The Apple-Google rivalry just extended to a new front: gaming. Both tech giants have new gaming services on the way this fall, each with a decidedly different approach towards bringing quality titles to more people. (Image credit: Apple/Google. Composite: Tom's Guide) Google Stadia looks to ditch the physical gaming platform altogether, offering beloved blockbuster games like Doom and Assassin’s Creed that you can stream to any device with a Chrome browser and an internet connection. Apple Arcade, on the other hand, looks to bring a curated selection of iOS titles to your iPhone, Mac and Apple TV for a set monthly fee, highlighting both familiar AAA franchises as well as rising indie games. Here’s an early look at how Apple Arcade and Google Stadia stack up. Apple Arcade vs. Google Stadia at a glance Apple Arcade Google Stadia Platforms iOS, Mac, Apple TV Any device that runs Google Chrome Game Lineup 100+ indie and AAA titles, including Sonic Racing, LEGO Brawls, Rayman Mini and Oceanhorn 2. AAA games including Doom Eternal, NBA 2K and Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. More TBD. Streaming or Download? Download Streaming Pricing $4.99/month (with Family Sharing) $9.99/month (Stadia Pro); Free (Stadia Base). Games sold separately. Availability Sept. 19, 2019, 150+ countries Nov. 19 2019, U.S., UK, Europe, Canada Game lineup (Image credit: Sonic Racing. Credit: Apple) Apple Arcade promises a library of 100-plus new and exclusive games, with a mix of familiar franchises and up-and-coming indie experiences. The confirmed lineup so far includes such titles as Sonic Racing, LEGO Brawls, Rayman Mini, Oceanhorn 2: Knights of the Lost Realm and Chu Chu Rocket! Escape. Apple is also helping fund select indie studios in order to bring exclusive games to the service. We've found Arcade's lineup to be very strong so far in our Apple Arcade review, with titles such as Assemble with Care, What the Golf?, Hot Lava and Neo Cab all being major highlights. (Image credit: Assassin's Creed Odyssey. Credit: Ubisoft) Google Stadia's game lineup includes a ton of AAA heavy hitters as well as indie games. Highlights include Assassin's Creed Odyssey, Cyberpunk 2077, Destiny 2, Doom Eternal and Watch Dogs; Legion, as well as smaller titles such as Gylt and Orcs Must Die! 3. Platforms Google Stadia has a potentially big advantage here, as the service will theoretically be able to stream to smartphones, tablets, PCs, smart TVs and virtually any other device that can run Chrome or YouTube. At launch, the service will work with Pixel 3 and 3a smartphones, Chromecast Ultra devices and any PC with a Chrome browser, but we expect the platform to roll out more widely in 2020. (Image credit: Google) You can, for example, start up a game on your phone, and pick up right where you left off on your laptop. Stadia’s data centers are powered by a custom AMD GPU that promises up to 4K gameplay at 60 frames per second, and more graphical guts than even the Xbox One X or PS4 Pro (if your internet connection allows for such fidelity, of course). MORE: I Just Played Doom on Google Stadia: Here's How It Feels Stadia will work with most modern USB controllers (as well as keyboards and mice) when you’re playing on a PC, though Google will also offer its own gamepad called the Stadia Controller. This device pairs via Wi-Fi to ensure a smoother connection to your games in the cloud, and has dedicated buttons for capturing video for YouTube and summoning Google Assistant for game tips. Apple Arcade games are limited to iOS, Mac and Apple TV devices, but they have one big advantage over Stadia: you can download and play them offline. This could be a boon for folks with spotty internet connections, or people who want to be able to game while in the air or on an underground subway. Like Stadia, Arcade also promises to let you keep your progress when you jump from one device to another. The service also lets you use your PS4 and Xbox One controllers with iOS, iPad OS and tvOS for a more console-style experience. Pricing and Availability Apple Arcade is available now for $4.99 a month and you can share it with anyone in your household thanks to Apple's Family Sharing feature. You can also try the service free for a month. (Image credit: Apple) Stadia is currently pegged to start rolling out on Nov. 19th for folks who purchased the Founder's Edition (more on that below), and will initially debut in the U.S., UK, Canada and Europe. The platform has a few pricing options, so here's a quick breakdown. Stadia Pro is the premium version of Stadia, which costs $9.99 per month and gets you access to 4K/60fps/HDR streaming as well as a small collection of included games (Destiny 2 is one of them) and discounts on game purchases. In 2020, Google will release Stadia Base, which is a free version of the platform that limits you to 1080p streaming. Regardless of which version you use, however, you'll still have to buy the games separately. If you want to go big, you can purchase the $129 Stadia Founder's Edition, which gets you a Night Blue Stadia Controller, a Chromecast Ultra, 3 months of Stadia Pro and a 3-month buddy pass for gifting Pro access to a