Google has always been a pioneer in ingenious developments, including fascinating things that users can do on their Net Hubs, or even the Chromebooks, to name a few. Similarly, they entered the foray of gaming with the launch of their game-streaming platform Google Stadia, released as an alternative for console gaming. Although Google has been in the gaming scene with its many Google Doodle games, the release of Stadia solidified its presence in the field.
While there were many theories regarding the success or failure of Google Stadia, it cannot be argued that the platform is one of its kind and has even forced competitors to up their game and explore streaming gaming. With the introduction of Stadia Pro, the subscription-based package of Google Stadia, there have been many confusions and questions as to the features it will offer and how good it would be compared to pre-existing streaming gaming services like Steam, PlayStation Now, and Nvidia GeForce Now. On that note, people planning to subscribe to Stadia Pro should be aware of the best and worst things that the package has to offer.
Best: Lucrative Discounts
With the launch of Stadia Pro, players subscribing to the package need to know that they do have to buy each game that they wish to play. However, the silver lining lies in the fact that most of these games have lucrative discounts that are oftentimes better than the limited discounts that players might find on the standard or free package of Stadia.
These discount deals keep on rotating once every month and can even provide 50-70% off of the retail price, depending on the sale. Although the discounts offered on Stadia Pro are not as good as those offered on PlayStation Store or Steam, they are still a cause for delight for users planning to opt for this alternative to console gaming.
Worst: Latency Issues
A cause for concern for users planning to buy Stadia Pro has to be the fact that Stadia does not compute user inputs only five-meters away in a PC tower or console, but rather on servers located thousands of miles away, connected via a Wi-Fi connection. The official recommendation from Google has been to use an internet connection with a minimum speed of 10Mbps to enjoy seamless gaming.
This might not be a problem for most European players, however, North American players, which make up the home market of Google, will face problems as there still remain many places with no fiber connection or weak internet. While Google has promised to negate the issue of latency by reducing it to the extent that it is less than the preexisting latency that exists between a Bluetooth controller and a gaming console by the use of a technique known as “Negative Latency”; latency remains a major issue of Stadia Pro.
Best: Purchased Games Are Yours To Keep
There were rumors preceding the launch of Stadia Pro that games purchased on the platform will not be owned by the players, but rather the players will only own the right to play them. However, this does not seem to be the case, as all games once purchased, remain in the player’s possession, regardless of whether they unsubscribe from the Pro package.
While unsubscribing from the Pro package will close the user’s access to monthly free games, those which have already been purchased are sure to remain. Furthermore, Google has made great efforts to ensure that most of the games available on their platform remain on it, and therefore, chances of these leaving the platform are slim.
Worst: It Is Not The Netflix Of Gaming
During the initial announcement of Google Stadia, it was dubbed by many critics to be the “Netflix of gaming”. However, it is not really true. While Stadia Pro does provide the users access to an extensive game-library, each game has to be purchased individually in order to be played.
Unlike Netflix, where users pay a stipulated monthly fee and have access to every content available on it, Stadia Pro requires users to buy each game that they want to play. However, there is a wide array of free games that is available every month, more about which is discussed in the next entry.
Best: A Wide Array Of Free Games
One of the best advantages of having a Stadia Pro subscription is access to free games on a monthly basis. While these games usually change every month, it allows players a chance to explore underappreciated or lesser-known games that they would not have thought to play or purchase otherwise.
As of March 2021, Stadia Pro is offering to players delightful free games such as PixelJunk Raiders, Pac-Man Mega Tunnel Battle, Reigns, and AVICCI Invector.
Worst: You Will Lose Access To Free Games After Unsubscribing
As can be expected of any streaming service with premium content and standard content, unsubscribing from the premium package will result in the loss of premium features, and Stadia Pro is no different. Quite understandably a sensible business tactic from Google, it should also be known that unsubscribing from the Pro package would result in the vanishing of free games from the user’s library.
However, once the user re-subscribes to Stadia Pro, all of these previously existing games will be available to play once again. This is only true for the free games, as all purchased games would remain available to the players. Regardless, the necessity to remain on a Stadia Pro package to enjoy the premium features of Google Stadia might appear unattractive to certain players.
Best: 4K/HDR Video Resolution And 5.1 Surround Sound
Stadia Pro differs from the standard package of Stadia in key areas that are quite important to dedicated players. While the standard version allows players to stream games at 1080p resolution and 60fps, the Stadia Pro experience is much grander.
Using Chromecast Ultra on compatible televisions, or on compatible PCs, Stadia Pro allows players to stream games at 4K and HDR resolution, a feature that gamers would definitely want for visually stunning modern games like Cyberpunk 2077. Furthermore, the Stadia Pro subscription also supports 5.1 surround sound, allowing players to have an enjoyable and immersive gaming experience.
Worst: Online Community Or The Lack Of It
Despite being a hyped product from Google, Stadia Pro’s player base and online community are quite small and this can prove to be a bothersome factor for lovers of multiplayer games.
With the huge popularity of battle royale games such as PUBG, or multiplayer games such as Pac-Man Mega Turtle Battle, and Super Bomberman R Online, having to settle for little to no players to play against or having to compete with bots who fill up empty slots can prove to be a disappointing experience. The lack of cross-platform playing in most of Google Stadia’s games does not seem to help either.
Best: No Need For Updates
Being located on cloud storage, rather than the hard-drive is a huge advantage for games in the sense that they do not require to be updated constantly. All the games available on Google Stadia Pro are updated on Google’s servers and allows players to directly boot the game from Stadia’s interface on any of the compatible devices, without having to wait.
The loading time might prove to be a problem since it is hardly close to the loading times that PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X has promised, but this may be the result of a lack of optimization on the games available on Stadia Pro, or Google not using ultra-fast storage. Both of these issues can be fixed in the years to come.
Worst: Games Or The Lack Of It
It is true that Stadia Pro offers a lot of games, as well as their special editions complemented with additional content. Furthermore, they also have a number of games that become free every month, allowing users the experience of playing them.
However, the number of games available on Stadia Pro is not as high as players would have liked. Despite the impressive launch of Stadia with 22 games, Stadia Pro, as of this moment, only has around 100 games that players can purchase on the platform.