Support NeoGAF

[Eddie-Griffin]

https://www.iol.co.za/technology/ga...ountries-401426aa-8c3a-5bf6-b7ef-ac5364b21106

Google is bringing Play Games on PC to more regions.
Japan and some countries in Europe will soon be able to use the PC application for browsing, downloading, and playing select mobile games on a Windows desktop or laptop.

In a blog post, the tech giant said: “Google Play Games on PC is expanding to more regions and including more games loved by billions of users worldwide.

"With a catalogue of top-tier games and over 10 billion monthly sessions on mobile, our users have met this product with enthusiasm for its high-quality, high-performance emulation and cross-screen gameplay.“

It will also see the arrival of new titles “Garena Free Fire”, “Ludo King”, and “MapleStory M”.

Meanwhile, Google is also set to give users a “unique next generation Player ID that will remain consistent regardless of the device or platform a user plays a game on, but which will vary from game to game”.

Arjun Dayal, director at Google Play Game, commented: “With over two billion gamer profiles, Play Games Services stands at the core of ensuring seamless continuity across devices for Google Play Games.”

Google is releasing their "Google Play on PC" program to more countries, which shows the are taking their new strategy as being a gaming platform service to compete with apps like Steam, Seriously. Or at least it seems that way for now.

People in Europe and Japan will be able to do what they have always wanted, play their favorite mobile game experience on their laptop and desktop PC computers. No longer will you be confined to a phone or have to download clunky software that only works for a select few games, you can play the mobile industries best games right on your computer screen.

With such amazing games on the Play Store, I'm not sure how Steam can compete. The only way I can see that happening if if they keep doing what they are doing now. But that won't be easy. Google is very crafty and often sabotages their own strategies and leaves without any action by competitors, and there's a good chance that may happen again just like with Google Glass which they just discontinued, so with that kind of cleverness Valve needs to be careful, or the company may possibly avoid trouble.

 

[Kilau]

Have they killed yet?

 

[Skifi28]

With such amazing games on the Play Store, I'm not sure how Steam can compete.

 

[Ozriel]

With such amazing games on the Play Store, I'm not sure how Steam can compete. The only way I can see that happening if if they keep doing what they are doing now. But that won't be easy. Google is very crafty and often sabotages their own strategies and leaves without any action by competitors, and there's a good chance that may happen again just like with Google Glass which they just discontinued, so with that kind of cleverness Valve needs to be careful, or the company may possibly avoid trouble.

Was this really necessary?

 

[yet_another_alt]

You guys laugh but mobile versions of indie games tends to be much cheaper than their PC counterparts.

 

[Drew1440]

Could this outlast Stadia?

 

[March Climber]

Could this outlast Stadia?

It's the android store so yes.

 

[Kacho]

Wow that’s really great to hear. Thanks Eddie.

 

[Ozriel]

Could this outlast Stadia?

It’s basically just the Android store for Android games on PC, so it’s pretty much going to be there for a long time to come.

There’s other popular stuff like Bluestacks people use to get Android games running on Windows, but this is Google trying to steer everyone to their own solution instead.

It’s not something I’ll ever use myself, but the market is there.

 

[recursive]

With such amazing games on the Play Store, I'm not sure how Steam can compete. The only way I can see that happening if if they keep doing what they are doing now. But that won't be easy. Google is very crafty and often sabotages their own strategies and leaves without any action by competitors, and there's a good chance that may happen again just like with Google Glass which they just discontinued, so with that kind of cleverness Valve needs to be careful, or the company may possibly avoid trouble.

 

[YeulEmeralda]

Good now I can play gachha slot machines on PC.

 

[Dirk Benedict]

Was this really necessary?

Yes. He gave us two laughs for the price of one. This thread and that tidbit at the bottom. Those of us who enjoy comedy have already won, upon entering the thread.

 

[ChuckeRearmed]

It was expected though. Mobile and PC markets will merge sooner or later.

I guess it will be run using their emulator?

It's the android store so yes.

Indeed. It is self-sustaining at this point.

 

[JimboJones]

I thought Microsoft was including Android App support natively in Windows 11, is this basically the same but linked to your Google account or something?

 

[stranno]

Lets see how it plays. WSA has been a bit flop so far.

 

[Ozriel]

Yes. He gave us two laughs for the price of one. This thread and that tidbit at the bottom. Those of us who enjoy comedy have already won, upon entering the thread.

Eh. Doesn’t make sense to laugh at a sensible idea that will make them a decent amount of money.

 

[Dirk Benedict]

Eh. Doesn’t make sense to laugh at a sensible idea that will make them a decent amount of money.

Okay, pal. Sounds like a good point...

 

[FrozenFlame]

You guys laugh but mobile versions of indie games tends to be much cheaper than their PC counterparts.

I mean, Epic gave a buncho of games (indie, AAA, AA) and had better deals with the cupons than Steam but I think we can agree that I didn't dent Valve empire...

