Stadia
Stadia's Exhibit Of Historic Gaming Blunders Is Now On eBay. Outside of the 2019 Game Developers Conference, before anyone has ever heard the phrase “Google Stadia,” sat a small display outlining the history of gaming. Dates and bullet points marked some of the major events, and on three pedestals sat a few of the industry's most notorious flops: Atari's E.T., Mattel's NES Power Glove, and Sega's Dreamcast. A fourth pedestal was empty except for a card that read “coming soon.” Just over three years later, Stadia, Google's cloud-based streaming console, has finally earned its place on that fourth pedestal, and the curator who made the original exhibit is now getting ready to auction it off.
Ubisoft, Bungie, and others are working on letting players transfer Google Stadia saves. After the unexpected shutdown of Google Stadia, developers from across the industry are trying to help players by allowing them to transfer game saves to other platforms.
Remember when Google Stadia had that GDC display where they sat it next to three of gaming history's most famous failures? Video Game History Foundation founder and co-director, Frank Cifaldi, tweeted yesterday, shortly after Google announced the end of Stadia. Now you can recreate this display in your own home! I provided the originals for the display, and now I'm selling them for charity. The current bid on eBay is $1,525, with just six days left until the end of the auction. All proceeds are going to the Video Game History Foundation.
The gaming historian was quick to point out that while Stadia remains the butt of a lot of jokes, his heart goes out to all of the game developers now reeling from the platform's abrupt shuttering.
“While Stadia will shut down on January 18, 2023, we're happy to share that we're working to bring the games you own on Stadia to PC through Ubisoft Connect,” said Ubisoft. “We'll have more to share regarding specific details as well as the impact for Ubisoft+ subscribers at a later date.”
While Stadia will shut down on January 18, 2023, we're happy to share that we're working to bring the games you own on Stadia to PC through Ubisoft Connect. We'll have more to share regarding specific details as well as the impact for Ubisoft+ subscribers at a later date.
— Ubisoft Support (@UbisoftSupport) September 30, 2022
Google's Stadia game-streaming service will die a nearly inevitable death early next year. Google is refunding players the cost of all their hardware and game purchases. But, so far, Google is also leaving Stadia players with controllers that, while once costing $70, will soon do less than a $20 Bluetooth gamepad. Stadia's controllers were custom-made to connect directly to the Internet, reducing lag and allowing for instant firmware updates and (sometimes painful) connections to smart TVs. There's Bluetooth inside the Stadia controller, but it's only used when you're setting up Stadia, either with a TV, a computer with the Chrome browser, or a Chromecast Ultra.
Google is planning to refund all Stadia hardware and software purchases (though not Stadia Pro subscriptions), so consumers will be getting some money back. Developers may be getting some form of reimbursement as well, though it's less clear what they can expect. Stadia's sudden shutdown could have a big impact on developers. The platform never reached critical mass, so developers probably didn't earn too much by offering their games there. But they likely counted on it as one of many places where people could play their titles. And because Google has already shut off commerce in the Stadia store, developers can't make money from selling their games during the last months of the service's life.
Many have called for Google, if they're not going to push a firmware update themselves to unlock the functionality, to open up access to the devices themselves, so the community can do it for them. That's often a tricky scenario for large companies relying on a series of sub-contracted manufacturers to produce hardware. Some have suggested that the full refunds give Google more leeway to ignore the limited function of their devices post-shutdown.
Some companies are exploring ways to let their Stadia customers keep playing in some way. Hitman developer IO Interactive tweeted Friday that “we are looking into ways for you to continue your Hitman experience on other platforms.” Ubisoft is going to let you transfer your Stadia purchases to PC. But smaller developers and publishers may not be able to offer the same sorts of perks to their Stadia players.
The quick response of developers to this unexpected issue sure is commendable, but will likely mean additional development time to implement a solution. Whether or not this has a knock-on effect on any of their upcoming updates or DLCs remains to be seen.
Still, it's a lovely response that might just help Stadia players not lose countless hours of playtime in their favorite games.
