Google is doubling down on games later this month during its next Stadia Connect stream, which will begin at 10 a.m. PST on August 19. That’s just one day before the start of Gamescom.
According to the stream’s description on YouTube, it will be “all about the games,” which is great news.
Google made the announcement earlier this week on Twitter:
Let’s do it again. On 8/19, #StadiaConnect is back and bigger than ever. Tune in at 10AM PDT / 7PM CEST for all the details – then come get hands-on with the future of gaming for yourself at our #Gamescom booth! https://t.co/dKmKakQeQp pic.twitter.com/H0ILSxki8r
— Stadia (@GoogleStadia) August 6, 2019
So far, the gaming community has had a mostly lukewarm reaction to Stadia, although some have praised it in hands-on demos.
Part of that trepidation is likely due to previous services, such as OnLive, burning gamers and not delivering on lofty promises. It doesn’t help that much of the gaming population isn’t confident in the quality of and access to capable internet speeds, especially in more rural areas.
Achieving experiences comparable to native 4K console or PC gaming will require speeds far beyond what most people have in 2019.
That being said, Stadia might not be for everyone, and its possible that Stadia offerings outside of high-fidelity streaming might entice some gamers.
For example, I pre-ordered the Founder’s Edition almost entirely because of its monthly free games, which is a great incentive and the main reason why I also subscribe to PS Plus, Xbox Live Gold, and Humble Bundle.
It will also be exciting to see how games like Elder Scrolls Online (my favorite MMO on the market right now) perform when running over Stadia through Chrome over, say, a Surface Go tablet or a smartphone.
Perhaps this next Stadia Connect will deliver something to get gamers more excited about the platform because, based on current trends, it certainly seems like streaming is the future of gaming — whether we like it or not.
