MAY | TRENDING
Google Stadia: a
gift or a curse?
Google’s new streaming platform is making a play to
claim our living rooms. But is it leaving the live sector
behind in the process?
A
t the end of March, Google
made a big power play with
the announcement of Stadia -
its new streaming platform.
Stadia is an attempt to do for the
videogame industry what Spotify
did for the music industry, as we
head towards a digital, hyper-
connected future. It will allow users
to play without a physical machine,
connecting them to games and to
each other via cloud-based streaming
technology.
The platform’s announcement
trailer featured a montage of live
sporting events throughout history,
from paintings of ancient tribes
playing something that looks like
lacrosse to the modern-day spectacle
of the Olympic Games. It’s a stake in
the ground for the live e-sports sector,
placing it inside a long lineage of
“In theory, the Stadia technology allows
organisers to break down the barriers
between attending an event virtually,
and attending an event in person.”
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historical sporting events.
But it also carries an implication
that Google’s new platform is the
natural progression, or end point,
of this live sporting spectacle. Even
its name – Stadia, plural – seems
to imply that it is supplanting the
live venue, or the need to physically
gather in the same space to enjoy an
event.
As our cover feature this month
(p28) demonstrates, however, the
reality is much more complicated.
Streaming has had a diverse
impact on the music industry’s live
sector, but it is certainly no kind of
replacement for live events. In fact,
the advent of Spotify has caused a
massive uptake of live music revenue.
So what, then, will be the impact
of Stadia upon the growing e-sports
sector, or on the events industry as a
whole?
Up all night
To find out, Access spoke to the
organisers of Insomnia Gaming
Festival, which took place from
19-22 April at Birmingham’s NEC.
Phil Crawford, marketing & social
manager at Player 1 Events, was
cautiously optimistic about the
technology.
Words: Stuart Wood
“It’s exciting to think that there
could be new areas of the festival,
and new ways of bringing gaming
experiences to attendees,” he said.
“However, I think Stadia will live or
die on how they can sort out their
internet infrastructure, especially if
they decide to start taking the new
hardware to events.
“It could really hurt the system
if Google aren’t able to guarantee a
certain level of connection quality.
I think this will become the greater
part of a discussion between Google,
event organisers and venues when it
comes to bringing Stadia to an event.”
Asked whether he sees Stadia as a
threat or an opportunity, Crawford
says: “We’ve certainly been headed
in the direction [of streaming] in
recent years, with couch co-op
dwindling. But I think games and
events will always be made with local