like latency and 83 00:05:09,400 --> 00:05:12,720 Speaker 1: data transfer speeds wouldn't be a huge issue, and the 84 00:05:12,760 --> 00:05:16,000 Speaker 1: local machines did a lot of the heavy lifting. So 85 00:05:16,160 --> 00:05:19,039 Speaker 1: in this case, you're talking about a computer that's still 86 00:05:19,120 --> 00:05:22,960 Speaker 1: running some hefty software on its own and then is 87 00:05:22,960 --> 00:05:27,640 Speaker 1: working in tandem with a game server. But even the 88 00:05:27,760 --> 00:05:32,440 Speaker 1: history of cloud gaming proper dates back quite a ways, 89 00:05:32,440 --> 00:05:36,800 Speaker 1: and it also includes one of the greatest examples of vaporware. 90 00:05:37,200 --> 00:05:40,160 Speaker 1: And according to at least some accounts, it was a 91 00:05:40,160 --> 00:05:44,320 Speaker 1: total scam. So let's take a very quick detour to 92 00:05:44,440 --> 00:05:49,799 Speaker 1: talk about the Phantom. Now, way back in two thousand three, 93 00:05:50,240 --> 00:05:53,720 Speaker 1: a company called Infinium Labs announced that it was working 94 00:05:53,800 --> 00:05:59,080 Speaker 1: on a revolutionary gaming console it called the Phantom, and 95 00:05:59,120 --> 00:06:02,159 Speaker 1: that name would out to be prophetic and the gold 96 00:06:02,240 --> 00:06:05,880 Speaker 1: mine for snarky headlines, including some that I wrote. It 97 00:06:05,960 --> 00:06:09,120 Speaker 1: was going to be an on demand video game service. 98 00:06:09,720 --> 00:06:14,120 Speaker 1: It was essentially the basic concept for cloud based video 99 00:06:14,200 --> 00:06:17,760 Speaker 1: game streaming stuff we actually have today. But back in 100 00:06:17,800 --> 00:06:22,479 Speaker 1: two thousand three, this was an incredibly ambitious plan. Now 101 00:06:22,520 --> 00:06:25,560 Speaker 1: I say that not because the technology needed to run 102 00:06:25,640 --> 00:06:30,680 Speaker 1: such stuff is particularly advanced. A decently configured PC could 103 00:06:30,760 --> 00:06:33,760 Speaker 1: run games pretty well. You would need to build out 104 00:06:33,800 --> 00:06:36,440 Speaker 1: the framework for the service. On the user side, you'd 105 00:06:36,440 --> 00:06:39,120 Speaker 1: have to have some sort of portal through which the 106 00:06:39,200 --> 00:06:43,159 Speaker 1: user could remotely log into that PC that's running the game. 107 00:06:43,680 --> 00:06:45,960 Speaker 1: So you would need to build some sort of software 108 00:06:46,000 --> 00:06:49,680 Speaker 1: to allow for that, but it's essentially a remote log in. 109 00:06:49,839 --> 00:06:53,560 Speaker 1: On a conceptual level, at least, it's not that complicated. 110 00:06:54,120 --> 00:06:57,160 Speaker 1: But back in two thousand three, broadband was still just 111 00:06:57,240 --> 00:07:00,440 Speaker 1: gradually rolling out to most of the people who would 112 00:07:00,440 --> 00:07:03,919 Speaker 1: be viable customers for such a service. Heck, according to 113 00:07:03,960 --> 00:07:07,360 Speaker 1: the site all Connect, back in two thousand four, some 114 00:07:08,640 --> 00:07:12,680 Speaker 1: of Internet users were still relying on dial up modems, 115 00:07:12,920 --> 00:07:16,160 Speaker 1: and since those top out at fifty six kilobits per second, 116 00:07:16,560 --> 00:07:19,560 Speaker 1: there's no way you'd have any sort of satisfying game 117 00:07:19,600 --> 00:07:22,520 Speaker 1: experience on that kind of connection. Even if we were 118 00:07:22,600 --> 00:07:26,440 Speaker 1: to assume that the actual Phantom business model was that 119 00:07:26,600 --> 00:07:29,440 Speaker 1: you were to download games but you would only be 120 00:07:29,480 --> 00:07:31,560 Speaker 1: able to play them for as long as you had 121 00:07:31,640 --> 00:07:36,160 Speaker 1: the permission from Infinium Labs. That would take ages over 122 00:07:36,320 --> 00:07:40,640 Speaker 1: fifty six kilobits per second data line. That being said, 123 00:07:41,360 --> 00:07:43,680 Speaker 1: the way the Phantom was marketed it sounded more like 124 00:07:43,880 --> 00:07:47,800 Speaker 1: cloud gaming, less like you purchase a game and download 125 00:07:47,880 --> 00:07:51,760 Speaker 1: it to your device. For modern cloud gaming services, you're 126 00:07:51,880 --> 00:07:55,480 Speaker 1: generally looking at a recommended minimum bandwidth of around ten 127 00:07:55,600 --> 00:08:00,280 Speaker 1: to fifteen megabits per second, and that's at the slowest level. 128 00:08:00,800 --> 00:08:04,320 Speaker 1: But even at that slow quote unquote level. That's nearly 129 00:08:05,440 --> 00:08:09,520 Speaker 1: times faster than the top speed you would get with 130 00:08:09,640 --> 00:08:13,640 Speaker 1: a dial up modem. At that speed, you're probably looking 131 00:08:13,680 --> 00:08:17,160 Speaker 1: at games running at just seven twenty P resolution, which 132 00:08:17,280 --> 00:08:20,960 Speaker 1: isn't even HD quality. So if you did want four 133 00:08:21,080 --> 00:08:24,680 Speaker 1: K gaming, you're gonna need some fatter pipes, as they say, 134 00:08:24,840 --> 00:08:28,280 Speaker 1: to deliver information faster. And by faster, I really mean 135 00:08:28,640 --> 00:08:31,600 Speaker 1: amount of data per second. The transmission speed of the 136 00:08:31,680 --> 00:08:36,800 Speaker 1: signal is something else entirely, but that does raise another question. See, 137 00:08:36,880 --> 00:08:39,719 Speaker 1: besides the barrier of how much data you can pull 138 00:08:39,760 --> 00:08:44,599 Speaker 1: down per second, you also have latency issues. Latency is 139 00:08:44,679 --> 00:08:47,640 Speaker 1: the lag you experienced between when you send a command 140 00:08:48,080 --> 00:08:51,080 Speaker 1: and when you see that command carried out. So if 141 00:08:51,120 --> 00:08:53,240 Speaker 1: you've ever been on a website and you clicked on 142 00:08:53,320 --> 00:08:54,840 Speaker 1: a link and then you had to wait a bit 143 00:08:55,000 --> 00:08:59,079 Speaker 1: before anything happened, that's latency. And there's a lot of 144 00:08:59,120 --> 00:09:02,160 Speaker 1: stuff that can cause cause latency, from the programming of 145 00:09:02,240 --> 00:09:05,840 Speaker 1: a game to the distance that's between you and whatever 146 00:09:05,960 --> 00:09:09,400 Speaker 1: machine that game is actually running on. Heck, if you're 147 00:09:09,440 --> 00:09:12,800 Speaker 1: playing on a local machine, so it's a computer that's 148 00:09:12,880 --> 00:09:15,360 Speaker 1: like right in front of you, and it's in your home, 149 00:09:15,840 --> 00:09:18,600 Speaker 1: and you have a wired controller connected to your computer, 150 00:09:19,080 --> 00:09:24,480 Speaker 1: but for some reason, that controller has an absurdly long chord, 151 00:09:25,000 --> 00:09:29,200 Speaker 1: like in this case, something that's many, many, many miles long. 152 00:09:29,600 --> 00:09:33,080 Speaker 1: And I get it, this is an absurd, unrealistic example, 153 00:09:33,160 --> 00:09:36,040 Speaker 1: but I'm making a point here. Because that cable would 154 00:09:36,040 --> 00:09:39,240 Speaker 1: be many miles long, you would experience latency as you 155 00:09:39,320 --> 00:09:42,560 Speaker 1: push buttons and move the thumbsticks around because it does 156 00:09:42,679 --> 00:09:46,240 Speaker 1: take time for the signal to pass through from the 157 00:09:46,280 --> 00:09:49,079 Speaker 1: controller to your console. Now, we've got to keep in 158 00:09:49,160 --> 00:09:52,720 Speaker 1: mind that the fastest speed anything can travel in our 159 00:09:52,840 --> 00:09:57,120 Speaker 1: universe is the speed of light. However, signals moving through 160 00:09:57,280 --> 00:10:00,240 Speaker 1: cable move a little slower than that. If we're talking 161 00:10:00,280 --> 00:10:04,720 Speaker 1: about coaxial cable, the electrical signal travels about two thirds 162 00:10:04,840 --> 00:10:07,720 Speaker 1: the speed of light, So the speed of transmission depends 163 00:10:07,800 --> 00:10:11,840 Speaker 1: upon the medium through which the signal is traveling. Anyway, 164 00:10:12,000 --> 00:10:14,640 Speaker 1: my point is that the further the signal needs to 165 00:10:14,760 --> 00:10:18,599 Speaker 1: travel from the host computer that's running the game to 166 00:10:18,760 --> 00:10:22,000 Speaker 1: whatever device you're using to play the game, the more 167 00:10:22,120 --> 00:10:27,480 Speaker 1: latency you're going to encounter. Because physics, one way to 168 00:10:27,600 --> 00:10:30,000 Speaker 1: cope with this is to have a lot of memory 169 00:10:30,040 --> 00:10:32,199 Speaker 1: and the user's device and load as much of the 170 00:10:32,280 --> 00:10:35,480 Speaker 1: game as possible onto the local machine, you know, the 171 00:10:35,559 --> 00:10:38,640 Speaker 1: one connected to your television, for example, and it would 172 00:10:38,640 --> 00:10:41,840 Speaker 1: be pulling data locally as much as it possibly could 173 00:10:42,160 --> 00:10:44,920 Speaker 1: in order to cut down on things like latency as 174 00:10:44,960 --> 00:10:48,480 Speaker 1: well as delivering higher resolution experience for you. But this 175 00:10:48,559 --> 00:10:50,680 Speaker 1: would mean you would need to wait while your device 176 00:10:50,800 --> 00:10:54,360 Speaker 1: pulled down data from the host. It would be buffering. Essentially. 