Every article tag can be clicked to get a list of all articles in that category. Every article tag also has an RSS feed! You can customize an RSS feed too!
We do often include affiliate links to earn us some pennies. See more here.

Google Stadia is out now for early adopters, well a few anyway

By - | Views: 28,869

Today, the Google Stadia streaming service officially launched for those who picked up the Founder or Premier Edition.

Well, sort of anyway. Some people have it, a lot of people don't, we certainly don't and it appears the team at Stadia give different answers to different people on when you will actually be able to access it. I've also seen plenty of people whose orders have been cancelled without warning or explanation. Even worse still, some people have been sent their hardware without an access code. Google have, so far, done a terrible job at communicating on Stadia and so the initial launch doesn't seem to have gone down well at all.

Oh, they also have the most ridiculous launch trailer I've ever seen:

YouTube Thumbnail
YouTube videos require cookies, you must accept their cookies to view. View cookie preferences.
Accept Cookies & Show   Direct Link

The more I think about it, the more amazed I am at just how badly this has been managed. Take a look at the actual proper Stadia website for example, there's not a contact or support link in sight.

So they originally had a tiny lineup, then did a Reddit AMA where they said a bunch of the hooks they used to get people in weren't actually ready at all and hastily announced a few more games just before release. Nothing about it has so far looked like they've been in any way prepared to launch a gaming service.

One thing that I've seen confirmed now, as many suspected, is that input lag does seem to be a real problem. Google talked big about their powerful hardware and everything they were doing to bring it down, but it seems they haven't solved anything at all so far. Looking at the Eurogamer article, the input lag table included was quite impressive. This video from The Post also makes it look pretty awful.

From what Jason Schreier of Kotaku said on Twitter from "one person involved" that "preorders were below expectations". I really can't get my head around that. Somehow, they didn't get as many preorders as they had hoped and simultaneously failed to get them into the hands of people who did buy into it early. Words are honestly failing me right now. Incredible.

Eventually, at some point we will get access to it to report on how it works when played on a Linux desktop. When that is, I can't tell you, Google can't either. We're playing delivery bingo right now.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
10 Likes
About the author -
author picture
I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly came back to check on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly. Find me on Mastodon.
See more from me
The comments on this article are closed.
45 comments
Page: «2/5»
  Go to:

SuperTux Nov 20, 2019
I found this video interesting:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oQnIO0US4o

Obviously cannot wait for our resident reviewer to take a look, especially from the Linux perspective.
dubigrasu Nov 20, 2019
Well, that input lag from the Post is ridiculously bad, there must be something going on there. Bad connection, bad setup, bad luck, bad...something.
I mean, Stadia can't be worse than other streaming services that are working fairly well (can't it?)
Take GeForce Now for example, I have a beta tester key (or whatever is called) and I must say the experience is pretty good. Sucks that isn't available for Linux, but it does work. Definitely it won't satisfy everyone though, that's for sure.
For casuals like me, OTOH, is just fine.

Here's a small video recording showing what to expect from Geforce Now (and I expect at least that level of performance from Stadia).
Keep an eye on the bottom left corners where there's an input indicator, so you can approximate the lag involved.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0-3GtNiAoI

Oh, the stream quality is also excellent, whatever artifacts you see are Youtube's doing.


Last edited by dubigrasu on 20 November 2019 at 9:23 am UTC
sypher7 Nov 20, 2019
Got mine today and a little time to play with it. Tested it out on the Chromecast Ultra that came with it and in Chrome, both on WiFi (which they do not recommend).

Both worked flawlessly with no noticeable input lag (wired for Chrome, wireless for Chromecast). I do have pretty fast Internet, but my roommate was also watching a stream in the other room at the same time.

I'll definitely need to try out more games and put some more time in to really make a judgement, but my initial impression is pretty good. I'm interested to hear how it goes for you, Liam.
Liam Dawe Nov 20, 2019
Quoting: sypher7Got mine today and a little time to play with it. Tested it out on the Chromecast Ultra that came with it and in Chrome, both on WiFi (which they do not recommend).

Both worked flawlessly with no noticeable input lag (wired for Chrome, wireless for Chromecast). I do have pretty fast Internet, but my roommate was also watching a stream in the other room at the same time.

I'll definitely need to try out more games and put some more time in to really make a judgement, but my initial impression is pretty good. I'm interested to hear how it goes for you, Liam.
Well that gives me a little hope. What connection speed? How far away was your Chromecast from your router?
Eike Nov 20, 2019
View PC info
  • Supporter Plus
Quoting: kellerkindtWell, and here is me. Me hoped that the stadia experience would be kinda solid, giving Valve enough reasons to push full steam ahead (haha! sry) using the Linux container env as cloud env allowing us to play all the AAA games as they enter steam cloud gaming... Bye bye, me playing Red Dead Redemption 2 natively on Linux... :'(

If it would fail, shouldn't they sell Red Dead Redemption 2 on Linux to get at least a little money back?

Quoting: kellerkindtOne can have dreams, okay :P

I know what you mean... :D
Eike Nov 20, 2019
View PC info
  • Supporter Plus
QuoteWell, sort of anyway. Some people have it, a lot of people don't, we certainly don't and it appears the team at Stadia give different answers to different people on when you will actually be able to access it.

I don't understand the disconcertment in the tweets linked. You wrote back then "they ship it out based on order date. Checking back on it, ours is saying to be delivered by November 27th.", so I guess people should have gotten information when to expect their start...
Liam Dawe Nov 20, 2019
Our unit shipped today, to possibly arrive tomorrow. No code yet though, so it's still a bit useless until we get that...
Micromegas Nov 20, 2019
Quoting: kaimanThat trailer must be the best thing about Stadia I've seen so far.

The hair is strong in this one.
Liam Dawe Nov 20, 2019
Quoting: Eike
QuoteWell, sort of anyway. Some people have it, a lot of people don't, we certainly don't and it appears the team at Stadia give different answers to different people on when you will actually be able to access it.

I don't understand the disconcertment in the tweets linked. You wrote back then "they ship it out based on order date. Checking back on it, ours is saying to be delivered by November 27th.", so I guess people should have gotten information when to expect their start...
The entire point is, they've given no clear answers to anyone. Originally, their advertisements very clearly said Founders get access right away, which was false. They then later said they will go out in the order placed (which didn't happen) and then also said you will get you access code "Right after we ship your order" which also hasn't happened.

People got both the hardware and code yesterday, who ordered months after the first lot did after they went up. Google messed up badly.
Ketil Nov 20, 2019
I am looking forward to some input lag benchmarks. How many milliseconds does it take from you push a button until you get a frame that is affected by it? How much does the input lag vary? Under which conditions does the input lag get too high? I would also like to see some statistics of where the latency is occurring, but this probably requires cooperates from the stadia team.

A cloud gaming platform will require a lot of innovation to be successful, and this innovation will be beneficial for a lot of different areas. Anything that increase the interest in low latency-high-bandwidth communication is good.
While you're here, please consider supporting GamingOnLinux on:

Reward Tiers: Patreon. Plain Donations: PayPal.

This ensures all of our main content remains totally free for everyone! Patreon supporters can also remove all adverts and sponsors! Supporting us helps bring good, fresh content. Without your continued support, we simply could not continue!

You can find even more ways to support us on this dedicated page any time. If you already are, thank you!
The comments on this article are closed.