Page 24 - ARUBA TODAY

A24 TECHNOLOGY
Monday 15 april 2019
Goodbye console? Google launches game-streaming platform

By MAE ANDERSON to connect and unify both distribution of the most in-
AP Technology Writer the gaming platform and demand games.
NEW YORK (AP) — Google the streaming platform To that end, Google
on Tuesday unveiled a which obviously is new.” launched Stadia Games
video-game streaming The company said Stadia and Entertainment which
platform called Stadia, will be available in late 2019 will develop Stadia-exclu-
positioning itself to take on in the U.S., Canada, the sive games.
the traditional video-game U.K. and parts of Europe. “The differentiator for any
business. Google showed demos of of the distributors on a con-
The platform will store a “Assassin’s Creed Odyssey” sole or in the cloud is going
game-playing session in and “Doom Eternal.” More to be available content,”
the cloud and lets players information about games he said.
jump across devices oper- and pricing is due this sum- Harrison said Google will
ating on Google’s Chrome mer. rely on outside publishers
browser and Chrome OS, The U.S. video game in- and game developers to
such as Pixel phones and dustry raked in revenue of provide many of the games
Chromebooks. $43.4 billion in 2018, up 18 available on the platform.
Google didn’t say how percent from 2017, accord- But having its own inside
much its new service will ing to research firm NPD studio will also allow the
cost, whether it will offer This image provided by Google shows the controller for a video- Group. company to fully test and
subscriptions or other op- game streaming platform called Stadia, positioning itself to take BTIG Managing Director make use of new features.
tions, or what games will on the traditional video-game business. Brandon Ross said Stadia “We can be the advance
be available at launch — Associated Press will be a positive for game party, so to speak, and we
all key elements to the suc- ing. Video-game streaming YouTube. publishers “assuming that it can be testing out the lat-
cess of a new video-game typically requires a strong Harrison said he expects all works and works at scale, est technology,” he said.
platform. It said only that connection and more gaming will eventually take which is a big assumption.” “Once we’ve proven it
Stadia will be available in computing power than place outside consoles, in That’s because the plat- we can help bring that up
late 2019. simply streaming video, cloud-powered streaming form could bring in play- to speed on the platform
Google made the an- since there is real-time in- platforms similar to what ers not willing to spend the even more quickly with our
nouncement at the Game teraction between player Google announced. But money upfront for a gam- third-party partners.”
Developers Conference in and game. Google says it is not right away. ing PC or a console.q Harrison acknowledged
San Francisco. Some indus- leveraging its data centers “It won’t replace traditional “What they’re presenting Google faces stiff compe-
try watchers were expect- to power the system. games devices overnight,” is a feasible way to play tition from longtime rivals
ing a streaming console, Alphabet Inc.’s Google he said in an interview after videogames in the cloud, Microsoft, Sony and others.
but Google’s platform said playing video games the announcement. “And and utilizing the cloud so Google has been working
centers squarely on the will be as simple as press- we wouldn’t be here if not you can play anytime, any- on Stadia for more than
company’s cloud infra- ing a “Play Now” button, for the existing traditional place and anywhere,” he four years, he said, and has
structure. with nothing to download platforms.” said. “There’s no friction, been working with game
“The new generation of or install. An optional dedi- CFRA Research analyst including the friction of up- developers through An-
gaming is not a box,” said cated Stadia controller Scott Kessler said Google’s front hardware costs.” droid and Play Store for lon-
Google Vice President Phil will be available. The WiFi- approach that ties You- Ross added that Google’s ger.The others have more
Harrison. “The data center enabled controller has a Tube sharing and video- platform could set up a than a decade of experi-
is your platform.” button that lets players game playing is unique. distribution battle between ence.
Much like movies and mu- launch a microphone and “It is not necessarily at this Microsoft, which owns the But Google believes it
sic, the traditional video- use Google Assistant to ask point the easiest thing for Xbox, Sony, which owns the brings something new.
game industry has been questions about the games people to livestream their PlayStation, Google and “We are not a historical
shifting from physical hard- being played. Another but- games and now you can perhaps Amazon, which console or PC platform,”
ware and games to digital ton lets users share game- do it with the push of a reportedly is working on its he said. “We are built
downloads and stream- play directly to Google’s button,” he said. “What own video-game service, specifically for this new
video streaming service, they’ve done with Stadia is as they race to lock down generation.”q
EU: Facebook changes terms to show it makes money from data

By KELVIN CHAN the Cambridge Analytica
Associated Press data privacy scandal, in
LONDON (AP) — Facebook which data on 87 million
has changed the fine print Facebook users was alleg-
in its terms of service to edly improperly harvested.
clearly explain to users that They also want tech com-
it makes money by using panies to bring their terms
their data, the European in line with European con-
Commission said last Tues- sumer law.
day. If Facebook wants to re-
The social media giant store consumer trust af-
modified its terms and con- In this March 29, 2018 file photo, the logo for Facebook appears ter the scandal, it “should
ditions to better inform us- on screens at the Nasdaq MarketSite, in New York’s Times Square. not hide behind compli-
ers what they are signing Associated Press cated, legalistic jargon on
up for, the commission said. activities and target adver- with the commission and how it is making billions on
The new wording will clear- tising to “finance” the com- European consumer pro- people’s data,” European
ly explain how Facebook pany, it said. tection authorities. EU regu- Union Consumer Commis-
uses the data it collects on The company made the lators stepped up scrutiny sioner Vera Jourova said in
users to develop profiling changes after discussions of Facebook’s terms after a statement .q