Google Stadia is now available, and reviews have been mixed. Google has far bigger problems if it wants to compete with Project xCloud, though.
Google's game streaming platform Stadia is here, and reviews have been a bit mixed. Beyond the laughably limited library, questionable device restrictions, and awkward pricing model, many reviewers are simply suggesting that the quality of service is inconsistent at best. First impressions are, as they say, everything, and Stadia seems to have stumbled at the first hurdle.
Microsoft's nascent competitor, Project xCloud, is already proving itself to be an incredibly fierce rival, despite not being widely available. Recent announcements at Microsoft's X019 event and elsewhere have detailed a platform that isn't only more consumer-friendly, but crucially, more developer-friendly. Like any streaming service, content is king, and Microsoft is crushing Google on that front before the platform has even gone live to the public.
Still, Microsoft has this uncanny ability to forfeit substantial advantages to competitors owing to internal politics, complacency, or a combination of both. If Microsoft loses the streaming race to Google, it'll be the result of a genuinely spectacular failure, because the sheer volume of advantages Project xCloud has makes me almost feel sorry for Google (almost).
Let's assume for the sake of argument that both platforms have identical (and good) service quality when it comes to latency and examine just how many disadvantages Google has to overcome.
Full story from the WindowsCentral blog...
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