friend. Outlook Apple Arcade and Google Stadia look to offer vastly different experiences for different types of gamers. Arcade seems like a more cohesive service focused on curation, as you’ll get a growing library of small but high-quality iOS titles for a low $5 per month. Stadia, on the other hand, promises big blockbuster games on any device, so long as you’re willing to stream them from the cloud. While it packs an impressive lineup of big AAA games, its pricing structure of a subscription fee on top of individual game purchases might deter some gamers. With its low monthly fee and robust library, Apple Arcade is the clear winner in the value department . But if you don't own a console or PC and want to play AAA games like Assassin's Creed, Doom and Watch Dogs on the devices you already own, Stadia could hold lots of appeal. While we wouldn’t call these two services competitors, we’re eager to see how they both stack up when they arrive later this year.<doc-sep>In the last week, two of the world’s tech giants have made a big play for the attention – and wallets – of the world’s two billion gamers. Apple, already a big player in the video game market thanks to the iPhone and App Store, announced Apple Arcade, a subscription that will offer exclusive high-end games to be played on Macs, iPhones and iPads. And Google, a newcomer to video games, announced the subscription service Stadia, which will let players stream games to any screen from the cloud. These moves towards a Netflix-style subscription approach present slightly different visions of how video games will be made and played. Google and Apple’s services will join Microsoft’s Xbox Games Pass and Sony’s PlayStation Now. Which company will dominate? And will these subscriptions complement the gaming industry’s current business model or eventually replace it? Apple Arcade addresses a couple of problems: the devaluing of games on the App Store, where £3 seems like a significant price to pay and low-quality, ad-festooned free games dominate; and the challenge of standing out in a very crowded app arena. It is a way for Apple to invest in and develop premium games, while ensuring that those games can only be played on its devices. And, in theory, it could mean that developers could earn good money from them. Google CEO Sundar Pichai speaks on 19 March during at a games developers’ conference in San Francisco. Photograph: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Google’s Stadia, on the other hand, is a harder sell to people who own games consoles. Long download times are annoying, but the PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo experiences are good, and game prices are reasonable. (Though doubtless Google will make its subscription service attractively cheap.) Still, a games streaming service could offer instant access, portability, and freedom from a console. Google wants to make the same game available to play anywhere, on any device. You could start playing a game on your TV, then pick it up where you left off on your phone. But streaming technology requires an internet connection, and a fast one at that, which is fine for playing at home but useless on, say, a train where service is patchy. Even a small delay between what you’re doing with the controller and what’s happening on screen would make many games unpleasant to play. Stadia’s advantage is that it proposes making games playable on any device. The idea of liberating video games from expensive consoles has driven investment in game streaming. I suspect that, just as there are people who prefer high-end speakers and vinyl records to streamed music, there will always be gamers who want a box under an expensive TV so they can have the best possible gaming performance. But streaming would open games up to millions – if not billions – of people who don’t want or can’t afford to buy pricey equipment. The games industry has been through many technological revolutions, from the invention of 3D graphics to the emergence of online playing, but the games themselves – rather than the technology – have always driven success. Consoles such as PlayStation 2, Xbox 360 and Nintendo DS have sold hundreds of millions of units because they had great games that you couldn’t play anywhere else. In the same way, a game subscription service will live or die by the strength of its content. And like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, they will compete by offering exclusive content. A scene from the game Beyond a Steel Sky, which will be available on the forthcoming platform Apple Arcade. Photograph: Apple/EPA In this respect, Apple already has a big lead over Google. So far, the latter has only announced one game – DOOM Eternal, for consoles and PCs. Apple, meanwhile, announced an exciting range of games from celebrated and innovative developers, including a surprise sequel to beloved 90s adventure game Beneath a Steel Sky. All games will be available only through Apple Arcade. It is not clear whether Google intends to make Stadia a home for games you can’t play anywhere else, or simply an easier, more convenient – and probably much cheaper – way to play games already available on