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| Google CEO Sundar Pichai said the online giant's Stadia technology aimed "to build a game platform for everyone" (AFP Photo/Josh Edelson) |
San Francisco (AFP) - Google set out to disrupt the video game world on Tuesday with a Stadia platform that will let players stream blockbuster titles to any device they wish, as the online giant also unveiled a new controller and its very own studio.
The
California-based technology giant said its Stadia platform will open to gamers
later this year in the United States, Canada, Britain and other parts of
Europe.
For now,
Google is focused on working with game makers to tailor titles for play on
Stadia, saying it has already provided the technology to more than 100 game
developers.
"We
are on the brink of a huge revolution in gaming," said Jade Raymond, the
former Ubisoft and Electronic Arts executive tapped to head Google's new
studio, Stadia Games and Entertainment.
"We
are committed to going down a bold path," she told a presentation at the
Game Developers Conference in San Francisco.
The Stadia
tech platform aims to connect people for interactive play on PCs, tablets,
smartphones and other devices.
Google also
unveiled a new controller that can be used to play cloud-based individual or
multiplayer games.
Stadia
controllers mirrored those designed for Xbox or PlayStation consoles, with the
addition of dedicated buttons for streaming live play via YouTube or asking
Google Assistant virtual aide for help beating a daunting puzzle or challenge.
Chief
executive Sundar Pichai said the initiative is "to build a game platform
for everyone."
"I
think we can change the game by bringing together the entirety of the
ecosystem," Pichai told a keynote audience.
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Jade
Raymond, head of Google's Stadia, speaks during the GDC Game
Developers
Conference (AFP Photo/JUSTIN SULLIVAN)
|
'Netflix
of gaming'
Google's
hope is that Stadia could become for games what Netflix or Spotify are to
television or music, by making console-quality play widely available.
Yet it
remains unclear how much Google can grab of the nascent, but potentially
massive industry.
As it produces
its own games, Google will also be courting other studios to move to its
cloud-based model.
Google
collaborated with French video game titan Ubisoft last year in a limited public
test of the technology powering Stadia, and its chief executive was in the
front row at the platform's unveiling.
A coming
new version of blockbuster action game "Doom" tailored to play on
Stadia was teased at the event by iD studio executive producer Marty Stratton.
"If
you are going to prove to the world you can stream games from the cloud, what
better game than 'Doom'," Stratton said.
Streaming
games from the cloud brings the potential to tap into massive amounts of
computing power in data centers.
For gamers,
that could translate into richer game environments, more creative play options
or battle royale matches involving thousands of players.
At the
developers conference, Google demonstrated fast, cloud-based play on a variety
of devices. But it offered no specific details on how it would monetize the new
service or compensate developers.
Money-making
options could include selling game subscriptions the way Netflix charges for
access to streaming television.
"I
think it's a huge potential transition in the video game industry, not only for
the instant access to games but for exploring different business models to
games," Jon Peddie Research analyst Ted Pollak said of Stadia.
"They
say it's the Netflix of gaming; that is actually pretty accurate."
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Audience
members react during a keynote session at the annual Game Developers
Conference
at Moscone Center in San Francisco, California on March 19, 2019
(AFP
Photo/Josh Edelson)
|
Ubisoft
on board
Ubisoft,
known for "Assassin's Creed" and other titles, said it would be
working with Google.
Its
co-founder and chief Yves Guillemot predicted streaming would "give
billions unprecedented opportunities to play video games in the future."
An
"Assassin's Creed" title franchise was used to test Google's
"Project Stream" technology for hosting the kind of quick, seamless
play powered by in-home consoles as an online service.
The
reliability and speed of internet connections is seen as a challenge to cloud
gaming, with action play potentially marred by streaming lags or disruptions.
Google said
its investments in networks and data centers should help prevent latency in
data transmissions.
In places
with fast and reliable wireless, internet players will likely access games on
the wide variety of devices envisioned by Google, while hard-core players in
places where wireless connections aren't up to the task could opt for consoles,
according to Pollak.
"I
think it is good news for everyone," Pollak said when asked what Stadia
meant to major console makers Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo.
The US
video game industry generated a record $43.4 billion in revenue in 2018, up 18
percent from the prior year, according to data released by the Entertainment
Software Association and The NPD Group.
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