177 00:10:55,240 --> 00:10:57,439 Speaker 1: This has its own set of problems. It's not a 178 00:10:57,600 --> 00:11:01,719 Speaker 1: very practical solution. Games frequently are not optimized for this 179 00:11:01,880 --> 00:11:05,200 Speaker 1: sort of play. Most developers create games with the assumption 180 00:11:05,280 --> 00:11:06,959 Speaker 1: that those games are just going to be played on 181 00:11:07,040 --> 00:11:10,560 Speaker 1: a local device, So creating a game that can manage 182 00:11:10,640 --> 00:11:14,079 Speaker 1: data this way requires a more specialized approach, and in fact, 183 00:11:14,720 --> 00:11:18,040 Speaker 1: most of the time you're looking at a specific certification 184 00:11:18,200 --> 00:11:22,319 Speaker 1: process for games to run on cloud gaming services in 185 00:11:22,480 --> 00:11:25,760 Speaker 1: order to deliver the experience that the game developers intend 186 00:11:26,000 --> 00:11:29,479 Speaker 1: the user to have. Then there's the way that information 187 00:11:29,640 --> 00:11:33,599 Speaker 1: travels across the Internet. We're not gonna go all the 188 00:11:33,640 --> 00:11:36,320 Speaker 1: way into packet switching and everything that would take forever, 189 00:11:36,440 --> 00:11:40,000 Speaker 1: but just imagine an actual net criss cross of all 190 00:11:40,040 --> 00:11:42,480 Speaker 1: these different lines. So this is the kind of net 191 00:11:42,520 --> 00:11:46,120 Speaker 1: that you would catch fishing. That mesh is made up 192 00:11:46,160 --> 00:11:48,640 Speaker 1: of these little lines that link with one another. So 193 00:11:48,800 --> 00:11:51,000 Speaker 1: imagine that each of those links, each of those points 194 00:11:51,040 --> 00:11:55,280 Speaker 1: where the the mesh is meeting, that represents a server 195 00:11:55,679 --> 00:11:58,559 Speaker 1: or a router or a computer that's connected to the Internet, 196 00:11:59,120 --> 00:12:01,320 Speaker 1: and you pick two links that are a good distance 197 00:12:01,360 --> 00:12:05,120 Speaker 1: from each other. On the Internet, information can travel pretty 198 00:12:05,200 --> 00:12:09,199 Speaker 1: much any available route between those two points, and it 199 00:12:09,320 --> 00:12:12,199 Speaker 1: travels in packets, so not all the packets follow the 200 00:12:12,280 --> 00:12:14,880 Speaker 1: same pathway. This is part of what makes the Internet 201 00:12:15,000 --> 00:12:19,360 Speaker 1: so robust because there are multiple pathways from the source 202 00:12:19,559 --> 00:12:22,439 Speaker 1: to the destination, so information can get to where it's 203 00:12:22,559 --> 00:12:26,280 Speaker 1: going even if some servers or routers go offline in 204 00:12:26,440 --> 00:12:30,960 Speaker 1: between the source and the destination. In other words, if 205 00:12:31,000 --> 00:12:34,000 Speaker 1: I were sending you a file from my computer to 206 00:12:34,160 --> 00:12:38,240 Speaker 1: your computer, the file would get divided up into packets 207 00:12:38,320 --> 00:12:41,480 Speaker 1: of data, and those packets would travel across the Internet, 208 00:12:42,040 --> 00:12:46,080 Speaker 1: going through various pathways, and then arrive at your computer 209 00:12:46,160 --> 00:12:48,440 Speaker 1: and get reassembled like a puzzle, and then you would 210 00:12:48,480 --> 00:12:51,439 Speaker 1: get the file. That's the way the Internet works, but 211 00:12:52,080 --> 00:12:56,440 Speaker 1: it does create some challenges when you're developing streaming services. Now, 212 00:12:56,559 --> 00:12:59,680 Speaker 1: clearly it is possible to build out low latency high 213 00:12:59,720 --> 00:13:03,120 Speaker 1: band with connections. But back in the early two thousands 214 00:13:03,160 --> 00:13:08,240 Speaker 1: when Infinium Labs launched, these were in really concentrated regions 215 00:13:08,280 --> 00:13:12,120 Speaker 1: and major metropolitan areas, and they were largely restricted to 216 00:13:12,559 --> 00:13:17,840 Speaker 1: enterprise level transactions, which means this infrastructure wasn't really robust 217 00:13:18,000 --> 00:13:21,000 Speaker 1: yet and most end users wouldn't have access to the 218 00:13:21,080 --> 00:13:24,760 Speaker 1: speeds needed to deliver a good experience. So all of 219 00:13:24,840 --> 00:13:27,800 Speaker 1: this is to say that the technical requirements needed to 220 00:13:27,840 --> 00:13:30,600 Speaker 1: make the phantom viable, we're not really what we had 221 00:13:30,640 --> 00:13:33,760 Speaker 1: available to us back in the early two thousand's, at 222 00:13:33,840 --> 00:13:38,080 Speaker 1: least not from an Internet infrastructure perspective. If you did 223 00:13:38,200 --> 00:13:42,080 Speaker 1: have broadband, and if Infinium Labs had built out lots 224 00:13:42,120 --> 00:13:44,640 Speaker 1: of servers near your neck of the woods so that 225 00:13:44,800 --> 00:13:47,880 Speaker 1: you're not dialing halfway across the globe to play a game, 226 00:13:48,520 --> 00:13:53,559 Speaker 1: then arguably it was possible, but not necessarily practical, and 227 00:13:53,720 --> 00:13:58,079 Speaker 1: not at very high resolutions or frame rates. And just 228 00:13:58,280 --> 00:14:00,520 Speaker 1: to answer that question, frame rate or first to the 229 00:14:00,679 --> 00:14:03,840 Speaker 1: number of frames or images that appear in a second 230 00:14:04,360 --> 00:14:08,840 Speaker 1: on your display. Higher frame rate generally means smoother animation, 231 00:14:09,200 --> 00:14:11,920 Speaker 1: which is pretty easy to grasp. So imagine it's your 232 00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:14,520 Speaker 1: job to draw a series of images that show a 233 00:14:14,600 --> 00:14:18,040 Speaker 1: stick figure running, and you're going to flip through these 234 00:14:18,080 --> 00:14:20,800 Speaker 1: images in a second. If you only have three sheets 235 00:14:20,840 --> 00:14:24,120 Speaker 1: of paper, then you're only allowed to draw one image 236 00:14:24,160 --> 00:14:27,520 Speaker 1: per sheet. You're really limited on the number of poses 237 00:14:27,600 --> 00:14:29,720 Speaker 1: that you can draw. You can only draw three poses, 238 00:14:29,960 --> 00:14:32,760 Speaker 1: so you're not gonna have a very smooth running animation. 239 00:14:33,080 --> 00:14:36,240 Speaker 1: If you have thirty sheets of paper, you can create 240 00:14:36,280 --> 00:14:39,080 Speaker 1: a lot more poses, and you have allowed for smoother 241 00:14:39,120 --> 00:14:43,920 Speaker 1: animation when those thirty sheets are are flipped within one second. 242 00:14:44,680 --> 00:14:47,640 Speaker 1: If you had sixty sheets of paper, you could create 243 00:14:47,760 --> 00:14:51,440 Speaker 1: even more subtle transitions and the animation would look even 244 00:14:51,520 --> 00:14:55,560 Speaker 1: more smooth, and you start hitting diminishing returns after a while, 245 00:14:55,680 --> 00:14:59,520 Speaker 1: particularly if you're consistently animating the sheets by flipping them 246 00:14:59,600 --> 00:15:02,080 Speaker 1: at that same speed or as in like all the 247 00:15:02,160 --> 00:15:06,000 Speaker 1: sheets within a second. But generally speaking, the benchmark and 248 00:15:06,080 --> 00:15:09,240 Speaker 1: gaming tends to be around sixty frames per second, with 249 00:15:09,400 --> 00:15:13,840 Speaker 1: thirty frames being considered acceptable. Anything less than that is 250 00:15:14,000 --> 00:15:17,800 Speaker 1: a problem. Anyway, that wasn't the end of the questions 251 00:15:17,840 --> 00:15:20,840 Speaker 1: about the Phantom. People also wondered how this little startup 252 00:15:20,880 --> 00:15:25,000 Speaker 1: would form the business relationships necessary to secure rights with 253 00:15:25,080 --> 00:15:28,440 Speaker 1: all those video game companies in order to sell titles 254 00:15:28,560 --> 00:15:32,080 Speaker 1: to customers. Back in the physical media days, it was 255 00:15:32,120 --> 00:15:34,480 Speaker 1: easy to think, hey, I bought a copy of this game. 256 00:15:34,840 --> 00:15:37,600 Speaker 1: This copy of the game is mine, after all, we 257 00:15:37,800 --> 00:15:42,200 Speaker 1: had the physical copy. But as streaming services began to appear, 258 00:15:42,600 --> 00:15:45,960 Speaker 1: that thinking transitioned into I have purchased a license to 259 00:15:46,280 --> 00:15:49,720 Speaker 1: access this content. The same would be true for games, 260 00:15:50,520 --> 00:15:53,520 Speaker 1: but established video game companies weren't likely to just allow 261 00:15:53,600 --> 00:15:55,920 Speaker 1: us start up to purchase copies of games and then 262 00:15:56,080 --> 00:15:59,480 Speaker 1: rent out time on fast machines so that other people 263 00:15:59,560 --> 00:16:02,680 Speaker 1: could play those games without having to buy their own copy. 264 00:16:03,400 --> 00:16:06,040 Speaker 1: There was going to be some sort of licensing fee 265 00:16:06,080 --> 00:16:08,240 Speaker 1: and agreement that would need to be in place for 266 00:16:08,320 --> 00:16:10,440 Speaker 1: that to happen, and that that's where things start to 267 00:16:10,480 --> 00:16:13,920 Speaker 1: get really complicated. There was no guarantee that any two 268 00:16:14,120 --> 00:16:18,160 Speaker 1: video game publishers would even behave in the same way, 269 00:16:18,320 --> 00:16:20,680 Speaker 1: so you might have to have unique agreements for every 270 00:16:20,720 --> 00:16:23,440 Speaker 1: single publisher, and then you'd have to figure out how 271 00:16:23,560 --> 00:16:26,480 Speaker 1: those economics work, and that in itself is a huge challenge. 