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Google says Stadia will ship on a first-come first-served schedule

Google Stadia

So we’ve got some bad news for anyone who has bought into Google Stadia, as the shipment schedule for the Founder’s and Premiere Editions is a bit wonky. Google has stated that the Founder’s and Premiere Editions of Stadia will be shipped on a first-come first-served schedule, meaning that anyone who pre-ordered isn’t guaranteed to get a set on launch day.

Stadia has been hyped a fair bit these last few months, but a lot of people have regarded the game streaming project as an oddity more than anything, and with apathy at worst. As more and people began to hear about it, the whole thing sounded less appealing to some. But still, it has the Big G on it, so people are going to buy the damn thing in droves. The streaming service would enable gamers to play a wide array of games on many devices, from PCs to TVs, and it’s set to launch soon in 14 different countries. Now, the pre-order period for first adopters has run out, and people are noticing something weird.

After a blitz of promotion, the Founder’s Edition sold out worldwide. Google then announced that the new Premiere Edition would be introduced to replace it. The Premiere Edition has a white controller and Destiny 2, as well as the Chromecast Ultra and the three-month Stadia Pro subscription. So basically it’s a very similar version, sans a few extra additions. The initial Founder’s bundle came with a limited edition Night Blue Controller, the ability to claim an early user name, Founder’s Badge, and Buddy Pass to give away.

Google set off a bit of backlash with this switcheroo, as they announced that “Premiere buyers will have access after” Founders.  This translates to pre-ordered units not shipping in time to hit the launch date. Google clarified to The Verge this evening that both bundles should be “delivered within the first two weeks of launch,” which means you should have it in time for the Christmas chaos you likely want to avoid.

It really does seem like Google is mucking with things that are considered part of the established order, given that apparently pre-order doesn’t mean pre-order to them. Although this is the same company that invented the buzzword “negative latency” to describe a concept that already exists, and likely won’t translate well to every video game.

And though this confirmation did offer some explanation, gamers were still more than a little incensed  at the possibility of having to wait weeks for the service they paid top dollar for. Many people has speculated that the service would allow people to play on any other device, like a smart phone, as long as they had their access credentials and could download any necessary software. Not quite, it looks like the access to this early period is locked to the hardware itself in some fashion, and people will just have to wait the delay out.

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