Hey, we almost forgot to mention this one, but Stadia from Google is now available. Ideal for Christmas, this is now £119 with free delivery.
What is it? Well, imagine a PS4 or an Xbox, but without the actual console. You get a controller in the box and a Google Chromecast Ultra. All the games stream down and you control the action with the controller. The images and audio is magically beamed to your screen.
The £119 will get you an inclusive three months of “Stadia Pro” which gives you that access to free games and titles like Destiny 2, DOOM, Red Dead Redemption 2, GRID and much more. After that it’s £8.99 per month and new games are added regularly. It’s a bit like PlayStation network – you get some free games, you can pay for others and you get some special offers. In addition you get enhanced video and sound quality if you pay for Stadia Pro.
There’s also a free “Stadia Base” option coming next year that cuts out the resolution down to 1080p, removes the 5.1 surround sound (making it just stereo) and removes the free games and the discounts.
This is all great – you can play on multiple screens – up to 4K on your TV, onlaptops, desktops, Pixel 3 and the Pixel 3a.
But wait – without that actual box under your TV, you’re relying on that broadband connection quite a bit. For the full beans – 60fps and 4K resolution (plus HDR and 5.1 Surround Sound), you’re going to need a good 35 Mbps connection, and you need to ensure that the rest of your family aren’t streaming guff onto their devices to slow your experience down.
At the lowest, you’re looking at having a 10 Mbps broadband connection – this will get you 60 fps and 720p, but again – you need to check that nobody else in the house isn’t messing it up.
As I type, the Google Store is stuggling under the weight somewhat, but head across now if you’re interested.