‘Stadia Controller’ and ‘Stadia Pro’ Quick Lookup – What to Expect

What is Stadia? Some are probably still wondering what this is. To make sure you can get on board, check this out:

Still don’t get it? Won’t blame you. That promotional video didn’t exactly spell out what it is. It’s a game streaming service and you don’t have to ‘install’ a game to do that. It’s a new concept and that is probably why people don’t know what exactly does Stadia do.

Google held ‘Stadia Connect’ last month to answer most questions and queries people had on the new thing. We’ll compile some of the most important things about Stadia and Stadia Pro for those of you interested.

Stadia is the name of the streaming service and to get this, you need to purchase Stadia Controller. Currently, it’s up on Google Store at $129 with Chromecast Ultra to let you stream your game directly on your TV (or practically anywhere). Stadia Controller comes in four colors: Night Blue, Clearly White, Just Black and Wasabi . But currently, pre-ordering the set is only available in Night Blue color which is exclusive to the Founder’s Edition. The controller comes with Wi-Fi and BLE capability.

First off, Stadia Controller comes with a headphone jack while it’s unable to connect to Bluetooth speakers or headphones. Don’t be disheartened though – your Pixel phones or TV can still connect to the Bluetooth headset if you want (and if they support it). That said, this is not forever and might be made available in future software updates.

Stadia also offers Pro subscription at $9.99/month, offering a range of games for free to subscribers. Many have mistaken this as the ‘Netflix for gaming’ since you don’t actually have a big free library of games to play every day. Google Stadia’s director of product, Andrey Doronichev added details to how Stadia Pro works.

“The Pro subscribers get 4K/HDR streaming, 5.1 sound, exclusive discounts and access to some free games. Roughly one free game per month give or take. No free games on Stadia Base. But hey, Stadia Base gives you free access to the state-of-the-art gaming hardware in our datacenter. You spend your money to buy games you want.”

Stadia will also support Google Takeout which allows players to transfer their game data to other platforms from day one.

Another concern would be the insane high data consumption to stream games at 4k and 60 fps. Google recommends 35 Mbps stable internet connection to enjoy your Stadia service to the max.

“For players concerned about data usage we’ll definitely have some tools in the Stadia app to manage your data usage to adapt to your unique data situation, but I’m not sure if that will be on day one or a bit later.”

The takeout of Stadia is the ability to play right the moment you turn it on – no waiting on patches, downloads, voice chat with friends and create a party list. But functions like asking for tips from Google Assistant, achievement system, and Family Sharing won’t be available at launch. Parents can expect Family Sharing as the dashboard for parental controls to be available next year.

All in all, Stadia seems to be a very great advancement in gaming and technology, providing people with new ways to enjoy their games, their way.