Google is shutting down Stadia • Hacker News Board

Re: Google is shutting down Stadia

#541

Post by snek_case » Thu, Sep 29, 2022, 6:03 PM UTC

enumjorge wrote: post #507

ren_engineer wrote: post #411

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Google needs to restructure their incentives before it wrecks the company. I have no doubt whoever launched Stadia got promoted and then bounced to a different product and didn't care about whether Stadia was a success long term. Google's ad money printer masks the rot underneath, Google is literally a meme at this point for shutting down products. No serious business or developer is going to trust them. If governmen…

The thing that baffles me is that this has been a known issue for a long time, and yet there doesn't seem to be any significant moves to improve this. Can someone please explain what Sundar Pichai's big goals as a CEO are? That's a genuine question. He doesn't seem to be solving existing issues related to culture and incentives. And the company hasn't landed any big wins recently. I mostly see increased monetization…

It seems likely here that since revenue numbers keep going up, they don't really realize that there is a problem. Why rock the boat and change anything with the culture when you can just keep collecting your bonuses?

Re: Google is shutting down Stadia

#542

Post by bogwog » Thu, Sep 29, 2022, 6:04 PM UTC

wcfields wrote: post #127

Love the foreshadowing of it being a total flop from the launch exhibition: https://twitter.com/AllGamesDelta_/status/119683308108220416... "Remember when Google compared Stadia with the Powerglove, Atari ET and the Dreamcast?"

The thing I remembered most from that launch was when Sundar Pichai walked on stage of this massive product launch, in front of the entire gaming industry filled with skeptics, and the first words out of his mouth were "I'll admit, I'm not much of a gamer".

Re: Google is shutting down Stadia

#543

Post by myko » Thu, Sep 29, 2022, 6:04 PM UTC

enumjorge wrote: post #507

ren_engineer wrote: post #411

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Google needs to restructure their incentives before it wrecks the company. I have no doubt whoever launched Stadia got promoted and then bounced to a different product and didn't care about whether Stadia was a success long term. Google's ad money printer masks the rot underneath, Google is literally a meme at this point for shutting down products. No serious business or developer is going to trust them. If governmen…

The thing that baffles me is that this has been a known issue for a long time, and yet there doesn't seem to be any significant moves to improve this. Can someone please explain what Sundar Pichai's big goals as a CEO are? That's a genuine question. He doesn't seem to be solving existing issues related to culture and incentives. And the company hasn't landed any big wins recently. I mostly see increased monetization…

"More wood, fewer arrows" has destroyed the longevity of Google as a company for anything beyond search/ads

Alphabet seems to have been a mistake, too. Instead of shielding their bets they flounder and wither.

Just terrible strategic thinking.

Re: Google is shutting down Stadia

#544

Post by subsubzero » Thu, Sep 29, 2022, 6:05 PM UTC

ren_engineer wrote: post #411

vyrotek wrote: post #43

Just a couple of months ago. "Stadia is not shutting down. Rest assured we're always working on bringing more great games to the platform and Stadia Pro." https://twitter.com/GoogleStadia/status/1552989433590214656

Google needs to restructure their incentives before it wrecks the company. I have no doubt whoever launched Stadia got promoted and then bounced to a different product and didn't care about whether Stadia was a success long term. Google's ad money printer masks the rot underneath, Google is literally a meme at this point for shutting down products. No serious business or developer is going to trust them. If governmen…

Take away that search monopoly and you have one one of the most dysfunctional and slowest moving companies in tech. Which is incredibly surprising as they hire really bright people but their leadership and product direction is not good at all.

Re: Google is shutting down Stadia

#545

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Sep 29, 2022, 6:05 PM UTC

enumjorge wrote: post #507

ren_engineer wrote: post #411

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Google needs to restructure their incentives before it wrecks the company. I have no doubt whoever launched Stadia got promoted and then bounced to a different product and didn't care about whether Stadia was a success long term. Google's ad money printer masks the rot underneath, Google is literally a meme at this point for shutting down products. No serious business or developer is going to trust them. If governmen…

The thing that baffles me is that this has been a known issue for a long time, and yet there doesn't seem to be any significant moves to improve this. Can someone please explain what Sundar Pichai's big goals as a CEO are? That's a genuine question. He doesn't seem to be solving existing issues related to culture and incentives. And the company hasn't landed any big wins recently. I mostly see increased monetization…

[deleted]

Re: Google is shutting down Stadia

#546

Post by UncleMeat » Thu, Sep 29, 2022, 6:05 PM UTC

MichaelCollins wrote: post #283

timmg wrote: post #248

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean, it was probably a lie. But, also, things may have changed. It's not like Google didn't just go through a big hiring freeze and budget process.

Everybody here knew it wasn't going to play out that way, so surely everybody in Google knew it too. Or should have known. Either they were lying, or were effectively brainwashed by the corporate environment (a real possibility.)

The company really did go from "hire like mad" to "oh shit cut stuff" seemingly overnight. It would not surprise me if Stadia was an easy way for some SVP to slash their budget to appease Finance.

Re: Google is shutting down Stadia

#547

Post by sva_ » Thu, Sep 29, 2022, 6:06 PM UTC

vyrotek wrote: post #43

Just a couple of months ago. "Stadia is not shutting down. Rest assured we're always working on bringing more great games to the platform and Stadia Pro." https://twitter.com/GoogleStadia/status/1552989433590214656

> Just a couple of months ago.

This was exactly 2 months ago (July 29th).

Re: Google is shutting down Stadia

#548

Post by ohashi » Thu, Sep 29, 2022, 6:06 PM UTC

It seems like a self fulfilling prophecy for Google products. They have a reputation for killing them off, so users don't want to invest and get committed to them. Then the products don't match their expectations and get killed. It just further fuels the cycle.

At some point I wish Google would take a stand and believe in some products. If they said we have a 10 year commitment to making Stadia a success and will not close it before that, no matter the cost. I might be willing to consider giving it a try. I don't want to buy into something that's going to just get shut down, especially when there are high costs involved.

Re: Google is shutting down Stadia

#549

Post by meltyness » Thu, Sep 29, 2022, 6:07 PM UTC

ren_engineer wrote: post #411

vyrotek wrote: post #43

Just a couple of months ago. "Stadia is not shutting down. Rest assured we're always working on bringing more great games to the platform and Stadia Pro." https://twitter.com/GoogleStadia/status/1552989433590214656

Google needs to restructure their incentives before it wrecks the company. I have no doubt whoever launched Stadia got promoted and then bounced to a different product and didn't care about whether Stadia was a success long term. Google's ad money printer masks the rot underneath, Google is literally a meme at this point for shutting down products. No serious business or developer is going to trust them. If governmen…

Once it is realized the ads are mostly harmful this is inevitable

Re: Google is shutting down Stadia

#550

Post by peeters » Thu, Sep 29, 2022, 6:07 PM UTC

yetanother4968 wrote: post #335

keewee7 wrote: post #279

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>not market it at all I noticed that too. Google never adversises its producta. Google is almost like the startup founder who thinks their side project is so good it doesn't need marketing or sales.

They absolutely inundated YouTube with ads for Stadia for a couple of months, to the point that it felt like half the ads I saw were Stadia ads. So that’s something, at least?

I wonder what the overlap is between Stadia's target market and people who watch YouTube without blocking ads.

It's not zero, because Chromecast doesn't block ads and that's the natural fit for Stadia. But it's definitely not 100% either.