Google Stadia was a move in the right direction but it didn't go far enough. We need to deploy edge compute nodes in every home. We'll call them "consoles".
Google Stadia shuts down internal studios, changing business focus
441–450 of 834 posts
Re: Google Stadia shuts down internal studios, changing business focus
#442Earlier quoted context omitted.
> partnered with Valve and shipped something mind-blowing I tend to agree. In these cloud game streaming wars, Steam is a reservoir of totally untapped crude oil. Its the largest and most active western game platform, period, its beloved by its users, and Valve hasn't even remotely signaled an intention to compete. Companies and products like Steam are one in a million; Stadia, Luna, GeForce Now, xCloud, PSNow, are n…
> Valve/Steam is just "behind" in all of this modern gaming crap Valve is not behind in VR
I do wish valve would put some cash into publishing some high quality VR titles though. So many quality VR games are Oculus exclusives, it's saddening watching Facebook try to monopolise the space.
Re: Google Stadia shuts down internal studios, changing business focus
#443I just don't see the value add of stadia. Can someone explain? Why would a gamer choose it over a PS5 or Xbox?
PC Games with the power of an always-upgraded PC. Maybe not 100% top of the line, but above average, always, with no upgrade cost. Plus you can play on your TV, mobile device, computer, etc, with the same game saves seamlessly moving between all of them. No initial $400+ cost. It offers a lot of the same benefits as consoles, including a monthly subscription that provides good, free games. The downsides are latency a…
> partly because Google didn't show enough commitment to it. Those studios that they just shut down were the best proof of their commitment.
I dunno about that. Counter example: YouTube got huge before Google made original content for it. So, I don't buy the whole "not serious cuz they don't have first party content" argument.
Re: Google Stadia shuts down internal studios, changing business focus
#444Earlier quoted context omitted.
I’m unsure how Nvidia’s approach is worse. On GeForce now you can play games from Steam or Epic, right? Isn’t Stadia the same except you are locked into only Google’s store? That’s pretty significantly worse.
The UI is worse as you need to make yet another account and pay for steam. That experience is terrible enough to kill the thing for a non-gamer.
Do you really think "non-gamers" are going to be converted by this? At this point if you're a "non-gamer" it isn't for lack of availability.
You seem to be using "non-gamer" as a synonym for "too inexperienced to use basic modern technology", which I don't think is a widespread problem outside of age ranges that didn't grow up with the internet. A much bigger group is surely just people that aren't that interested in video games. (Unless you think Stadia is actually going after the geriatric market, which seems short sighted.)
Re: Google Stadia shuts down internal studios, changing business focus
#445Fundamentally these big tech companies just don’t understand game development. AAA games cost a lot of money, so these companies think that if you come with a bunch of money, you will end up with a AAA game. My company was pitched by both Google (for stadia) and Amazon to create games for them and it was totally clear they had no idea what they were doing, and no idea what they were even trying to achieve. The funny…
>The funny thing is that in both cases we felt that their attitude was also “These guys have no idea what they are doing” about us too. This is pretty much how every Googler thinks.
So, like any consultancy then? Interesting.
Re: Google Stadia shuts down internal studios, changing business focus
#446Earlier quoted context omitted.
I can't imagine anyone seeing it as a good sign of confidence if Sony or Microsoft abandoned all first party game development for their platforms. Not even just exclusives development. Not just selling off or divesting their studios, but shuttering them altogether. Stadia being good tech is just another sign that Stadia deserved better than Google.
> I can't imagine anyone seeing it as a good sign of confidence if Sony or Microsoft abandoned all first party game development for their platforms. Apples to Oranges IMO. Stadia is a PC game streaming service, not a physical game console. Google doesn't own the PC game platform, they're just facilitating it. If Google had never attempted a game studio and launched Stadia as a standalone platform (as it will now be),…
> If Google had never attempted a game studio and launched Stadia as a standalone platform (as it will now be), no one would have said "ok but it's a bad sign that Google isn't getting into the game development business"
Throwing money at a first party studio was a sign of investment and dedication, though. Had they thrown the money at something else - like developer outreach - sure, that would have been fine. I don't see that as the likely alternate reality had they chosen not to open a studio.
Re: Google Stadia shuts down internal studios, changing business focus
#447Earlier quoted context omitted.
The UI is worse as you need to make yet another account and pay for steam. That experience is terrible enough to kill the thing for a non-gamer.
Do you really think "non-gamers" are going to be converted by this? At this point if you're a "non-gamer" it isn't for lack of availability. You seem to be using "non-gamer" as a synonym for "too inexperienced to use basic modern technology", which I don't think is a widespread problem outside of age ranges that didn't grow up with the internet. A much bigger group is surely just people that aren't that interested in…
Just go read /r/stadia or the /r/games thread covering this, yes people are convinced by this and there's many comments talking about how they can't stand the UX on GFN.
Too inexperienced to use technology is a strawman, the real comparison is do they prefer the benefit of the better UX more than they fear the amorphous dangers of lock-in. The answer is easily yes.
Re: Google Stadia shuts down internal studios, changing business focus
#448Earlier quoted context omitted.
Madden isn’t available on GeForce Now apparently, but besides that I don’t think you’ve explained why Stadia is better. On Stadia and GeForce Now, you pay a subscription fee and pay for the game. Is it something about the Stadia hardware that makes it better?
Yes. Stadia does not assume you know how to use a gaming PC. Steam and Epic might be fine if you already know what those things are. If you don't, it is far too complex. Billions of people understand the simple app store model that comes with their phone. It's the one stadia uses.
Have you ever used Steam on Geforce Now? There is absolutely no friction. You do not even have to know Steam exists. You just search for the game you want, and do one more sign-up.
Re: Google Stadia shuts down internal studios, changing business focus
#449Google never puts the real effort required into any of these platforms like Stadia or VR.
They give it five minutes and if it’s not an instant success just run away from it and give up.
Building a game platform takes time and gamers need a reason to be there.
Re: Google Stadia shuts down internal studios, changing business focus
#450The concept of Stadia is mind-blowing but execution is not so much. I got Stadia controller+Chomecast Ultra free as I have YT Premium subscription and enjoying* playing a few games (Example: Tomb Raider is pretty good on Stadia) but as much as I like the concept of playing any game without worrying about buying console or PC and thinking of how much higher the hardware specs required to run the game, It hurts to know in a couple of years Stadia is still struggling with expanding its game availability in any meaningful way. I am always nervous of buying a game thinking if the service would be discontinued by Google then I'd lose my content library. Google really needs to make sure to add every major game title (past classics/platinum hits and future titles) on Stadia to really compete with Xbox or PS here.
* For anyone curious: I have 120 mbps internet connection and Stadia works fine on it.