5 Reasons to love Google Stadia

And 1 Reason to Hate it.

Photo by Cristiano Pinto on Unsplash

I’ll open with a disclaimer: I am not what you’d call a ‘gamer’. I don’t care about refresh rates, input lag or any of the multitude of other things ‘gamers’ get excited about.

I just want to pick up a controller and play a game.

Here’s what I love about the Google Stadia platform:

1. I’ve already named the first one. I can pick up a handset/controller and just play. On any device. Anywhere I have a stable internet connection. I’ve no idea what black magic makes this work but work it does. I love it. I can play on my iPhone, my Chromebook or my TV. This is ultra-portability and means I can pick up where I left off no matter where I am.
2. It is cheap. I mean, really cheap. Compare the price between a next-gen console and getting set up on Stadia. I’ll wait. Done that? Yeah, shocking isn’t it. As a 50-year-old man who plays games occasionally, I cannot justify spending megabucks on a PS5. It’ll be a cold day in hell before I can persuade the teenage boy to allow me into that strange space he inhabits upstairs. Playing on his consoles would be akin to a declaration of war. So yeah, price is a factor. When Stadia bunged in a controller and a Chromecast with a AAA game release it was a no brainer.
3. The subscription model. It costs…