Google need to open source and unlock the controllers - otherwise they just created a mountain of e-waste.
The whole system is a _staggering_ technological achievement of (unnecessary) complexity getting a pile of devices closely synchronized over the network with ... absolutely no realistic use case.
I just dug the controller out, it does work wired as a USB-C HID1.1 Gamepad device (18D1:9400). 2 analog sticks, 2 analog triggers, 15 buttons (including pressed/not pressed for the analog triggers), and an analog alias for the D-Pad (just returns min/max when pressed). Doesn't look like the 3.5mm headphone jack does anything when connected via USB, I'm not seeing a bonus audio device or anything.
It doesn't look like it presents as a normal Bluetooth controller (by testing or by the docs https://support.google.com/stadia/answer/9338851?hl=en ), I think the weird hybrid WiFi for comms/Bluetooth for pairing thing they did would require some hacking and/or published specs to use it wirelessly with anything other than a Stadia setup - or for Google to politely release a firmware update to enable normal BT controller behavior since they imply it's possible. They are apparently pretty nasty to get apart ( https://www.ifixit.com/Device/Google_Stadia_Controller ) for physical tampering, though there is a fairly substantial computer system in it http://en.techinfodepot.shoutwiki.com/wiki/Google_Stadia_(H2... .
It's actually a pretty comfortable controller, but it just became an amusing collectors item so I think mine will continue to sit in its box.
I also looked into the weird WiFi/Bluetooth hybrid protocol stack. It's really impressive, and as far as I know, not jailbroken. Also massively overengineered.
They tried really hard with Stadia, at least at the hardware and streaming level. It's just that no one wanted it. They are before their time; PS Plus and GeForce Go are seeing adoption for streaming games. I bet it'll be popular in 3-5 years, maybe sooner. It's just that Google isn't a reliable carrier for this service, and they don't have enough patience.
This would have no impact on anything. If they had to share IP after shutting it down they'd just restructure the business so that Stadia licensed IP from Google Streaming Gaming Technology LLP, and do the all the real work in that absolutely-definitely-a-separate-company-look-the-logo-is-a-different-shape part of Alphabet instead.
But forcing a company to relinquish its intellectual property just because they're successful seems counter-intuitive. Maybe they just need to make it possible to install alternative firmware (whether or not it exists) in a reasonable way for no additional cost.
> Maybe it would work if it was based on the production volume and product category, not the size of the company. Not sure how the IP thing would work, but making it possible to reuse/recycle electronics that would otherwise end up in a landfill due to no other reason than software locks is a good idea.
THIS!
> But forcing a company to relinquish its intellectual property just because they're successful seems counter-intuitive. Maybe they just need to make it possible to install alternative firmware (whether or not it exists) in a reasonable way for no additional cost.
Well, this too, with a twist...
I'm not saying they have to relinquish their IP. There's a difference between open sourcing something and relinquishing intellectual property. One says "the world can USE this" and the other says "the world can use this and somebody can PROFIT FROM IT." I'm saying exclusively the former. I'm not OK with them being forced to allow somebody else to pick up their work and make money on it without them getting a cut purely because the government forced that function, that's not ok. So maybe if there's going to be a forcing function here there needs to be some kind of licensing that allows their IP to be used purely in non-profit contexts.
...but then again, coming back to my whole "should have thought it through before posting" notion, no profit might mean no maintaining body. So...I dunno.
It just rubs me the wrong way that Google launches new products and kills just as many every single year, and loads of people worldwide get screwed in the process while they get away with it every single time. If they're going to keep doing this, and let's face it, they are, the world at large oughtta get a little something out of it. Seems like having them open source the thing they're clearly not going to make any money on anyway is the right thing to do here.
I wish they enable Bluetooth for it because it's an excellent controller. I use it to play Halo on xCloud via iPad...
He's too dangerous to allow to live.
I was pleasantly surprised that the controller synced via BT. I was able to play non-Luna FireTV games with no problems.
It even worked without the Luna software installed on my FireTV Stick (I don't recommend you buy a FireTV stick, nor any FireTV product really).
The concept of the Luna software is interesting: Cloud streamed HD gaming on low-end hardware. Game play was really responsive. Very little video artifacts. But like all other FireTV products, the UX was geared towards sales, not user ergonomics.
I plan to uninstall the Luna app and just play the few FireTV games that I have. Sadly Alto's Adventure is too resource intense for my FireTV Stick.
Of course, USB remains an option.
EDIT: Yup, official Google Store specs list "Bluetooth" and "Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) 4.2".