272 00:16:26,640 --> 00:16:29,680 Speaker 1: It's not an insurmountable one, mind you, but definitely a 273 00:16:29,760 --> 00:16:33,560 Speaker 1: tough one to solve. So this announced console, which Infinium 274 00:16:33,680 --> 00:16:36,600 Speaker 1: Labs named the Phantom, and there were no end of 275 00:16:36,720 --> 00:16:39,680 Speaker 1: articles online that pointed out how apt that name would 276 00:16:39,720 --> 00:16:43,640 Speaker 1: turn out to be. It never materialized beyond some questionable 277 00:16:43,720 --> 00:16:46,720 Speaker 1: prototypes that may or may not have had working components 278 00:16:46,760 --> 00:16:49,800 Speaker 1: in them, and it's no big surprise as the idea, 279 00:16:50,080 --> 00:16:53,240 Speaker 1: while intriguing, was way ahead of its time. The Phantom 280 00:16:53,320 --> 00:16:56,400 Speaker 1: became the subject of a lot of skepticism and investigation. 281 00:16:56,560 --> 00:16:58,760 Speaker 1: If you do a search for stories about the Phantom 282 00:16:58,840 --> 00:17:02,240 Speaker 1: and Infinium Labs, you're likely to find posts about how 283 00:17:02,400 --> 00:17:04,919 Speaker 1: the address listed for the company led to what appeared 284 00:17:04,920 --> 00:17:08,879 Speaker 1: to be unoccupied office space. There are accusations that the 285 00:17:08,960 --> 00:17:12,119 Speaker 1: founder and various executives at the company were running a scam, 286 00:17:12,720 --> 00:17:15,320 Speaker 1: and that the prototype devices the company showed off were 287 00:17:15,400 --> 00:17:19,440 Speaker 1: dummy devices or other computers disguised as a Phantom console. 288 00:17:20,160 --> 00:17:22,600 Speaker 1: I don't know if the whole thing actually was a 289 00:17:22,720 --> 00:17:25,000 Speaker 1: scam from the start, or if this was one of 290 00:17:25,040 --> 00:17:28,800 Speaker 1: those situations where everyone started off with a sincere goal 291 00:17:29,160 --> 00:17:32,960 Speaker 1: too really achieved this and it just proved to be unattainable. 292 00:17:33,400 --> 00:17:35,520 Speaker 1: So the Phantom kind of falls in the same similar 293 00:17:35,640 --> 00:17:39,159 Speaker 1: category as therein nos. Perhaps the worst part of what 294 00:17:39,359 --> 00:17:41,720 Speaker 1: went on with the Phantom is that it led people 295 00:17:41,760 --> 00:17:45,000 Speaker 1: to doubt the viability of a similar service later down 296 00:17:45,080 --> 00:17:47,760 Speaker 1: the road, which would make it harder for companies to 297 00:17:47,920 --> 00:17:51,040 Speaker 1: establish a user base and revenue model. Even as we 298 00:17:51,119 --> 00:17:55,320 Speaker 1: saw high speed, low latency solutions rolling out to larger populations, 299 00:17:55,680 --> 00:17:58,639 Speaker 1: the story of the Phantom haunted those who hoped to 300 00:17:58,760 --> 00:18:02,440 Speaker 1: provide online game gaming services. When we come back, i'll 301 00:18:02,440 --> 00:18:05,520 Speaker 1: talk about another attempt to make an online gaming company 302 00:18:05,800 --> 00:18:08,359 Speaker 1: that fell through, and we'll look at what Google hopes 303 00:18:08,400 --> 00:18:11,560 Speaker 1: to do differently. But first let's take a quick break. 304 00:18:19,119 --> 00:18:21,720 Speaker 1: A few years after the Phantom debacle, there was a 305 00:18:21,840 --> 00:18:25,320 Speaker 1: service called on Live Gaming on Live as I'm sure 306 00:18:25,400 --> 00:18:28,200 Speaker 1: you all know, as a portmanteau of online and live, 307 00:18:28,840 --> 00:18:33,119 Speaker 1: something I only just realized as I started taking notes 308 00:18:33,280 --> 00:18:36,200 Speaker 1: this time, not that I had never heard of it before. 309 00:18:36,280 --> 00:18:39,000 Speaker 1: I had heard of it, I just didn't put it 310 00:18:39,119 --> 00:18:44,360 Speaker 1: together because I'm dense and slow. But on Live, despite 311 00:18:44,440 --> 00:18:48,320 Speaker 1: existing and technically working, would have its own share of 312 00:18:48,480 --> 00:18:51,520 Speaker 1: controversy over the years. Now. The company was founded in 313 00:18:51,560 --> 00:18:54,119 Speaker 1: two thousand nine, and it aimed to create a cloud 314 00:18:54,359 --> 00:18:57,760 Speaker 1: gaming service in which people would rent access to game 315 00:18:57,840 --> 00:19:01,920 Speaker 1: titles without having to download and installed them. So while 316 00:19:01,960 --> 00:19:04,159 Speaker 1: the Phantom may or may not have been intended to 317 00:19:04,240 --> 00:19:08,840 Speaker 1: do this, online definitely was. You played the games through 318 00:19:08,880 --> 00:19:12,080 Speaker 1: a portal service on computers and mobile devices, or through 319 00:19:12,119 --> 00:19:15,960 Speaker 1: a dedicated console system called the on Live game system. 320 00:19:16,520 --> 00:19:19,840 Speaker 1: Unlike the Phantom, this was something that actually existed as 321 00:19:19,880 --> 00:19:23,480 Speaker 1: a consumer product, and with broadband adoption being much further 322 00:19:23,600 --> 00:19:26,359 Speaker 1: along in the old days of two thousand four, it 323 00:19:26,480 --> 00:19:30,639 Speaker 1: actually had perhaps a fighting chance. The founder of on 324 00:19:30,880 --> 00:19:34,399 Speaker 1: Live was Steve Perlman, who had been responsible for some 325 00:19:34,520 --> 00:19:37,119 Speaker 1: pretty big products in the past, like web TV and 326 00:19:37,280 --> 00:19:40,760 Speaker 1: quick Time. He introduced the service in two thousand nine 327 00:19:41,160 --> 00:19:44,800 Speaker 1: at the Game Developers Conference. He explained that his system 328 00:19:44,880 --> 00:19:48,040 Speaker 1: would allow gamers to play brand new titles at top 329 00:19:48,119 --> 00:19:52,080 Speaker 1: settings without needing all the local hardware. One of the 330 00:19:52,119 --> 00:19:55,840 Speaker 1: big elements that made it possible was a video compression strategy. 331 00:19:56,280 --> 00:19:59,840 Speaker 1: On the server side, algorithms would compress outgoing video st 332 00:20:00,000 --> 00:20:03,920 Speaker 1: teams to players. Software either on the player's computer or 333 00:20:04,040 --> 00:20:07,399 Speaker 1: mobile device or on an online console, would decompress the 334 00:20:07,480 --> 00:20:11,159 Speaker 1: video on the other end. There were some latency issues, 335 00:20:11,440 --> 00:20:13,920 Speaker 1: but the thing that really killed on Live was that 336 00:20:14,119 --> 00:20:18,159 Speaker 1: players just never really joined up. According to the Verge 337 00:20:18,480 --> 00:20:23,920 Speaker 1: at its peak on Live only saw concurrent players, which 338 00:20:24,000 --> 00:20:26,760 Speaker 1: meant all the money the company had spent on server 339 00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:30,520 Speaker 1: farms was wasted, as most of its servers were dormant 340 00:20:30,640 --> 00:20:33,680 Speaker 1: most of the time. The company was reportedly burning through 341 00:20:33,840 --> 00:20:37,960 Speaker 1: five million dollars every month toward the end. The company's 342 00:20:38,000 --> 00:20:41,520 Speaker 1: business model allowed users to demo games for free, so 343 00:20:41,600 --> 00:20:43,680 Speaker 1: you could play like a demo level of a game, 344 00:20:44,119 --> 00:20:47,120 Speaker 1: or you could purchase the rights to play a specific title, 345 00:20:47,440 --> 00:20:50,000 Speaker 1: but very few people were doing more than just testing 346 00:20:50,040 --> 00:20:53,480 Speaker 1: out games, and Online couldn't reach deals with several of 347 00:20:53,520 --> 00:20:57,600 Speaker 1: the top tier video game publishers, so it's library was limited. 