Smart Decision to Get More People to Try Out the Google Stadia Â
A few days ago, Stadia boss Phil Harrison sat down for an interview with Protocol where he revealed the upcoming release of a free tier for Stadia coming in a few months. He said, “The big strategic difference is that over the next few months you will be able to experience Stadia for free. No money down, without having to put a box in your home, you can just click and play amazing games straight from our data center.”
The much-hyped cloud gaming platform launched with lacklustre reception and poor support after release. Aimed towards more casual consumers of video games, Google Stadia seemed like a smart idea but with a few oversights. The concept of cloud gaming is attractive as you don’t need a powerful computer or console to run games at their best.
Due to the fact that avid gamers already own systems to play on, the target consumers were the rapidly rising number of casual gamers. The problem arose in the fact that it requires a powerful internet to maintain the resolution and framerates that customers want out of the service. After all, the idea is to replace powerful consoles. Unfortunately, many casual consumers don’t own great internet plans, and it’s too expensive to upgrade, or for some, it isn’t even an option. Add to that you need to pay $129 USD and $9.99 USD, the platform requires a decent upfront investment, and if you need to upgrade your internet, it may be cheaper to just go buy a gaming console.
The free tier for Stadia could be exactly what Google needed to get some interesting flowing back into the service. It gives a commitment-free option for consumers to try out the system, and more importantly, to test out if their internet is up to snuff. Additionally, if they are able to offer quality games for free, it should attract even hardcore gamers as an option to try out new games without the need to pay or download the software.
Source:Â Protocol