The Day Google Almost Made the Best Video Game Controller

Video game streaming is starting to establish itself in Europe as one more option to play the best titles that until recently we could only enjoy on a video console or PC. This technology has allowed us to play on mobile phones, tablets, smart TVs or even low power computers because the game runs on a server.

This has allowed companies like Google to enter a market that was initially closed to very few players. Stadia arrived a year ago with great promise, and after several months of using the platform, I am clear on what is the most spectacular and what areas need to be improved to continue to develop its platform. Game.

The most amazing thing about Stadia is its controller

When Google announced Stadia, in its early months, the only way to play the platform was to purchase a hardware pack or be invited by someone who had purchased it. This pack is called Founders Edition for the first foolish passionate and for the rest the First edition, a bundle that was recently offered to YouTube Premium users or those who pre-order Cyberpunk 2077.

In this pack, we get a Chromecast Ultra for playing on TV, but also a controller designed specifically for Stadia. Google insisted that the controller was designed to provide the best gaming experience possible, and at the time we didn’t really believe in its quality.

For being the first video game controller made by Google, we were very surprised with its quality. In terms of size, weight and ergonomics, this is at a spectacular level. Its battery is excellent and it is also charged by USB C.

As a controller, other details that make it excellent are its vibration and the feel of pressing every button. The levers, triggers, buttons and crosshead have a spectacular feel.

All this balance between comfort and sensations has been achieved since I received my Founders Edition Stadia, this controller has been my preference for playing pretty much every video game that has been presented to me in recent months.

And, likewise, this is its biggest problem.

Beyond the comfort of a video game controller: its technology is the greatest virtue and fault

The Stadia Controller is, forgive the redundancy, designed for use with Google Stadia. Its main technological value is that it is a remote control that works over Wi-Fi. When you press a button, those keystrokes are transmitted over the internet to Stadia’s servers for the lowest gaming latency. possible, a crucial aspect of streaming.

Usual operation of the Stadia controller.

In addition to the Wi-Fi connection, this remote control supports Bluetooth 4.2 LE and a direct connection via USB C. The problem is that support for these two connections is practically a testimonial.

Connecting the Stadia Controller via Bluetooth is virtually impossible, and its use is limited to briefly establ ishing a connection while we are communicating it to the servers. Thanks to the USB C port it is true that we can play some mobile games and there are even several PC games that support it (the command is considered DirectInput and thanks to this I was able to spend dozens of hours at Dark Souls 3 and Rocket. League).

Google may add better support for USB C and make control over Bluetooth possible.

Another aspect that Google doesn’t try much is mobile compatibility. There is an official accessory called Claw (in Spanish, Garra) which is used to couple the mobile to the command. Accessory which several months after the presentation is still not in Europe.

It’s time to learn from the best

The Google Stadia controller is wonderful, it’s such a good controller that it could perfectly be the only controller you want to play with. At least that’s my relationship with the controller having pretty much every official controller from Sony, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch, Controllers I only use today because the Stadia controller does not work in the current game.

In our decades of experience playing video games, the Xbox controller is one of Microsoft’s greatest successes. Since the Xbox 360, Xbox controllers have become one of the benchmarks in the PC world, and if you are a gamer, you are more likely to have an Xbox controller than any other brand of controller.

With the advent of streaming, the Microsoft cloud with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate has shown us that getting into the Xbox cloud is much easier and more accessible than ever. While it will work with any controller, having a controller that you already bought because it was the best for PC makes service testing a simple procedure you don’t even think about.

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The policy that Google applies with its controller is as if the Xbox controller only works with Microsoft consoles and the PlayStation controller with Sony consoles. However, we live in a world where they are not only compatible with their consoles, but also have support for PC, Android and even iOS, a generally very closed ecosystem.

Google has a remote control on its controls that can help expand Stadia, not only among streaming enthusiasts, but also among mainstream gamers, gamers who while they don’t think they’ll try Stadia, being their preferred controller end up to be an opportunity for service. because “you already have control at home”.

Or who knows, even to have a great order if Stadia ends up being shut down, which you never know with Google.