Luna – Cloud gaming service • Hacker News Board

Re: Luna – Cloud gaming service

#21

Post by neaden » Thu, Sep 24, 2020, 8:01 PM UTC

QuixoticQuibit wrote: post #9

This feels like an appropriate place to rant on something that’s been bothering me for a while. It’s really disappointing to me to see every single form of entertainment becoming a subscription service. It’s also the same problem you see with various apps/software trying the SaaS model, even when it doesn’t make sense. Are we going to have exclusive games requiring multiple subscriptions to enjoy the content you want…

I find this odd because I think historically most people haven't purchased entertainment. Libraries have always been common for books, more people listen to a song on the radio then on a CD they own, people watched TV on broadcast or cable before Netflix, and most movies are watched in the theaters or rented then on a DVD they own. Games have been weird for being something you have to buy.

Re: Luna – Cloud gaming service

#22

Post by scarface74 » Thu, Sep 24, 2020, 8:03 PM UTC

wayneftw wrote: post #18

scarface74 wrote: post #7

I noticed that there are web apps for iOS to get around Apple’s rules. Why couldn’t MS and Google do this.

Probably because they rightfully feel that they shouldn’t have to resort to that and they would rather just fight Apple. As a consumer, I hope they win. It’s my pocket computer, I paid for it and I own it, so I should be able to do whatever the fuck I want with it.

Neither Microsoft nor Google are fighting Apple on either the 30% cut nor to open up the App Store. Why would they? They are doing the same thing.

I thought Google was suppose to be a proponent of PWA’s?

Re: Luna – Cloud gaming service

#23

Post by polytely » Thu, Sep 24, 2020, 8:05 PM UTC

Feel like this going to kill any chance Stadia might have had, if they have enough games and they give you a couple of months for free / reduced price if you have a Twitch Prime this will probably own the game streaming market.

Re: Luna – Cloud gaming service

#24

Post by samatman » Thu, Sep 24, 2020, 8:06 PM UTC

neaden wrote: post #21

QuixoticQuibit wrote: post #9

This feels like an appropriate place to rant on something that’s been bothering me for a while. It’s really disappointing to me to see every single form of entertainment becoming a subscription service. It’s also the same problem you see with various apps/software trying the SaaS model, even when it doesn’t make sense. Are we going to have exclusive games requiring multiple subscriptions to enjoy the content you want…

I find this odd because I think historically most people haven't purchased entertainment. Libraries have always been common for books, more people listen to a song on the radio then on a CD they own, people watched TV on broadcast or cable before Netflix, and most movies are watched in the theaters or rented then on a DVD they own. Games have been weird for being something you have to buy.

Not historically, surely? People didn't tend to rent chess boards.

Even something like billiards, players with enough wealth to have a room with a table would do so.

Personal libraries were a commonplace shortly after the printing press, as were broadsheets and then newspapers, all of which were purchased and owned. Music was impossible to 'own' before recording technology, but ownership of musical instruments, and the ability to use them, was quite widespread.

Same with TV: as soon as it became possible to record (and hence own) broadcasts, people flocked to VCRs, and had to win a court case to retain the right to do it.

My conclusion is that some people, maybe most, do wish to own the means of entertainment, and have historically purchased said means whenever they are able.

Re: Luna – Cloud gaming service

#25

Post by DivisionSol » Thu, Sep 24, 2020, 8:06 PM UTC

QuixoticQuibit wrote: post #9

This feels like an appropriate place to rant on something that’s been bothering me for a while. It’s really disappointing to me to see every single form of entertainment becoming a subscription service. It’s also the same problem you see with various apps/software trying the SaaS model, even when it doesn’t make sense. Are we going to have exclusive games requiring multiple subscriptions to enjoy the content you want…

It all boils down to $$$, of course.

1. You cannot touch the sacred cow $60 game price. You can go lower, you cannot go higher.

2. Reoccurring revenue & upsells/addons are every business' wet dreams. The game is done, sell it at $60 and shift 9/10ths of the team onto the next game. 1/10th of the team remains in bug-fix/content-churn mode to fulfill whatever season/battle pass scheme they're peddling. Release a new game with the same stuff ~2-4 years later.

3. Singleplayer games are dead because studios haven't figured out to get cheap secondary/ternary monetization out of them (for cheap.) A lot easier to make a digital hat than keep your design/narrative team making expansions.

