New test for Stadia : a class action is being mounted in the United States. The complainants believe that Google's communication does not correspond to the reality of the performance of the cloud gaming service .
The launch of Google Stadia was somewhat chaotic, and despite the gradual arrival of improvements here and there in the service, the cloud gaming platform is struggling to convince. Some players even criticize it for not keeping its promises in terms of image quality, and the Mountain View company could have to answer these accusations in court.
Bias communication?
A complaint filed in New York in October 2020 was recently transferred to the local federal court, allowing us to learn more about it today. This is a class action suit, ie a gathering of several plaintiffs, against Google.
According to the complaint, consumers feel themselves viewed as beta testers by Google, which has secured a significant volume of gamers with its pre-order system by luring gamers with communication, at best optimistic, at worst false.
The company is also accused of having overestimated the value of the Stadia Founder pre-order pack, boasting of selling a bundle worth 300 euros to 129 euros ... A base value deemed disproportionate by the plaintiffs.
4K promise not kept
But the commercial practices of the American giant are not the only ones to be lacking, the intrinsic quality of Stadia is also pointed out. " Google has made false and misleading statements regarding the streaming quality of the Stadia service in order to generate increased revenue for the Google Stadia division , " it is mentioned in the file. The aggrieved party claims that Google has "greatly exaggerated" the capabilities of its cloud gaming platform.
In particular, the promise of 4K at 60 frames per second would not be kept. Many titles run at 4K 30 fps, while others aren't even compatible with true 4K.
Lawyers are asking buyers of the Founder's Edition, Premier Edition or Stadia Pro subscribers who invested in Stadia because of Google's communication to deliver superior performance to the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X and 4K across its entire catalog, be reimbursed.