@dirtyvu: With any digital purchase you no more "own" that title than if you were to buy a game on Stadia. Digital purchases from every publisher is essentially a long term lease on the game, where you are guaranteed access to the game as long as the server is up and running. So no, you can't play a digital PlayStation game "forever" if PlayStation was wiped from the earth somehow.
The good news is that this isn't likely to happen, as each game console company is surely keeping backwards compatibility in mind for each of their future consoles, especially since digital is becoming more mainstream. That being said, I like the idea of an all digital platform through Stadia, in that all games from now until the foreseeable future will be playable and just "work" on the platform. Perhaps we will even see graphical upgrades to old favorites as they update the hardware in the data center over time.
Yes concerns about Google canceling Stadia are valid, but I'm of the opinion that there is a relatively low risk of that happening after all the resources being poured into it. This is a long game for Google and I foresee Stadia becoming a staple Google service, much like youtube, google maps, and gmail.
What the actual f**k is he talking about? I bought an xbox one for the sole purpose of buying and playing Halo games. Are there 3 current gen Halo's I'm somehow oblivious too?
I truly don't understand the bad sentiment I see just about everywhere about Stadia. I understand the skepticism: Google's track record on scuttling projects is worrisome, and I too will have to see to believe 4K resolution at 60 FPS on just 35 mbps internet, but come the hell on folks. I am a 33 yoa hardcore gamer that owns every major console and a gaming PC. Gaming is my passion. I'm surprised at the amount of "gamers" that seemingly aren't excited for at least the idea of what Stadia is offering: instant boot up to play the latest AAA titles at the highest graphical settings, no patches or downloads, and play anywhere on any device that runs Chrome.
I understand the concerns of all the what if arguments over ownership and access, but at the end of the day they are just what if arguments that I don't think should make people outright ignore what Stadia could do. I think we should give Google a chance to execute on what they claim Stadia can do, and not just doubt it every step of the way or make out like its garbage.
I see folks all over commenting how crazy they think it is to have to subscribe to get the best quality stream, but are they forgetting the fact that they aren't having to buy and build a several thousand dollar 10.7 teraflop gaming PC to play the game? How is it so frustrating to be able to play a game at it's highest graphical fidelity without having to cough up thousands for a rig? To be able to take a controller with you and spin up a game session on any device with chrome browser and a semi decent broadband connection? Not to mention that we are paying monthly to yearly subs to play online for our current consoles and STILL have to purchase the hardware?
Like I said, I understand and appreciate healthy skepticism, but most of the arguments I see against Stadia seem oddly reminiscent of my grandmother griping about how today's music is garbage lol. The best argument/concern I see being raised is about data caps from ISPs. Other than that, I can't tell if people's attitude is due to console loyalty, fear of loosing "ownership" of games, resistance to change, or just plain ignorance. Until we see this service actually shit the bed, I think folks should give it a fairer shake. If it works as advertised it can completely reform how we play in a good way IMO.
@blueblood: I actually think you might be right. I mean, in the end the night kings second in command and the wights just ended up surrounding the Wierwood tree and Bran. Whether Winterfell's army killed 1,000,000 or just 1 wight, it looks like their intention was to surround Bran and have the Night King approach Bran on his own. If all it took was an ambush from Ayra to kill the bastard, thousands of people loosing their lives in a battle with the night king's forces seems pointless. But how would they know I suppose. Be nice if Bran would use his words...
@Devils-DIVISION: I very much agree with you, and tried to make a similar point. People speculate and dissect every part of this show so much that they are left disappointed when it doesn't play out how they expected it to.
@Sound_Demon: I think in order to ultimately wrap up a story like this with any satisfying conclusion, plot armor has to kick in eventually for some characters. Even though the realistic outcome of this situation would of been everyone dying at the hands of the night kings army, what would that do for everyone? As good a story Martin told from day one and as many punches to the gut it delivered, its hard to see this story ending in any satisfying manner if the hero(es) don't come through in the end.
This show's blessing, and curse, is that its such a viral and discussed topic week to week that I don't believe it will ever meet the expectations of the most rabid fans. It sounds like a lot of folks are disappointed that there were no surprises, but when you pick apart every single possible thread of something and make all these predictions, is it all that surprising anymore when some come to pass? Like was anyone really surprised when they confirmed who Jon's parents were? No because it was talked to death over and over and over again leading up to the reveal.
I'm not saying they couldn't have done some more interesting things with this episode (predicted or not) but I worry that the show is going to be pretty vapid for the people that are relentlessly picking apart every single thread of this series. Their personal fan theories are almost guaranteed to be more interesting to them than anything the show runners can come up with.
The one plus I'll give this movie is that I am glad they didn't try to imitate Robin Williams' genie. I think anyone else trying to do that performance other than the man himself (RIP) would fall flat on its face. An original take on Genie was the way to go.
@howlingfantod: I think its extremely difficult but not impossible. If a live action recreation does follow that closely to the source material, it needs to have the proper special effects and characters charming enough so that they best resemble the original animation. I liked the new Beauty and the Beast a lot, but I am kind of skeptical of Aladdin at this point.
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