348 00:20:57,920 --> 00:21:01,080 Speaker 1: On top of all that, game companies demanded that Online 349 00:21:01,200 --> 00:21:03,640 Speaker 1: offer their titles at the same price you would find 350 00:21:03,840 --> 00:21:07,080 Speaker 1: on other stores, including those that allow you to actually 351 00:21:07,200 --> 00:21:09,880 Speaker 1: download a copy of the game to your own machine, 352 00:21:10,400 --> 00:21:12,840 Speaker 1: and the quality of the experience largely depended upon the 353 00:21:12,880 --> 00:21:15,679 Speaker 1: broadband connection of the user. So, in other words, if 354 00:21:15,720 --> 00:21:18,160 Speaker 1: you're a gamer and you're told, well, you can buy 355 00:21:18,280 --> 00:21:21,040 Speaker 1: a copy of this brand new game, it's gonna cost 356 00:21:21,080 --> 00:21:23,560 Speaker 1: you sixty dollars if you want to download it to 357 00:21:23,640 --> 00:21:26,960 Speaker 1: your computer where it will run on your hardware at 358 00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:31,120 Speaker 1: the top level of your hardware's capabilities, or you could 359 00:21:31,119 --> 00:21:34,320 Speaker 1: spend that same sixty dollars to run on this streaming 360 00:21:34,440 --> 00:21:39,320 Speaker 1: service and potentially have a less satisfying experience. Well, that's 361 00:21:39,359 --> 00:21:43,359 Speaker 1: not much of a sales pitch. Meanwhile, a competing service 362 00:21:43,440 --> 00:21:47,520 Speaker 1: called guy Kai g a i k Ai was meeting 363 00:21:47,600 --> 00:21:50,960 Speaker 1: with more success, in large part because Geikai only offered 364 00:21:51,200 --> 00:21:54,920 Speaker 1: limited playable demos of games. It didn't represent a threat 365 00:21:54,960 --> 00:21:57,879 Speaker 1: to the video game companies or retail businesses because they 366 00:21:57,920 --> 00:22:01,160 Speaker 1: didn't sell games. And moreover, the founder of gei Kai 367 00:22:01,400 --> 00:22:04,000 Speaker 1: was David Perry, who had a history in the video 368 00:22:04,080 --> 00:22:08,720 Speaker 1: game industry, while Pearlman didn't, and Pearlman over it on 369 00:22:08,840 --> 00:22:11,680 Speaker 1: Live really didn't like the guy Kai was making headway, 370 00:22:12,000 --> 00:22:15,600 Speaker 1: and eventually he started to demand Onlve not support games 371 00:22:16,000 --> 00:22:19,160 Speaker 1: that had found their way onto gei Kai, which further 372 00:22:19,359 --> 00:22:23,800 Speaker 1: limited on Live's library. Ultimately, on Live just couldn't make 373 00:22:23,880 --> 00:22:26,600 Speaker 1: the business work. The company burned through its investment money, 374 00:22:26,760 --> 00:22:30,800 Speaker 1: and in twelve Pearlman gathered staff together, said the company 375 00:22:30,920 --> 00:22:34,800 Speaker 1: was folding, laid off everyone without severance, and then formed 376 00:22:34,840 --> 00:22:37,800 Speaker 1: a new company that bought the assets of the old 377 00:22:37,960 --> 00:22:40,760 Speaker 1: company and hired on a skeleton crew to run things 378 00:22:40,840 --> 00:22:45,920 Speaker 1: which that burned some bridges. Sony would ultimately come along 379 00:22:46,040 --> 00:22:50,639 Speaker 1: and scoop up on Live's assets, shutting it down in Sony, 380 00:22:50,720 --> 00:22:55,119 Speaker 1: by the way, also acquired guy Kai three years before that. Today, 381 00:22:55,520 --> 00:22:59,440 Speaker 1: besides the Xbox and PlayStation streaming video game services that 382 00:22:59,520 --> 00:23:02,360 Speaker 1: I've already you mentioned, there are a few more out there, 383 00:23:02,560 --> 00:23:06,359 Speaker 1: like steamlink In, video Game stream and about a dozen 384 00:23:06,440 --> 00:23:09,920 Speaker 1: other ones. So there's a big push still for making 385 00:23:10,000 --> 00:23:13,240 Speaker 1: streaming video games a thing. And these are not all, 386 00:23:14,119 --> 00:23:16,920 Speaker 1: you know, apples to apples. They have different features and 387 00:23:17,000 --> 00:23:21,159 Speaker 1: different limitations. However, most of these services, not all, but 388 00:23:21,320 --> 00:23:25,520 Speaker 1: most of them are connected to established gaming platforms. Steam 389 00:23:25,640 --> 00:23:28,359 Speaker 1: is Valves online store and is a major part of 390 00:23:28,400 --> 00:23:32,240 Speaker 1: the computer game market. Xbox and PlayStation are obviously well 391 00:23:32,400 --> 00:23:37,040 Speaker 1: established consoles, and cloud gaming is an enhancing feature for 392 00:23:37,160 --> 00:23:40,480 Speaker 1: those systems, but it's not the defining feature, at least 393 00:23:40,560 --> 00:23:43,080 Speaker 1: not yet. So while there are a lot of cloud 394 00:23:43,160 --> 00:23:46,760 Speaker 1: gaming services out there, many of them are extensions of 395 00:23:46,920 --> 00:23:50,440 Speaker 1: already established brands in the gaming world. But let's get 396 00:23:50,480 --> 00:23:56,480 Speaker 1: into Google's product stadia. Around Google team members began to 397 00:23:56,560 --> 00:24:00,200 Speaker 1: explore the potential of developing their own cloud gaming and 398 00:24:00,359 --> 00:24:04,200 Speaker 1: streaming service. Now the company had already launched a streaming 399 00:24:04,280 --> 00:24:09,320 Speaker 1: product called chrome Cast. In chrome Cast is a device 400 00:24:09,480 --> 00:24:12,760 Speaker 1: that connects to television's via an hd M I plug, 401 00:24:13,359 --> 00:24:17,320 Speaker 1: and the device also connects to your WiFi network. You 402 00:24:17,400 --> 00:24:22,119 Speaker 1: can cast content from other connected devices like computers or 403 00:24:22,119 --> 00:24:25,320 Speaker 1: smartphones and send it to the chrome Cast to view 404 00:24:25,520 --> 00:24:29,879 Speaker 1: on your television, So you can cast movies or a 405 00:24:30,000 --> 00:24:33,040 Speaker 1: web page if you wanted to, to your computer and 406 00:24:33,200 --> 00:24:36,399 Speaker 1: view it that way. The team working on cloud gaming 407 00:24:36,520 --> 00:24:39,080 Speaker 1: over at Google Fiber would join up with the chrome 408 00:24:39,200 --> 00:24:41,879 Speaker 1: Cast team to work on the project, which got the 409 00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:46,600 Speaker 1: name Project Stream. The team sought out how to optimize 410 00:24:46,640 --> 00:24:50,120 Speaker 1: data traffic to allow for high bandwidth, low latency video 411 00:24:50,200 --> 00:24:53,280 Speaker 1: games streaming, and the whole project was kept under wraps 412 00:24:53,440 --> 00:24:58,439 Speaker 1: for four years. In October, Google showed off a beta 413 00:24:58,560 --> 00:25:02,119 Speaker 1: build of Project Beam. Beta testers had a chance to 414 00:25:02,520 --> 00:25:05,320 Speaker 1: try out the service on devices like a Chrome Book 415 00:25:05,680 --> 00:25:10,480 Speaker 1: playing Assassin's Creed Odyssey from Ubisoft. And that's pretty impressive, 416 00:25:10,560 --> 00:25:13,359 Speaker 1: and then it shows off the advantages of this model 417 00:25:13,440 --> 00:25:16,880 Speaker 1: of gaming. Stefan at the end of the Verge reported 418 00:25:16,960 --> 00:25:19,880 Speaker 1: that he tried it out on a Chromebook Pixel, which 419 00:25:20,000 --> 00:25:24,000 Speaker 1: is particularly impressive as Google had stopped supporting the Pixel 420 00:25:24,080 --> 00:25:28,200 Speaker 1: line of Chrome Books a couple of months earlier in Augusten. 421 00:25:28,560 --> 00:25:31,080 Speaker 1: Now it's possible that Etienne really meant that he played 422 00:25:31,119 --> 00:25:33,399 Speaker 1: it on a pixel book. That was the line of 423 00:25:33,480 --> 00:25:37,400 Speaker 1: laptops that had been introduced in twenty seventeen, the successor 424 00:25:37,720 --> 00:25:40,680 Speaker 1: to the Chrome Book Pixel line. But either way, it's 425 00:25:40,680 --> 00:25:43,760 Speaker 1: a really neat achievement. Now to understand why I call 426 00:25:43,840 --> 00:25:45,879 Speaker 1: it impressive, it helps to take a look at the 427 00:25:45,960 --> 00:25:48,560 Speaker 1: specs of a pixel book, and I'm going to use 428 00:25:48,600 --> 00:25:51,080 Speaker 1: pixel books just in case that's what Etienne meant, rather 429 00:25:51,200 --> 00:25:54,159 Speaker 1: than a Chromebook pixel. Just know that the Chromebook pixel 430 00:25:54,640 --> 00:25:57,320 Speaker 1: is even less powerful than the pixel book was. So 431 00:25:57,440 --> 00:26:01,000 Speaker 1: pixel books can have either a seventh generation Intel I 432 00:26:01,240 --> 00:26:05,000 Speaker 1: five or I seven processor, which Google says allows for 433 00:26:05,119 --> 00:26:08,800 Speaker 1: a quote seamless four K output to an external monitor 434 00:26:09,080 --> 00:26:12,119 Speaker 1: end quote, So you can connect this laptop to an 435 00:26:12,160 --> 00:26:16,080 Speaker 1: external display and stream out four K video. You can 436 00:26:16,160 --> 00:26:19,840 Speaker 1: get them with either eight gigabytes or sixteen gigabytes of RAM. 437 00:26:20,040 --> 00:26:22,560 Speaker 1: They come with a solid state storage drive with a 438 00:26:22,600 --> 00:26:26,720 Speaker 1: capacity of either hud gigabytes, two hundred fifty six gigabytes, 439 00:26:26,840 --> 00:26:30,320 Speaker 1: or five hundred twelve gigabytes, and it has the Chrome 440 00:26:30,520 --> 00:26:33,960 Speaker 1: Operating System as its OS. That's about it for the 441 00:26:34,000 --> 00:26:36,320 Speaker 1: technical specs, apart from the fact that it has two 442 00:26:36,560 --> 00:26:39,520 Speaker 1: USBC ports, which that's important if you're going to connect 443 00:26:39,560 --> 00:26:43,600 Speaker 1: it to uh display. Now, those are some pretty modest 444 00:26:43,720 --> 00:26:47,359 Speaker 1: stats for a PC, and definitely humble when you compare 445 00:26:47,400 --> 00:26:51,760 Speaker 1: it to a truly fast gaming rig. There's no fancy 446 00:26:51,840 --> 00:26:55,119 Speaker 1: cooling system in the pixel Book. There's no souped up 447 00:26:55,200 --> 00:26:58,720 Speaker 1: graphics processing units or any other bells and whistles that 448 00:26:58,800 --> 00:27:01,480 Speaker 1: you'll find on a state of the art gaming PC. 449 00:27:02,240 --> 00:27:05,600 Speaker 1: The pixel Book price is an arrange from about a 450 00:27:05,680 --> 00:27:08,600 Speaker 1: thousand dollars up to sevent hundred for the top of 451 00:27:08,640 --> 00:27:11,760 Speaker 1: the line model, and that still is pretty darn price. 