 

[Ozriel]

I mean, Epic gave a buncho of games (indie, AAA, AA) and had better deals with the cupons than Steam but I think we can agree that I didn't dent Valve empire...

I don’t believe Google plans or expects to use this to dent Valve’s empire. Different target audience.

 

[Bojanglez]

I don’t believe Google plans or expects to use this to dent Valve’s empire. Different target audience.

Yeah more likely to cover off any move by MS to come back into the mobile space by offering seamless access to games you've bought on Google Play across Android, ChromeOS Windows (and maybe eventually MacOS?). Makes sense.

 

[wolffy71]

We can all pretend mobile games aren't making bazillion of dollars.

You may or may not like mobile games but a significant amount of gaming investments are going there.

 

[ozz ex machina]

We can all pretend mobile games aren't making bazillion of dollars.

You may or may not like mobile games but a significant amount of gaming investments are going there.

It's just a different thing though. It's not a videogame that we all know and love.

 

[wolffy71]

It's just a different thing though. It's not a videogame that we all know and love.

There's only so much investment money to go around so it matters. But yeah different to most of us here.

 

[Fuz]

The only reason to play a mobile game, is because it's on a phone.


Ok, DissidiaFFOO is awesome and I would play it on PC too. [/ISPOILER]

 

[mrmustard]

Nice, then i can finally get rid of all my voucher.

 

[BlackTron]

Wow even Google is jumping on the PC bandwagon.

I kinda expect it to suck but there are a lot of actually really good games trapped on mobile. Thing is if they are just cherry-picking titles to support it probably won't be that great. I mean you most likely will not be able to play the definitive Android port of Sonic 2 on your PC using this.

 

[Twin Drive System]

They need better title and feature support otherwise people are going to keep using emulators like Bluestacks, Nox, Mumu, etc. Most of which also include things like controller support, touch screen remapping, macros, and multiple instances (for people that like to reroll in gacha or play multiple games at once).

There is a market for this because despite the games being made for mobile by design, there are some games where the experience can be enhanced by playing on a larger screen or having more utilities.

I don't think they are trying to compete with Steam at all. They are playing a completely different ballgame.

 

[Sophist]

Dragon quest 4 on Android is the best version for non-japanese speakers. It has the party chat and remastered soundtracks, unlike the DS version.

 

[Shubh_C63]

You underestimate how many old parents and non-tech savy woman play mobile games on desktops.
But no way Google can make that visibility known without integrating it with Windows Store or Windows itself.

 

[reksveks]

You underestimate how many old parents and non-tech savy woman play mobile games on desktops.
But no way Google can make that visibility known without integrating it with Windows Store or Windows itself.

I do think it's harder if you ain't the platform holder but they do have the biggest advertising platforms in the world and/including Chrome.

I haven't seen much questioning of the reasoning but I will just add.. When you get this big, a part of the bigger game is how much increased engagement can you drive.

 

[Eddie-Griffin]

They need better title and feature support otherwise people are going to keep using emulators like Bluestacks, Nox, Mumu, etc. Most of which also include things like controller support, touch screen remapping, macros, and multiple instances (for people that like to reroll in gacha or play multiple games at once).

It's still in beta and started on select Chromebooks and is slowly making it's way to PC's, probably a long way of having the support and features as the apps you mentioned.

Honestly, I'm surprised they didn't have this plays store PC idea on Chromebooks sooner when they were releasing those Acer(asus?) and Lenovo gaming Chromebooks few years back.

 

[DeepEnigma]

so with that kind of cleverness Valve needs to be careful

 

[FrozenFlame]

I don’t believe Google plans or expects to use this to dent Valve’s empire. Different target audience.

You missed my point. Most PC gamers won't use another service because the games are cheaper (or free). So indies being cheaper won't be a big selling point as it was mentioned.

Also, you're right, different audience. Mobile gaming is successful because, well, is easy to grab and play due to the platform. You can play those games whenever and wherever.

 

[yet_another_alt]

You missed my point. Most PC gamers won't use another service because the games are cheaper (or free). So indies being cheaper won't be a big selling point as it was mentioned.

Also, you're right, different audience. Mobile gaming is successful because, well, is easy to grab and play due to the platform. You can play those games whenever and wherever.

It's not going to directly compete with Steam and since it's more of a supplement to an already existing service, it's success doesn't hinge on it taking away Steam's userbase. What it would most likely do is eliminate the need to double dip. There are already games that support cross-save and I'm sure not going to say no to cross-buy.

 

[Kataploom]

Google: "Stadia failed but PC gaming is quite popular... And we have thousands of games on Android!.. Yes, this must work wonders, that's what people want, games"

I'll probably be playing LoL Wild Rift though, if it has controller support.

 

[Holammer]

With Apple being forced to allow third-party app stores and payment systems, what's stopping Microsoft store or Steam on iOS devices? Nothing.
I wouldn't be to surprised if we also see more GooglePlayGames type systems from everyone, including Valve and every Chinese tech giant soon.