{"id":47301,"date":"2022-08-16T20:15:01","date_gmt":"2022-08-16T20:15:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/google-stadia-fans-clocking-thousands-of-hours-on-dead-service\/"},"modified":"2022-08-16T20:15:01","modified_gmt":"2022-08-16T20:15:01","slug":"google-stadia-fans-clocking-thousands-of-hours-on-dead-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/google-stadia-fans-clocking-thousands-of-hours-on-dead-service\/","title":{"rendered":"Google Stadia Fans Clocking Thousands Of Hours On Dead Service"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Image: Google \/ Kotaku \/ Zoa.Arts (Shutterstock)<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Google Stadia hasn’t really been in the mainstream spotlight since its high-profile launch in 2019<\/span>. And outside of bad news and poor reviews, it mainly disappeared from most gaming sites and YouTube channels. But the players who’ve invested hundreds or even thousands of hours into Google’s video game streaming service don’t seem to care what others think. To them, Google Stadia is the perfect solution to a hobby that they feel has become too expensive, complicated, and restrictive. <\/p>\n

For most of you reading this, Google Stadia is that cloud-based streaming video game service Google launched a few years ago which may or may not be around still. It’s likely not something you engage with beyond reading occasional stories on Kotaku <\/em>and other sites about how poorly things are going for the streaming service<\/span>. From high-ranking execs bailing<\/span> to reports of Google entirely ditching the platform<\/span>Stadia hasn’t had a great few years in the press, and some gamers seem to outright hate it.<\/p>\n

But after three rough years<\/span>, lawsuits<\/span>and studio closures<\/span>, Stadia is still alive and kicking, still getting new features and updates. One would assume that means some people are still paying for, and using, Google Stadia in 2022. And perhaps your first question might be\u2026why?<\/p>\n

The Stadia Super Fans<\/h3>\n

Marco, a married father of a 16-month-old boy who lives in Europe, told me that every free minute he has is precious, and modern consoles just don’t work for his daily life.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhenever I start up my PS4 right now I always have updates,\u201d Marco said. \u201cEven though I use rest mode, I sometimes need to wait 15 minutes to play.\u201d While that might not seem like a lot, for Marco it could be nearly half his free time that night. \u201cThe updating is hell,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

But with Google Stadia, there are no updates for games, as that is all handled on Google’s servers. There are also no installations or large downloads. You just hit play and a few moments later the game is going and that’s that. And this speed and lack of downtime is a key factor for why so many of the players I spoke to keep playing Stadia.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe tech is so good<\/span>,\u201d Deaddog52, a Stadia player with 1800 hours invested into the service, told Kotaku<\/em>.<\/strong> \u201c[Stadia] starts up quick and plays great. I often forget I’m not playing on local hardware.\u201d<\/p>\n

But for Deaddog52, it’s not just Stadia’s speed that has kept him coming back to play day after day. Another big factor is how much cheaper and flexible Stadia is for him and his family compared to consoles. After years of owning and playing multiple consoles, he grew tired of it all.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen consoles come out they are expensive and hard to get,\u201d said Deaddog52. \u201cThen there are the disappointing consoles. Even a successful console only has about five years before it starts collecting dust. Then the storage space issues and frequent downloads started to irritate me, but what really bothered me was the loud noise my console fan would make.\u201d<\/p>\n