452 00:27:12,400 --> 00:27:15,480 Speaker 1: But there are less expensive Chromebook models, and of course 453 00:27:15,560 --> 00:27:17,760 Speaker 1: the most recent iteration of this line is called the 454 00:27:17,920 --> 00:27:23,160 Speaker 1: pixel Book Go and it has a less grandiose scale 455 00:27:23,440 --> 00:27:27,000 Speaker 1: of prices. But let's compare that to one of the 456 00:27:27,040 --> 00:27:30,840 Speaker 1: most expensive off the shelf gaming pieces of two thousand 457 00:27:30,920 --> 00:27:34,000 Speaker 1: eighteen to see how it stacks up. You know, compare 458 00:27:34,080 --> 00:27:37,080 Speaker 1: this against a state of the art gaming rig. So 459 00:27:37,400 --> 00:27:40,360 Speaker 1: Stefan at the end, that same guy who who reviewed 460 00:27:40,960 --> 00:27:44,440 Speaker 1: his experience on the Project Stream Beta also had a 461 00:27:44,560 --> 00:27:49,000 Speaker 1: chance to try out a true monster of a gaming 462 00:27:49,119 --> 00:27:51,879 Speaker 1: rig earlier in eighteen. This was not connected to the 463 00:27:51,920 --> 00:27:55,000 Speaker 1: pixel book stuff at all. The device he used was 464 00:27:55,040 --> 00:27:58,480 Speaker 1: called the main Gear F one three one, and you 465 00:27:58,600 --> 00:28:02,200 Speaker 1: can configure the F one thirty one in numerous ways 466 00:28:02,520 --> 00:28:05,080 Speaker 1: which would affect the price, right Like you can say, 467 00:28:05,119 --> 00:28:07,120 Speaker 1: all right, I want this, but I don't need dad, 468 00:28:07,160 --> 00:28:09,560 Speaker 1: and that will change the price. However, the version that 469 00:28:09,680 --> 00:28:13,120 Speaker 1: e t N tested tipped the scales at eight thousand 470 00:28:13,240 --> 00:28:17,359 Speaker 1: dollars a princely su Indeed, the F one thirty one 471 00:28:17,400 --> 00:28:20,000 Speaker 1: at t N tested had a Core I seven processor 472 00:28:20,080 --> 00:28:22,720 Speaker 1: as its CPU, with a clock speed of four point 473 00:28:22,800 --> 00:28:26,920 Speaker 1: seven giga hurts but overclocked to five giga hurts, and 474 00:28:27,040 --> 00:28:29,800 Speaker 1: it had two g t X ten a d t 475 00:28:30,040 --> 00:28:33,000 Speaker 1: I g p U s add a custom liquid cooling 476 00:28:33,080 --> 00:28:36,440 Speaker 1: system to keep everything nice and chilly, because electronics and 477 00:28:36,560 --> 00:28:39,160 Speaker 1: heat don't mix very well and those kind of processors 478 00:28:39,240 --> 00:28:42,320 Speaker 1: generate a lot of heat. It had thirty two gigabytes 479 00:28:42,320 --> 00:28:45,640 Speaker 1: of RAM, a five twelve gigabytes solid state drive, a 480 00:28:45,760 --> 00:28:50,400 Speaker 1: four terabytes standard hard drive, a twelve hundred WHAT power supply, 481 00:28:50,680 --> 00:28:54,200 Speaker 1: and a Blu ray drive. And there were other cosmetic 482 00:28:54,320 --> 00:28:58,200 Speaker 1: enhancements to the PC, including remote controlled led lighting in 483 00:28:58,320 --> 00:29:00,640 Speaker 1: the case. So this was a mache being designed to 484 00:29:00,720 --> 00:29:03,880 Speaker 1: run the latest games in ten at their top settings 485 00:29:03,920 --> 00:29:06,480 Speaker 1: with no hiccups, and at the end proclaimed it was 486 00:29:06,600 --> 00:29:10,280 Speaker 1: quote practically future proof for at least the next one 487 00:29:10,400 --> 00:29:14,560 Speaker 1: to two years end quote, which tells you how quickly 488 00:29:14,640 --> 00:29:18,480 Speaker 1: the hardware cycle really is. This is Moore's law in 489 00:29:18,680 --> 00:29:21,120 Speaker 1: action that we're talking about. So let that sink in 490 00:29:21,720 --> 00:29:25,400 Speaker 1: eight thousand dollars for a computer that could potentially need 491 00:29:25,480 --> 00:29:29,240 Speaker 1: to be upgraded in if you're lucky, two years time 492 00:29:29,400 --> 00:29:31,360 Speaker 1: to keep up to speed with the latest standards and 493 00:29:31,480 --> 00:29:34,120 Speaker 1: games that Now you're starting to see where the value 494 00:29:34,120 --> 00:29:37,120 Speaker 1: proposition is in the cloud gaming model, right. But this 495 00:29:37,280 --> 00:29:41,000 Speaker 1: really nails down how that video game streaming model can 496 00:29:41,120 --> 00:29:44,120 Speaker 1: be really attractive. The most valuable component on a top 497 00:29:44,200 --> 00:29:46,960 Speaker 1: of the line pixel book is the capacity to connect 498 00:29:47,000 --> 00:29:50,160 Speaker 1: to a four K display for ultra high definition video. 499 00:29:50,720 --> 00:29:54,120 Speaker 1: The processor, while it's good, is not the best. There's 500 00:29:54,160 --> 00:29:58,120 Speaker 1: no specialized graphics card in there. So with relatively simple components, 501 00:29:58,240 --> 00:30:01,560 Speaker 1: you can still play the latest games incredible graphics. You 502 00:30:01,600 --> 00:30:05,400 Speaker 1: don't have to worry about GPU shortages or anything like that. 503 00:30:05,600 --> 00:30:09,160 Speaker 1: Because Google is worrying about that for you on their end, 504 00:30:09,520 --> 00:30:12,560 Speaker 1: and you wouldn't have to upgrade your machine like ever 505 00:30:12,880 --> 00:30:15,360 Speaker 1: unless it broke down, and that's because the actual games 506 00:30:15,400 --> 00:30:18,880 Speaker 1: are running on the cloud, not on your computer. It 507 00:30:19,040 --> 00:30:21,960 Speaker 1: also would mean that Google might potentially allow players to 508 00:30:22,040 --> 00:30:25,440 Speaker 1: stream top tier games to mobile devices, as long as 509 00:30:25,520 --> 00:30:28,840 Speaker 1: those devices also have a good Internet connection, and the 510 00:30:28,920 --> 00:30:32,120 Speaker 1: initial impressions among beta testers and cities with good broadband 511 00:30:32,120 --> 00:30:36,680 Speaker 1: infrastructure was really positive. In twenty nineteen, during the Game 512 00:30:36,760 --> 00:30:41,560 Speaker 1: Developer Conference of that year, Google revealed that Project Stream 513 00:30:41,960 --> 00:30:46,640 Speaker 1: was now becoming an actual product called Google Stadia. At 514 00:30:46,680 --> 00:30:49,040 Speaker 1: the time, a lot of people expected Google to unveil 515 00:30:49,160 --> 00:30:53,120 Speaker 1: a full console, albeit one that facilitated streaming games. So 516 00:30:53,200 --> 00:30:54,920 Speaker 1: they were thinking, oh, they're going to have a set 517 00:30:54,960 --> 00:30:59,160 Speaker 1: top box that you plug into a router and then 518 00:30:59,200 --> 00:31:01,680 Speaker 1: you plug the other end into the television and you're 519 00:31:01,800 --> 00:31:04,520 Speaker 1: good to go. But instead they found out that Stadium 520 00:31:04,520 --> 00:31:07,480 Speaker 1: is really more of a service and it's less about 521 00:31:07,640 --> 00:31:11,200 Speaker 1: specific consoles and more about a family of technologies to 522 00:31:11,280 --> 00:31:13,800 Speaker 1: have a lot of potential points of contact with the 523 00:31:13,960 --> 00:31:18,640 Speaker 1: end user. Google did unveil one piece of proprietary hardware, however, 524 00:31:19,040 --> 00:31:22,440 Speaker 1: it's a game controller, that looks pretty similar to an 525 00:31:22,640 --> 00:31:27,800 Speaker 1: Xbox controller, complete with two thumbsticks, shoulder buttons, triggers, and 526 00:31:27,960 --> 00:31:30,360 Speaker 1: a four button layout on the right side, and it 527 00:31:30,480 --> 00:31:33,680 Speaker 1: also has a few systems specific buttons for navigating menus 528 00:31:33,720 --> 00:31:38,000 Speaker 1: and activating various features. But what would this controller actually 529 00:31:38,040 --> 