pappafost

To me this all goes back to hardware buy-in. Most people on Giantbomb, myself included, have already done the hardware buy-in part, and own a PC and/or multiple consoles. Though billions of people in the world have not, and probably will not ever do the hardware buy-in that the traditional video game business wants them to.

Google marketing is going to try to convince everyone that this is the future. I'm highly skeptical because it's just not appealing if you've already done the hardware buy-in part. They would have to show fidelity BETTER than local hardware which is not possible with most ISPs. But if you just have a smart phone or a TV, a streaming service is WAY more attractive. They are going for the millions of smart phone users who never would have done the traditional path.

Google's data center locations seem very widespread, which bodes well for the latency problem. It's a threshold though. The input lag will be worse than my 5ms local monitor, but probably better than a lot of TVs out there. As long as it is below the threshold where people notice, they will be fine.

I just wonder what the magic number is when people start to notice input lag. It's way easier to detect with a mouse compared to controller. If you've ever tried using a mouse on a high input lag projector, the cursor 'swims' behind where it is supposed to be. That was 200ms if I remember right (aka 2/10 of a second).

I recommend a larger SSD, or adding a second one later. A quarter terabyte doesn't go very far with modern games after the OS. Extreme examples: Gears of War 4 PC = 130GB! Final Fantasy 15 with 4k textures = 155GB!

I think it's huge news that Google is even adopting the generally standard modern controller form factor, i.e., 2 sticks, 4 face buttons, 2 triggers. That by itself is huge, because in the past they have not seen that as a priority. The whole point of a game streaming service is to "use what you already own" with no hardware barrier to entry. They will probably sell a controller, but I would be shocked if it was required. It's about using your current browser, your current computer and tablets, your old laptop, and controllers you already own. So I would be very surprised if their service did not work with existing Xbox One and PS4 controllers. In fact, I believe the Google game streaming beta with Assassin's Creed Odyssey was usable with the wired Xbox One Controller going magically into Chrome.

Dragon Quest XI. The tinny thin midi tracks were so bad I just started googling it to find out why, then I learned that all the reasons for it were very stupid and completely preventable. UGH. What a shame.

Fascinating, I also had that question. It's also not surprising that this happens as often as it does considering how pretty much every game comes in 'hot'. Now if we could just do a "Save As" of everything in Jeff Gerstmann's garage, we would be good to go for a great long while. LOL.

I have been playing Apex Legends for a few days. Is it relaxing? Not really. Is it fun? Yes, but in a highly competitive way. These competitive shooters have a player base with a certain level of skill and there is a steep learning curve to get there. PUBG and Battlefield 1 were the same way. You really have to have a bad frustrating time for a while until you can compete with the 'average' player base, and have a fighting chance to survive encounters. It's fun once you get there, but realistically not everyone wants to lose a lot for the first 10 hours, and then play 2 hours a day to stay competitive.

Far Cry 5's Hurk is the worst. Visually he looks amazing (Danny McBride with a rocket launcher and American flag sweatpants), but then he opens his mouth, says the worst written dialogue of any Ubi game, and that's saying a lot, and will not stop talking. Actually all the FC5 companions are horrible, except for the ones that don't talk, IE, Cheeseburger and the other animals.

Never trust any YouTubers, influencers, etc., who are getting monetary compensation for a product, and claim to still be objective about that product. It's not possible. The sponsor is now the influencer's business associate/colleague. You can't throw your business associates under the bus. This is why Giant Bomb being subscription-based is so valuable. They can be beholden only to subscribers, instead of needing to interact with game publishers. It's a little like Consumer Reports in a way, that is subscription-based instead of being ad based to have 'pure editorial'.

The Harry S Truman biography by McCollough. I'm listening to the audiobook while doing Monster Hunter World grinding. It's pretty fascinating stuff, and it makes what happened later in the 20th century make a lot more sense: Cold War, North Korea, Vietnam, Berlin wall, etc.