Google needs to salvage its cloud streaming platform Stadia, and it's latest attempt won't solve anything.| Source: JUSTIN SULLIVAN / GETTY IMAGES
Google Stadia has been on a campaign to gain users lately. Giving away a free trial of the pro version a while ago certainly helped . Now the next tactic seems to be a price drop.
As of right now, you can get your hands on Stadia’s Premier Edition for only $99 . While that’s still expensive, you have to remember it includes a Chromecast Ultra that is normally $69.
So Google is finally offering a good deal for Stadia. It’s a shame that the platform is still fundamentally broken.
If you’re already getting a Chromecast Ultra, then this new deal is pretty great. For an extra $30, you get a controller that, by all accounts, is pretty decent. But, that doesn’t mean that Google Stadia is suddenly worth getting for most people.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ry72b_fIKAk
You’d still need to pay out for games to play on the service. Either that or fork out the monthly fee for the pro version of the service. Neither of which are particularly attractive or cheap options.
Right now, it costs more than $50 to buy Assassin’s Creed Odyssey on Google Stadia. The same game can be purchased for around $30 on Amazon . Not to mention the fact that the stadia version requires a constant internet connection to work properly.
Google Stadia is making some pretty basic mistakes. Firstly, the pro-trial is all well and good, but it’s actually pretty worthless. Blistering 4K might be a draw, but these ‘free’ games aren’t. They’re not ‘free’ for a start. You have to pay a monthly fee to access them.
What Stadia really needs is some decent exclusives. Free-to-play titles get Google’s foot in the door. However, it’s some truly stunning exclusives that will finally make people consider the platform as a viable option.
While they’re at it, Google Stadia should think about adding some games to the service for free to people who own them on other platforms. While it’d probably cost them, the investment would almost certainly result in more users, and that’s something Google desperately needs right now.