{"id":1640,"date":"2022-03-16T14:42:34","date_gmt":"2022-03-16T14:42:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/03\/16\/google-stadia-is-subtly-reinventing-itself-to-attract-new-games-and-gamers\/"},"modified":"2022-03-16T14:42:36","modified_gmt":"2022-03-16T14:42:36","slug":"google-stadia-is-subtly-reinventing-itself-to-attract-new-games-and-gamers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/03\/16\/google-stadia-is-subtly-reinventing-itself-to-attract-new-games-and-gamers\/","title":{"rendered":"Google Stadia is subtly reinventing itself to attract new games and gamers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Source: https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2022\/3\/15\/22978719\/google-stadia-cloud-gaming-free-trial<\/a>
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Google\u2019s Stadia cloud gaming service didn\u2019t stick the landing<\/a>, and it\u2019s been a rough ride since<\/a>. But today, at the Google for Games Developer Summit<\/a>, it feels like Stadia might be moving in a promising direction \u2014 one that gives both gamers and game developers a reason to pay attention. And the magic word is \u201cfree.\u201d Free demos, free trials, free for developers to offer, and hopefully free of the friction<\/a> that made Stadia a difficult investment to start.<\/p>\n

I want to start off with something I wrote last February, when I explained<\/a> how Google had drastically reduced its Stadia ambitions from what was effectively \u201cbecome a game company\u201d to \u201coffer a white-label service to game publishers\u201d instead. I wrote:<\/p>\n

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There\u2019s nothing inherently wrong with white-labeling. <\/p>\n

Done properly, it might even unlock one of the most magical things about cloud gaming: the ability to instantly try a game no matter where you are. While companies like Google already claim games are \u201cinstantly available,\u201d what they really mean is \u201cafter you sign up, log in, and sometimes buy a game.\u201d That\u2019s partly due to the complex web of licensing agreements that game publishers make cloud services sign. But if game publishers were in charge of their own games, they might feel differently. They could give you Gaikai-esque instant access game demos again, ones where you could tap a YouTube advertisement for a game and actually<\/em> start playing it, no friction whatsoever.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Everything Google is announcing today points Stadia in that general direction.<\/p>\n

This year, Google will:<\/p>\n