When Google Stadia was announced, players and developers saw an opportunity that could benefit the video game industry in the long term; particularly developers. Google promised that Stadia would allow to stream games in 4K at 60 frames per second.
If Stadia was, indeed, capable of straming in 4K at 60 frames per second, it would've changed how most players approach gaming as a whole, since it would allow for casual players to stream games, while also allowing the hardcore player to enjoy the games they would play on their console or computer.
As it turns out, Stadia has been available since November of last year, but the reception its had has been rather mixed, and leaning towards negative. Most players believe that the technology isn't quite there yet, and some developers have even expressed their disappointment with the service.
In a recent talk at the Bernstein Annual Strategic Decisions Conference, Take-Two Interactive Chief Operatin Officer Strauss Zelnick expressed his disappointment with Google Stadia — even after supporting the service at launch.
According to Zelnick, Google overpromised on its technology for their Stadia streaming service, which ended up leading to consumer disappointment, as well; revealing that they supported the service in hopes to reach a broader audience.
"Streaming technology is upon us. The launch of Stadia has been slow. I think there was some overpromising on what the technology could deliver and some consumer disappointment as a result," Zelnick explained.
"Anytime you broaden distribution you potentially broaden your audience, which is why we supported the release of Stadia with three titles initially and will continue to support high-quality streaming services as long as the business model makes sense. Over time I believe streaming will work.
"The belief that streaming was going to be transformative was based on a view that there were loads of people who really had an interest in interactive entertainment, really wanted to pay for it, but just didn't want to have a console. I'm not sure that turned out to be the case."
Zelnick's criticism isn't misplaced, since he does make very valid points. This service, in particular, didn't work for Take-Two Interactive, but Zelnick does seem to believe in it when the time is right.
A lot of people believe that video game streaming services are the future, but most also agree that playing on a console or computer is still the most effective way to get the most out of their games.