Google's Stadia Streaming Service Launches Next Month - Will You Be Using It?

[DonFerrari]

VAMatt said:

Cerebralbore101 said:

Short term just buying a game on Stadia for $60 without the need for hardware would be cheaper. Long term buying a console and subbing to either PS Now or Gamepass would be cheaper. 

You have a choice between buying a $400 - $500 console and paying $5-$15 a month for access to hundreds of games, or paying $30 to $60 on a game by game basis with Stadia. 

Even if you are the average consumer buying 2.5 games a year, a console + subscription service is the better deal. For example...

John gets Stadia pays $10 a month for the 4K and buys 2.5 games a year for an average price of $40 per game. (John waits for sales on games.) After seven years John has paid $840 for Stadia Pro and $700 for his 18 games. His average price per game is $85 after the cost of Stadia Pro. 

Steve gets an XB Scarrlett for $500. He then subscribes to Gamepass Ultimate for $15 a month. After seven years Steve has paid $1260 for Gamepass Ultimate, and $0 for actual games. Steve has access to hundreds of games. Assuming Steve manages to play only 100 games over these seven years his average price per game is $17.60, after factoring in the cost of Gamepass Ultimate and the Scarrlette console ($1260 + $500 divided by 100 games.) 

Both Stadia Pro and PSN/XBL offer free games, so these cancel each other out, and don't factor into this comparison. 

If Google ever gives up on Stadia (which they most likely will) John is out $700 in games that he now has no access to. 

Even if Steve buys a few games every year for full price digital download his average price per game would still never get close to the insane $85 per game cost of Stadia. 

As this comparison shows Stadia is a rip off compared to Gamepass + a Scarrlette, or a slightly improved PS Now + a PS5. 

You compared the price per game of someone playing 100 games over 7 years to someone playing 2.5 games per year over 7 years (17.5 games).  If dude wants to play 15 big games, plus 85 cheap games (such as most of the games available on Gamepass and PS Now) on Stadia, his average price would be far, far lower.  That would be a more reasonable comparison.  

Also, Stadia will be available without a monthly subscription.  That changes the math substantially.  

Finally, even if the average price per game is lower over a seven year period, that doesn't take into account the time value of money.  That $500 upfront purchase is a different animal than an occasional outlay for a game, or even a monthly subscription. 

Then there's the fact that Stadia doesn't bind one to a console. The Stadia player can fire up his games at his friend's house, in his hotel room, etc.  That's a lot harder to do with a console.  So, there's really no comparison in terms of convenience.  And, as a lifelong gamer myself, this is where I see appeal in streaming services. I don't need to buy consoles for every TV in my house to be able to game in any room.  I don't need to miss out on gaming when I'm traveling, etc.  

Average price certainly would fall (and he considered 40USD per game instead of 60), but list the 85 games he would buy and price to include in the total amount expended versus PSNow "game netflix".

Money is still money upfront or not, but if you want to make a present value comparison please do it and show us the difference.

The amount you are willing to pay more, get less performance, just for the occasional time you want to play elsewhere is quite different than most people in here.