00:31:42,440 Speaker 1: connect to. Well, it could wirelessly connect with a Chrome 530 00:31:42,560 --> 00:31:45,880 Speaker 1: Cast Ultra, so if you happen to have one of 531 00:31:45,960 --> 00:31:49,680 Speaker 1: those connected to your television and your WiFi network, you 532 00:31:49,880 --> 00:31:54,040 Speaker 1: could wirelessly connect to your controller to that device and 533 00:31:54,120 --> 00:31:57,480 Speaker 1: the network, and you could then navigate the service and 534 00:31:57,560 --> 00:32:00,320 Speaker 1: play games on your television. If you were using a 535 00:32:00,400 --> 00:32:03,000 Speaker 1: phone at launch, you needed a way to plug the 536 00:32:03,080 --> 00:32:07,480 Speaker 1: controller into the phone using a USBC cable. Then you 537 00:32:07,520 --> 00:32:10,200 Speaker 1: could buy a little clip on framelike device that would 538 00:32:10,240 --> 00:32:14,200 Speaker 1: hold the phone and landscape orientation just above the controller, 539 00:32:14,360 --> 00:32:17,600 Speaker 1: turning this into kind of an interesting little Jerry rigged 540 00:32:17,760 --> 00:32:22,040 Speaker 1: handheld gaming system. Or you could connect to a PC 541 00:32:22,360 --> 00:32:26,360 Speaker 1: running the Chrome browser, so you just initiate Stadia through 542 00:32:26,400 --> 00:32:29,800 Speaker 1: the Chrome browser, and you could use any wired game 543 00:32:29,880 --> 00:32:33,840 Speaker 1: pad or a mouse and keyboard, uh was, whatever your 544 00:32:33,920 --> 00:32:36,720 Speaker 1: choice was, And all three of these methods would give 545 00:32:36,800 --> 00:32:40,400 Speaker 1: users access to the Stadius service and moreover, at least. 546 00:32:40,440 --> 00:32:43,960 Speaker 1: Google's pronouncement was you would be able to swap between 547 00:32:44,080 --> 00:32:47,880 Speaker 1: them and pick up where you left off previously. More 548 00:32:48,000 --> 00:32:51,360 Speaker 1: or less, it wasn't. It wasn't a completely seamless experience, 549 00:32:51,480 --> 00:32:55,959 Speaker 1: especially early on. So how was this announcement received, Well, 550 00:32:56,000 --> 00:33:06,960 Speaker 1: we'll find out after this quick break on launch day. 551 00:33:07,160 --> 00:33:10,200 Speaker 1: There was still a great deal of skepticism regarding Google 552 00:33:10,240 --> 00:33:14,000 Speaker 1: Stadia for multiple reasons, and allow me to list a 553 00:33:14,120 --> 00:33:19,520 Speaker 1: few of them. At launch, Stadia costs for the controller 554 00:33:19,680 --> 00:33:23,240 Speaker 1: and access to the service, which after three months would 555 00:33:23,280 --> 00:33:26,760 Speaker 1: include a ten dollar per month subscription fee, on top 556 00:33:26,840 --> 00:33:29,320 Speaker 1: of which you would need to pay more money to 557 00:33:29,560 --> 00:33:32,360 Speaker 1: purchase a premium game on the service and add it 558 00:33:32,440 --> 00:33:36,320 Speaker 1: to your library. Now, initially, even with all those fees, 559 00:33:36,440 --> 00:33:40,560 Speaker 1: that's still cheaper than a console and much cheaper than 560 00:33:40,640 --> 00:33:44,360 Speaker 1: a high end gaming rig, But over time those expenses 561 00:33:44,400 --> 00:33:47,960 Speaker 1: start to add up. That being said, at launch, Google 562 00:33:48,000 --> 00:33:51,200 Speaker 1: announced that the plan was to move to a free service, 563 00:33:51,640 --> 00:33:54,600 Speaker 1: dropping the subscription fee. Still, if you wanted to be 564 00:33:54,680 --> 00:33:57,920 Speaker 1: an early adopter, and meant you were paying three separate fees, 565 00:33:58,240 --> 00:34:00,880 Speaker 1: the initial purchase price, the sub scription, and then the 566 00:34:00,960 --> 00:34:04,080 Speaker 1: cost of any games you actually wanted to buy. Another 567 00:34:04,200 --> 00:34:07,440 Speaker 1: big reason for skepticism was that Google has a pretty 568 00:34:07,520 --> 00:34:11,359 Speaker 1: shaky reputation when it comes to services. The company does 569 00:34:11,480 --> 00:34:15,320 Speaker 1: have quite a few solid products, of course, Google Chrome 570 00:34:15,520 --> 00:34:19,320 Speaker 1: commands more than six of the browser market share according 571 00:34:19,400 --> 00:34:23,040 Speaker 1: to stat Counter, and Safari takes a distant second place 572 00:34:23,120 --> 00:34:27,440 Speaker 1: at around twenty. Tools like Gmail and Google Drive Suites 573 00:34:27,440 --> 00:34:31,160 Speaker 1: have stuck around. Google Maps is very popular. But then 574 00:34:31,320 --> 00:34:34,719 Speaker 1: there are the numerous Google products that debuted and then 575 00:34:35,040 --> 00:34:39,880 Speaker 1: went away, sometimes with very little hulla balu, and sometimes 576 00:34:39,960 --> 00:34:43,560 Speaker 1: the holo was all over that. Below there's an entire 577 00:34:43,680 --> 00:34:48,400 Speaker 1: website called killed by Google dedicated to documenting these things. 578 00:34:49,239 --> 00:34:52,800 Speaker 1: I'll give just a few examples. Google Hangouts is on 579 00:34:52,920 --> 00:34:55,360 Speaker 1: the way out. It's still around right now, but it 580 00:34:55,360 --> 00:35:00,000 Speaker 1: will be discontinued this year. Google play Music was recently unplugged. 581 00:35:00,600 --> 00:35:04,760 Speaker 1: Google Fiber tv has gone off the air. The YouTube 582 00:35:04,880 --> 00:35:08,320 Speaker 1: gaming app has a game oversign on it, which seems 583 00:35:08,360 --> 00:35:12,359 Speaker 1: like a bad omen considering this topic. Google Goggles went dark, 584 00:35:12,800 --> 00:35:17,400 Speaker 1: Google Wave waved by by Google buzz buzzed off, Google 585 00:35:17,520 --> 00:35:21,200 Speaker 1: Plus is now a minus, Google Now is later, and 586 00:35:21,239 --> 00:35:23,520 Speaker 1: then we've got Picasa and or cutting who I can't 587 00:35:23,640 --> 00:35:27,120 Speaker 1: really do puns about, but the list goes on and on. Now, 588 00:35:27,200 --> 00:35:29,640 Speaker 1: the point is that Google has a long history of 589 00:35:29,760 --> 00:35:33,920 Speaker 1: coming up with interesting ideas, launching a product that may 590 00:35:34,080 --> 00:35:37,480 Speaker 1: or may not be half baked, and then pulling support 591 00:35:37,640 --> 00:35:41,320 Speaker 1: for that product at some later point. Some of the 592 00:35:41,400 --> 00:35:43,959 Speaker 1: projects make a real go at it. They might stick 593 00:35:44,000 --> 00:35:47,680 Speaker 1: around for a few or even several years. Some don't 594 00:35:47,880 --> 00:35:50,880 Speaker 1: last very long at all, And many of the cases 595 00:35:51,040 --> 00:35:54,000 Speaker 1: I've personally seen, I've noted that it felt often like 596 00:35:54,160 --> 00:35:59,080 Speaker 1: the product was made almost exclusively by and four engineers. Now, 597 00:35:59,480 --> 00:36:03,000 Speaker 1: I don't mean that as a knock on engineers, but 598 00:36:03,120 --> 00:36:04,880 Speaker 1: what I do mean is that a lot of these 599 00:36:04,960 --> 00:36:08,440 Speaker 1: products place a good deal of responsibility on the user 600 00:36:08,920 --> 00:36:11,239 Speaker 1: to figure out how to get the most out of 601 00:36:11,360 --> 00:36:15,080 Speaker 1: the product. They are not dumbed down or idiot proof, 602 00:36:15,480 --> 00:36:18,760 Speaker 1: and that can be a bad thing. If you happen 603 00:36:18,840 --> 00:36:22,480 Speaker 1: to think the way the engineers who made the product thought, Well, 604 00:36:22,840 --> 00:36:25,640 Speaker 1: it may just work for you because you're thinking is 605 00:36:25,680 --> 00:36:28,480 Speaker 1: in line with what they intended. But if you don't, 606 00:36:28,960 --> 00:36:31,719 Speaker 1: you might find yourself really frustrated with the experience, and 607 00:36:31,840 --> 00:36:33,960 Speaker 1: you'll give up on it because you're not using it 608 00:36:34,120 --> 00:36:37,040 Speaker 1: the way they thought you would. That's not necessarily your 609 00:36:37,160 --> 00:36:41,880 Speaker 1: fault and eventually Google might give up on it too. Again, 610 00:36:42,000 --> 00:36:44,960 Speaker 1: that's not me saying that these products were bad. Some 611 00:36:45,120 --> 00:36:47,480 Speaker 1: of the ones I've mentioned were products I loved and 612 00:36:47,600 --> 00:36:50,799 Speaker 1: depended upon. I still miss Google Wave to this day, 613 00:36:51,040 --> 00:36:52,600 Speaker 1: but I admit it was a tool that had a 614 00:36:52,760 --> 00:36:56,680 Speaker 1: limited number of use cases. Now, losing Google Wave was 615 00:36:56,760 --> 00:37:00,320 Speaker 1: a bummer, but that didn't cost me any money. Google 616 00:37:00,360 --> 00:37:03,719 Speaker 1: Stadium is a different matter. So what happens if you 617 00:37:03,880 --> 00:37:07,480 Speaker 1: join Google Stadium and you purchase games in Google Stadia, 618 00:37:07,800 --> 00:37:10,040 Speaker 1: and then the company later decides that it's going to 619 00:37:10,280 --> 00:37:14,200 Speaker 1: stop offering the service. The games you purchase don't live 620 00:37:14,480 --> 00:37:17,480 Speaker 1: on any of your devices there in the cloud. Your 621 00:37:17,520 --> 00:37:20,880 Speaker 1: purchase price is more about getting access to the experience 622 00:37:20,920 --> 00:37:24,600 Speaker 1: of playing that. But if Google shuts down Stadia, then 623 00:37:24,680 --> 00:37:27,440 Speaker 1: presumably you won't be able to access those games anymore. 