To address the actual post: Amazon is hopping on because they have the technical capabilities... Unfortunately they don't have the game-industry/consumer-oriented know-how to make this a success. It's going to be a 'neat tech demo' but they'll never get a foothold because it's not solving an actual problem consumers are having at the moment.

Re: Luna – Cloud gaming service

#26

Post by pb7 » Thu, Sep 24, 2020, 8:07 PM UTC

dzhiurgis wrote: post #20

dubcanada wrote: post #6

Not to take away from the launch, it's only available in main land US. Sadly no Canada at the moment :(

It’s kinda lame all competing streaming services are launching in same market.

It'd be cool if something innovative launched in Europe for once. Nearly a billion people with very few global consumer technologies originating there.

Re: Luna – Cloud gaming service

#27

Post by Axsuul » Thu, Sep 24, 2020, 8:07 PM UTC

QuixoticQuibit wrote: post #9

This feels like an appropriate place to rant on something that’s been bothering me for a while. It’s really disappointing to me to see every single form of entertainment becoming a subscription service. It’s also the same problem you see with various apps/software trying the SaaS model, even when it doesn’t make sense. Are we going to have exclusive games requiring multiple subscriptions to enjoy the content you want…

With Google Stadia you can still purchase the game and play it forever.

Re: Luna – Cloud gaming service

#28

Post by obenn » Thu, Sep 24, 2020, 8:07 PM UTC

neaden wrote: post #21

QuixoticQuibit wrote: post #9

This feels like an appropriate place to rant on something that’s been bothering me for a while. It’s really disappointing to me to see every single form of entertainment becoming a subscription service. It’s also the same problem you see with various apps/software trying the SaaS model, even when it doesn’t make sense. Are we going to have exclusive games requiring multiple subscriptions to enjoy the content you want…

I find this odd because I think historically most people haven't purchased entertainment. Libraries have always been common for books, more people listen to a song on the radio then on a CD they own, people watched TV on broadcast or cable before Netflix, and most movies are watched in the theaters or rented then on a DVD they own. Games have been weird for being something you have to buy.

Records were exclusively owned. Theaters and DVD rentals were never subscriptions, they were rentals.

We had game rentals too. Either way, I would argue that the shift from rentals and subscriptions based around exchangeable physical goods, to an exclusively streamed experience is a big shift, and a big deal.

Re: Luna – Cloud gaming service

#29

Post by nightski » Thu, Sep 24, 2020, 8:07 PM UTC

QuixoticQuibit wrote: post #9

This feels like an appropriate place to rant on something that’s been bothering me for a while. It’s really disappointing to me to see every single form of entertainment becoming a subscription service. It’s also the same problem you see with various apps/software trying the SaaS model, even when it doesn’t make sense. Are we going to have exclusive games requiring multiple subscriptions to enjoy the content you want…

I'm not too worried about it personally, the only tech company I think that has a competitive offering in this space is Microsoft (with Game Pass and potentially xCloud). All others are doomed to fail.

Re: Luna – Cloud gaming service

#30

Post by dyingkneepad » Thu, Sep 24, 2020, 8:07 PM UTC

QuixoticQuibit wrote: post #9

This feels like an appropriate place to rant on something that’s been bothering me for a while. It’s really disappointing to me to see every single form of entertainment becoming a subscription service. It’s also the same problem you see with various apps/software trying the SaaS model, even when it doesn’t make sense. Are we going to have exclusive games requiring multiple subscriptions to enjoy the content you want…

I feel the gaming industry is segmented in a few universes these days. There's the universe of high budget AAA games, where decisions made by corporate execs often ruin great ideas, or you get the same exact game re-released every 1 or 2 years under slightly different name. There's the world of mobile gaming, where every single game seems to be the same gacha experience that trains you to open the app every minute to get timer-based dopamine drops. There's the indie games, where great ideas are implemented on low budget. There is the retro game universe. And others.

I feel that streaming can't really take over all of these universes. Sure it may dominate some of the AAA titles I don't care about where latency is not an issue, but I can't see it taking over everything. And for it to become even remotely popular we'll probably also need some breakthroughs in terms of latency.

Some gaming communities even have a lot of power in terms of pushback for bad things. Look at the fighting game community (FGC) where they basically boycotted Street Fighter x Tekken, Marvel vs Capcom Infinite and other titles there were either doing crappy stuff.

We can resist crappy things pushed to us.