3 ms·

For a very casual gamer like me, that likes to try a game or two once a year or so, Stadia is perfect. No need to buy (nor upgrade) consoles or other hardware.

For a very casual gamer like me, that likes to try a game or two once a year or so, Stadia is perfect. No need to buy (nor upgrade) consoles or other hardware. Works flawlessy on Mac and a Chrome browser. Or on TV with a Chromecast. I'm also totally ok with the ephemeral nature because I'm just looking for a few hours of fun. Really don't know if this niche is enough for keeping the lights on. I hope so but at the end, at least for Stadia, it's Google, so people should enjoy it while it lasts.

mertd 4y ago
It's not that niche. I grew up playing games but got relegated to the casual gamer category because life brings other responsibilities and interests. I know that much of my friend circle is in the same boat as well.
bogwog 4y ago
Wouldn't it make more sense then to buy a console? If you only play a few times a year, it doesn't make sense to be paying a subscription. Sure, you could start/cancel it whenever you want, but you still have to buy the game you want to play on top of managing the subscription. And if the sub fee is cheap enough that you don't care about paying it every month, it would still be cheaper to buy a console, since that purchase will be good for many years. In that case, it'd only make sense if you specifically don't want to deal with having a physical console. Also, starting/stopping the subscription to play a few games every now and then seems to be counter to Stadia's business model, so that type of customer is probably not who they're targeting.
- mertd 4y ago
  Subscription is not needed. One can just purchase single titles.
- achairapart 4y ago
  Stadia "Pro" is something like the PlayStation "Plus" subscription - I think. Every month you get new free-to-play games, some discounts plus some perks like 4k and surround. But that's totally optional, so you can just buy a title and play it whenever you want, without any running subscription. Besides, even if a subscription was needed to play, maybe I'd still feel that as a better option than buying a physical console that is mostly gathering dust, also considering it will be obsolete within a few years. But - again - this is from a very casual gamer POV. Once someone spends more time playing, and/or any fetishistic/collectible desire kicks in, then buying your own hardware makes much more sense.

mertd 4y ago

It's not that niche. I grew up playing games but got relegated to the casual gamer category because life brings other responsibilities and interests. I know that much of my friend circle is in the same boat as well.

bogwog 4y ago

Wouldn't it make more sense then to buy a console? If you only play a few times a year, it doesn't make sense to be paying a subscription. Sure, you could start/cancel it whenever you want, but you still have to buy the game you want to play on top of managing the subscription. And if the sub fee is cheap enough that you don't care about paying it every month, it would still be cheaper to buy a console, since that purchase will be good for many years. In that case, it'd only make sense if you specifically don't want to deal with having a physical console. Also, starting/stopping the subscription to play a few games every now and then seems to be counter to Stadia's business model, so that type of customer is probably not who they're targeting.

mertd 4y ago
Subscription is not needed. One can just purchase single titles.
achairapart 4y ago
Stadia "Pro" is something like the PlayStation "Plus" subscription - I think. Every month you get new free-to-play games, some discounts plus some perks like 4k and surround. But that's totally optional, so you can just buy a title and play it whenever you want, without any running subscription. Besides, even if a subscription was needed to play, maybe I'd still feel that as a better option than buying a physical console that is mostly gathering dust, also considering it will be obsolete within a few years. But - again - this is from a very casual gamer POV. Once someone spends more time playing, and/or any fetishistic/collectible desire kicks in, then buying your own hardware makes much more sense.