624 00:37:27,920 --> 00:37:30,480 Speaker 1: To compare this to traditional games, it would be like 625 00:37:30,560 --> 00:37:32,800 Speaker 1: someone from e A comes to your home and demands 626 00:37:32,840 --> 00:37:35,360 Speaker 1: you hand over all the copies of EA games you 627 00:37:35,440 --> 00:37:37,320 Speaker 1: happen to have because e A is going to go 628 00:37:37,400 --> 00:37:41,160 Speaker 1: out of business. That too, gamers doesn't make a lot 629 00:37:41,200 --> 00:37:44,440 Speaker 1: of sense. They think I bought the game, I should 630 00:37:44,480 --> 00:37:46,520 Speaker 1: still be able to play it even if you decide 631 00:37:46,520 --> 00:37:48,239 Speaker 1: to shut down the service, but that's not how that 632 00:37:48,280 --> 00:37:52,000 Speaker 1: would work. Another reason some analysts were eyeing the launch 633 00:37:52,080 --> 00:37:55,080 Speaker 1: with pessimism is that, as we've covered in this episode, 634 00:37:55,400 --> 00:37:59,000 Speaker 1: the history of standalone cloud gaming services is not filled 635 00:37:59,040 --> 00:38:02,239 Speaker 1: with success. The sales pitch for cloud gaming can hit 636 00:38:02,320 --> 00:38:06,480 Speaker 1: a pretty narrow band of people. Serious gamers are likely 637 00:38:06,600 --> 00:38:10,799 Speaker 1: already invested in gaming rigs and consoles, so they don't 638 00:38:10,920 --> 00:38:14,600 Speaker 1: have a big need for another service that delivers games online, 639 00:38:14,640 --> 00:38:18,480 Speaker 1: particularly if it's an experience that doesn't quite measure up 640 00:38:18,640 --> 00:38:21,120 Speaker 1: to the one they're used to. Moreover, if you're a 641 00:38:21,200 --> 00:38:23,880 Speaker 1: serious gamer, you've likely spent the money on hardware to 642 00:38:24,040 --> 00:38:28,000 Speaker 1: get the best experience you can, and chances are the 643 00:38:28,080 --> 00:38:31,040 Speaker 1: experience you get over broadband just isn't going to measure up. 644 00:38:31,520 --> 00:38:35,680 Speaker 1: Stadia also didn't have any exclusive games, really, so that 645 00:38:35,920 --> 00:38:38,000 Speaker 1: meant that all the titles you could find on Google 646 00:38:38,040 --> 00:38:42,319 Speaker 1: Stadia were also available on other services. And if you're 647 00:38:42,360 --> 00:38:44,360 Speaker 1: able to buy the game and run it on a 648 00:38:44,560 --> 00:38:47,680 Speaker 1: native device without worrying about latency or anything like that, 649 00:38:48,360 --> 00:38:50,600 Speaker 1: it just seems like that would be the natural route 650 00:38:50,600 --> 00:38:54,320 Speaker 1: you would choose. Then there are things well beyond Google's 651 00:38:54,360 --> 00:38:57,080 Speaker 1: control that we're a factor. A big one of those 652 00:38:57,160 --> 00:39:00,360 Speaker 1: are data caps. That's the limit that I s p's 653 00:39:00,440 --> 00:39:04,440 Speaker 1: often put on user accounts per month. For example, Comcast 654 00:39:04,520 --> 00:39:07,600 Speaker 1: has a one point to terabyte data cap per month 655 00:39:07,800 --> 00:39:10,680 Speaker 1: for most accounts. If you want the ability to use 656 00:39:10,800 --> 00:39:13,320 Speaker 1: more data than that, you have to pay for it, 657 00:39:13,640 --> 00:39:17,040 Speaker 1: either by getting a limitless account or by paying overage 658 00:39:17,080 --> 00:39:20,000 Speaker 1: fees when you go over the limit. If you listen 659 00:39:20,080 --> 00:39:22,400 Speaker 1: to the news episode I did last week, you know 660 00:39:22,520 --> 00:39:26,040 Speaker 1: that Massachusetts is currently pushing back on Comcast for doing 661 00:39:26,160 --> 00:39:29,000 Speaker 1: that to customers in the state. It's something that the 662 00:39:29,080 --> 00:39:32,080 Speaker 1: company has been doing for a while in other states, 663 00:39:32,200 --> 00:39:35,520 Speaker 1: and it's not the only one now. As you might imagine, 664 00:39:35,680 --> 00:39:38,480 Speaker 1: streaming four K video can eat up a lot of data, 665 00:39:38,800 --> 00:39:41,239 Speaker 1: even though most of the time we're actually talking about 666 00:39:41,280 --> 00:39:44,360 Speaker 1: ten eight resolution video that then gets upscaled once it 667 00:39:44,480 --> 00:39:48,320 Speaker 1: hits its destination. If you are an avid gamer, you 668 00:39:48,440 --> 00:39:51,440 Speaker 1: could chew through that data limit pretty quickly with some 669 00:39:51,600 --> 00:39:54,840 Speaker 1: long gaming sessions. And so some critics pointed out that 670 00:39:54,960 --> 00:39:57,200 Speaker 1: in a world with data caps, this business might not 671 00:39:57,360 --> 00:40:01,000 Speaker 1: really have a place. And then there were the problems 672 00:40:01,080 --> 00:40:05,239 Speaker 1: of some unfulfilled promises at launch. So when Google announced 673 00:40:05,320 --> 00:40:09,120 Speaker 1: Stadia in March of twenty nineteen. The company made some 674 00:40:09,280 --> 00:40:12,120 Speaker 1: pretty big claims. One was that you would be able 675 00:40:12,200 --> 00:40:14,880 Speaker 1: to stream to YouTube in four K resolution right off 676 00:40:14,920 --> 00:40:17,600 Speaker 1: the bat, and another was that you would use a 677 00:40:17,680 --> 00:40:21,120 Speaker 1: button on the controller to activate Google Assistant when you 678 00:40:21,160 --> 00:40:24,480 Speaker 1: could get real time and relevant tips as you play through. 679 00:40:24,719 --> 00:40:27,279 Speaker 1: So imagine you're playing a game, and maybe it's a 680 00:40:27,320 --> 00:40:30,239 Speaker 1: puzzle game, and you hit a particularly tough puzzle and 681 00:40:30,360 --> 00:40:32,680 Speaker 1: you're just having real trouble getting through it. You could 682 00:40:32,719 --> 00:40:35,560 Speaker 1: hit the Google Assist button, according to Google, and get 683 00:40:35,680 --> 00:40:37,680 Speaker 1: tips on what you would need to do in order 684 00:40:37,719 --> 00:40:39,440 Speaker 1: to make it through that part of the game. You 685 00:40:39,520 --> 00:40:43,160 Speaker 1: just ask your assistant for help. You could, the company claimed, 686 00:40:43,280 --> 00:40:46,080 Speaker 1: watch your favorite YouTube gamers and with a push of 687 00:40:46,120 --> 00:40:49,160 Speaker 1: a button, leap right into the same part of the 688 00:40:49,320 --> 00:40:52,520 Speaker 1: same game that the YouTuber was going through, so you 689 00:40:52,600 --> 00:40:56,080 Speaker 1: can measure your own skill against the YouTuber. The system 690 00:40:56,160 --> 00:40:59,040 Speaker 1: would offer a cross platform for play for titles as well, 691 00:40:59,080 --> 00:41:02,200 Speaker 1: according to Google, and there was more. There was a 692 00:41:02,280 --> 00:41:05,000 Speaker 1: comment that you could watch a video on YouTube and 693 00:41:05,200 --> 00:41:07,319 Speaker 1: let's say you get an ad for a video game. 694 00:41:07,680 --> 00:41:09,560 Speaker 1: With the push of a button, you could add that 695 00:41:09,719 --> 00:41:13,160 Speaker 1: game to your library and purchase it right through Google Stadia, 696 00:41:13,840 --> 00:41:17,240 Speaker 1: but a lot of these promises just weren't in place 697 00:41:17,680 --> 00:41:21,560 Speaker 1: when the product finally launched later that year. For example, 698 00:41:21,760 --> 00:41:26,080 Speaker 1: the flagship game on the Google Stadia system was Destiny To, 699 00:41:26,480 --> 00:41:30,920 Speaker 1: a popular multiplayer shooter game, but Bungey, the studio behind 700 00:41:31,040 --> 00:41:34,920 Speaker 1: Destiny To, revealed in June two nineteen that the Stadio 701 00:41:35,040 --> 00:41:39,080 Speaker 1: version would not be cross platform, but rather a walled 702 00:41:39,160 --> 00:41:42,080 Speaker 1: off ecosystem of its own, So if you were playing 703 00:41:42,120 --> 00:41:44,520 Speaker 1: on Stadia, you wouldn't be able to play with your 704 00:41:44,560 --> 00:41:48,080 Speaker 1: buddies who have to be playing them on PC. For example, 705 00:41:48,520 --> 00:41:51,560 Speaker 1: As the project got closer to launch, other promises had 706 00:41:51,640 --> 00:41:55,479 Speaker 1: to be tweaked. The Google Assistant feature was scaled way back. 707 00:41:55,600 --> 00:41:58,080 Speaker 1: You wouldn't be able to stream to Chrome PCs in 708 00:41:58,200 --> 00:42:01,560 Speaker 1: four K with HDR at lawn either, none of the 709 00:42:01,600 --> 00:42:04,680 Speaker 1: games would have those YouTube features I mentioned at launch, 710 00:42:05,239 --> 00:42:08,279 Speaker 1: and there were some other setbacks as well. These things 711 00:42:08,600 --> 00:42:13,080 Speaker 1: do happen. Again. Google wasn't launching a standalone console, but 712 00:42:13,239 --> 00:42:16,200 Speaker 1: rather a service that connects to various pieces of hardware, 713 00:42:16,560 --> 00:42:19,640 Speaker 1: and that's a lot of figuratively moving pieces, and not 714 00:42:19,800 --> 00:42:21,800 Speaker 1: all of them were in place by the time of launch. 