other platforms. But the fact that it has established its own game studio – headed by Jade Raymond, a veteran of game giants Ubisoft and EA – suggests that exclusive Stadia games will emerge down the line. In the short term, the dispiriting prospect for gamers is a range of competing services, all with a few exclusive games we might want to play, all demanding a monthly subscription. Amazon appears poised to announce its own service soon, having spent years investing in games industry talent. Play-anywhere subscription services may some day replace games consoles and physical game discs, but it is unlikely to happen for a long time. Hundreds of millions of people love their PlayStations and Xboxes and Nintendo consoles; they grew up with them. It will take more than a price advantage to convince them to jump ship.<doc-sep>
Everyone wants a piece of the gaming streaming services industry. Recently Google announced its upcoming gaming platform called Stadia and a week later Apple introduced Apple Arcade with its Apple TV plus streaming services. Apple Arcade games will allow you to play games on any iOS devices, including Apple TV, whereas Google wants you to stream games anywhere via its Chrome browser. Both services look quite similar to each other but if you research deeper then you will find that there are plenty of differences. Comparison Between Google Stadia and Apple Arcade If you are thinking about which one you should choose to spend your hard earned money in the future, you will like to examine these points before making the decision to purchase. Comparison Between Google Stadia and Apple Arcade Apple Arcade Google Stadia Platforms iOS, Mac, Apple TV Any device that runs Google Chrome Game Lineup 100+ Indie and AAA titles, including Sonic Racing AAA games include Doom Eternal Streaming or Download? Download Streaming Pricing TBD monthly fee TBD Availability Fall 2019, 150+ countries 2019, U.S., UK, Europe, Canada Controller No Yes 1. Lineup Of Games Google Stadia The game lineup for Googe Stadia is still a secret. But there is one thing for sure that Bethesda’s majorly anticipated shooter Doom Eternal is arriving at the service. Assassin’s Creed, NBA 2K and Doom (2016) demonstrated on the platform during the Google Developer Conference 2019. Therefore, we are likely to assume that these games will be available on Stadia as well. As per the report, Google will also release its own original games under the Stadia Games brand. Apple Arcade Apple stated that it will provide a collection of 100-plus exclusive and apple new games. It will consist of familiar franchises and indie experience games. As per the confirmation, the lineup will include LEGO brawls, Oceanhorn 2: Knights of the Lost Realm, Beyond a Steel Sky, The Artful Escape and Sonic Racing. Apple also plans to invest in indie studios with the aim of bringing exclusive games to its services. 2. Platforms Google Stadia It has more advantages as via Google Stadia you can able to stream to smartphones, tablets, smart TV’s and PC’s that can run Chrome or Youtube. Stadia will support the most modern USB controllers that also include a keyboard and a mouse. While playing via PC, Google will provide its own gamepad known as Stadia Controller. The device pairs through Wi-Fi to ensure better connectivity to your games in the cloud. It will also carry dedicated buttons for capturing videos for YouTube and displaying Google Assistant for gaming tips. Apple Arcade Apple Arcade games are restricted to Mac, iOS and Apple TV devices. But Apple has one big advantage over Stadia i.e. you can play games offline by downloading them. This is very beneficial for people with weaker internet connections. With Arcade you can sync your progress even at the time of changing your device just like Stadia. 3. Availability and Pricing Google Stadia It is expected to arrive this year with only an initial launch planned in the U.S., Canada, the UK, and Europe. The pricing structure is still not revealed. There can be a single recurring fee or you will have to buy games on a lump-sum basis. Apple Arcade It is expected to launch in more than 150 countries this fall. The price of the Apple Arcade is yet to be finalized. However, Apple said that the entire game collection will be provided for a single monthly fee. You can also share the subscription with others via the ‘Family’ sharing feature. Final Thoughts So, now as per the above comparison, Google Stadia and Apple Arcade are different in vast terms. Gamers will have a totally different experience while using these services. Apple Arcade has focused more on keeping its library stacked with small but quality enriched games. On the other hand, Stadia promises to bring big blockbuster games on any device if the user is streaming them from the cloud. Stadia's success will depend on its gaming collection and offline support. Google Stadia is a beast for gamers who prefer console games and have better internet connectivity. If you are a gamer who prefers indie games then Apple Arcade will work wonders for you. It is very soon to say for sure who will win this battle. But one thing that is guaranteed is a lot of excitement for game lovers.