715 00:42:22,560 --> 00:42:25,200 Speaker 1: That being said, the Google Stadia team was hard at 716 00:42:25,239 --> 00:42:29,040 Speaker 1: work on Stadia features. Google also established a new division 717 00:42:29,120 --> 00:42:33,080 Speaker 1: called Stadia Games and Entertainment, and they hired Jade Raymond, 718 00:42:33,280 --> 00:42:36,640 Speaker 1: a former would be Soft employee, to head up that division. 719 00:42:37,200 --> 00:42:39,400 Speaker 1: Part of what this division will do will be to 720 00:42:39,520 --> 00:42:43,839 Speaker 1: develop exclusive titles for the Stadia platform. Today, you can 721 00:42:43,920 --> 00:42:46,840 Speaker 1: make a Stadia account for free, but to get access 722 00:42:46,880 --> 00:42:49,640 Speaker 1: to features like four K resolution on TVs connected to 723 00:42:49,760 --> 00:42:52,759 Speaker 1: Chrome Cast Ultra, or sixty frames per second at ten 724 00:42:52,840 --> 00:42:55,960 Speaker 1: a D resolution, or a selection of free games, you 725 00:42:56,040 --> 00:43:00,040 Speaker 1: have to subscribe to the Google Stadia Pro service, and 726 00:43:00,120 --> 00:43:03,839 Speaker 1: the premium subscription service is as of this recording, ten 727 00:43:03,920 --> 00:43:08,120 Speaker 1: dollars per month. The controller now will set you back 728 00:43:08,200 --> 00:43:12,560 Speaker 1: sixty and beyond the free titles that Google offers, you 729 00:43:12,640 --> 00:43:15,760 Speaker 1: can purchase other games and add them to your cloud library. 730 00:43:16,280 --> 00:43:18,560 Speaker 1: You can stream to YouTube, though some of the other 731 00:43:18,680 --> 00:43:21,920 Speaker 1: YouTube related features still aren't active as of this recording. 732 00:43:22,480 --> 00:43:26,160 Speaker 1: Google launched an iOS compatible version of Stadia in December 733 00:43:26,239 --> 00:43:29,400 Speaker 1: twenty twenty, and the team continues to update users on 734 00:43:29,520 --> 00:43:32,680 Speaker 1: what's new with a platform on the Google Stadium blog. 735 00:43:33,480 --> 00:43:35,880 Speaker 1: I've tried this out myself a little bit with a 736 00:43:36,040 --> 00:43:40,040 Speaker 1: Google Stadia Premier edition and full disclosure to you guys. 737 00:43:40,160 --> 00:43:44,320 Speaker 1: This was something Google offered to me for some reason, 738 00:43:44,960 --> 00:43:47,000 Speaker 1: not as a part of tech stuff, mind you. They 739 00:43:47,000 --> 00:43:49,320 Speaker 1: didn't reach out to me as a host of a podcast, 740 00:43:49,719 --> 00:43:52,120 Speaker 1: but I got the offer as a Google customer. It 741 00:43:52,200 --> 00:43:55,560 Speaker 1: might be because I'm a Google THI customer. I'm also 742 00:43:56,000 --> 00:43:59,440 Speaker 1: a Google Pixel user. I don't know, but I figure 743 00:43:59,440 --> 00:44:02,320 Speaker 1: I should men shin that I got the controller for free, 744 00:44:02,640 --> 00:44:04,759 Speaker 1: and I got a couple of three months on the 745 00:44:05,080 --> 00:44:07,759 Speaker 1: premium service to try it out. And it's not a 746 00:44:07,840 --> 00:44:11,640 Speaker 1: bad experience, but it doesn't really replace having a gaming 747 00:44:11,760 --> 00:44:15,800 Speaker 1: PC or a current generation console, at least I didn't 748 00:44:15,800 --> 00:44:18,640 Speaker 1: feel it did. I find that depending on what platform 749 00:44:18,719 --> 00:44:22,960 Speaker 1: I'm playing, controls can feel a little floaty at times. However, 750 00:44:23,040 --> 00:44:25,120 Speaker 1: that could also just be the games I've tried out, 751 00:44:25,640 --> 00:44:28,360 Speaker 1: because I've been playing games that I don't own on 752 00:44:28,520 --> 00:44:31,560 Speaker 1: other platforms, so it's not an apples to apples comparison. 753 00:44:32,040 --> 00:44:34,800 Speaker 1: And I haven't spent as much time on Google STADIU 754 00:44:34,800 --> 00:44:37,640 Speaker 1: as I would like, because um, I've been real busy, y'all. 755 00:44:38,480 --> 00:44:41,880 Speaker 1: The platform does have some neat benefits. Stadia can frequently 756 00:44:41,960 --> 00:44:45,480 Speaker 1: support larger multiplayer games than other platforms. So you can 757 00:44:45,560 --> 00:44:49,400 Speaker 1: have much larger contests with certain titles, you know, if 758 00:44:49,440 --> 00:44:52,360 Speaker 1: you have like, uh, you know, army type battles, you 759 00:44:52,440 --> 00:44:54,759 Speaker 1: can have a lot more players involved at once, which 760 00:44:54,840 --> 00:44:57,760 Speaker 1: is kind of cool. Uh. There's a picture and picture 761 00:44:57,880 --> 00:45:00,879 Speaker 1: feature that you can apparently use with for ends, which 762 00:45:00,920 --> 00:45:02,920 Speaker 1: would give you a view of your friends point of 763 00:45:02,960 --> 00:45:04,799 Speaker 1: view in a in a smaller picture in a corner 764 00:45:04,840 --> 00:45:07,279 Speaker 1: of your screen. So imagine that you're both playing like 765 00:45:07,520 --> 00:45:10,920 Speaker 1: Rainbow six Seizure or something. Not that this game necessarily 766 00:45:11,400 --> 00:45:13,560 Speaker 1: is on Stadia or is supported by this, but this 767 00:45:13,760 --> 00:45:16,680 Speaker 1: is the example. You might have a buddy that you're 768 00:45:16,680 --> 00:45:18,279 Speaker 1: playing with, and you would be able to see your 769 00:45:18,320 --> 00:45:20,680 Speaker 1: buddy's point of view in your lower the lower corner 770 00:45:20,719 --> 00:45:23,000 Speaker 1: of your screen, you know, so that way you can 771 00:45:23,080 --> 00:45:27,240 Speaker 1: coordinate with them and better go through a level for example. 772 00:45:28,000 --> 00:45:29,960 Speaker 1: Now I have not seen this. I haven't tried it 773 00:45:30,040 --> 00:45:33,800 Speaker 1: out because I don't have any friends who are on Stadia. 774 00:45:35,040 --> 00:45:40,399 Speaker 1: I do have friends, A promise they they just live 775 00:45:40,440 --> 00:45:45,440 Speaker 1: in Canada. Yeah, that's it. All that being said, I 776 00:45:45,520 --> 00:45:48,080 Speaker 1: see potential with Google Stadium. I think it's going to 777 00:45:48,200 --> 00:45:50,800 Speaker 1: have a hard time to attract customers, just like on 778 00:45:51,000 --> 00:45:54,279 Speaker 1: Live did because the platform is not well established in 779 00:45:54,320 --> 00:45:57,439 Speaker 1: the minds of gamers already. It's going toe to toe 780 00:45:57,520 --> 00:46:00,920 Speaker 1: with some really heavy hitters, but Google well itself, is 781 00:46:01,000 --> 00:46:03,640 Speaker 1: no slouch. I'm not sure if it's really going to 782 00:46:03,719 --> 00:46:07,000 Speaker 1: be here to stay, which makes me reluctant to suggest 783 00:46:07,120 --> 00:46:09,960 Speaker 1: it to other people that they dive in. But if 784 00:46:10,000 --> 00:46:13,000 Speaker 1: you do have a good Internet connection, then maybe you've 785 00:46:13,000 --> 00:46:15,480 Speaker 1: got a four K TV and you want a chance 786 00:46:15,560 --> 00:46:20,080 Speaker 1: to play some, but not all, of the top games 787 00:46:20,120 --> 00:46:22,279 Speaker 1: out there without you know, having to build your own 788 00:46:22,360 --> 00:46:26,000 Speaker 1: gaming rig, it might be worth a try. I realized 789 00:46:26,040 --> 00:46:28,880 Speaker 1: that's not the most spectacular of endorsements, but it's my 790 00:46:29,040 --> 00:46:32,080 Speaker 1: honest opinion. My hope is that Google will build out 791 00:46:32,160 --> 00:46:34,760 Speaker 1: the service further and make it more attractive to users. 792 00:46:35,400 --> 00:46:41,160 Speaker 1: But then I think back to Google Wave and I sigh, Well, 793 00:46:41,239 --> 00:46:44,680 Speaker 1: that wraps up this episode of tech Stuff about Google Stadium. 794 00:46:44,719 --> 00:46:46,880 Speaker 1: If you guys have any suggestions for things I should 795 00:46:46,920 --> 00:46:49,640 Speaker 1: cover on future episodes of tech Stuff, reach out to me. 796 00:46:49,760 --> 00:46:51,760 Speaker 1: The best way to do that is over on Twitter. 797 00:46:52,120 --> 00:46:55,520 Speaker 1: The handle is text stuff h s W and I'll 798 00:46:55,560 --> 00:47:03,839 Speaker 1: talk to you again really soon. Text Stuff is an 799 00:47:03,880 --> 00:47:07,560 Speaker 1: I Heart Radio production. For more podcasts from I Heart Radio, 800 00:47:07,920 --> 00:47:11,040 Speaker 1: visit the I heart Radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever 801 00:47:11,160 --> 00:47:12,680 Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.