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Stadia Bluetooth Mode

stadia.google.com

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Re: Stadia Bluetooth Mode

#11

Post by advisedwang »

rew0rk wrote: post #3

> Available until December 31, 2023 Meaning that controllers that have the old firmware will be unable to switch after that date? This seems like a weird restriction to have if this is a firmware update?

Presumably there's some server side component that Google wants to turn off

Re: Stadia Bluetooth Mode

#12

Post by falcolas »

skybrian wrote: post #6
willio58 wrote: post #2

Google has become impressively good at killing their own products. It's just unfortunate they can't support things enough to get them off the ground in the first place.

I don’t think it’s all on Google. The customers get a say too. Most gamers said no, so the product failed.

The gamers said no because it was a product where you didn't own the games, didn't own the hardware it ran on, and couldn't play the games without being within a few dozen miles of a Google datacenter (an exaggeration, but I'm certainly not close enough to play anything with a reflex check, and I'm on fiber in the lower 50 states).

I can't blame them; the value proposition for most gamers was approximately zero.

Re: Stadia Bluetooth Mode

#13

Post by SketchySeaBeast »

skybrian wrote: post #6
willio58 wrote: post #2

Google has become impressively good at killing their own products. It's just unfortunate they can't support things enough to get them off the ground in the first place.

I don’t think it’s all on Google. The customers get a say too. Most gamers said no, so the product failed.

It's circular though - I think a lot of gamers said no because they knew that Google could kill the service, and in this case everything they bought would disappear forever. I didn't want to invest in such an ecosystem. So it's a self-fulfilling prophecy at this point.

Re: Stadia Bluetooth Mode

#14

Post by wjnc »

falcolas wrote: post #12
skybrian wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t think it’s all on Google. The customers get a say too. Most gamers said no, so the product failed.

The gamers said no because it was a product where you didn't own the games, didn't own the hardware it ran on, and couldn't play the games without being within a few dozen miles of a Google datacenter (an exaggeration, but I'm certainly not close enough to play anything with a reflex check, and I'm on fiber in the lower 50 states). I can't blame them; the value proposition for most gamers was approximately zero.

Happy user of Stadia here. Fit the dad gamer in off hours usecase perfectly. Spent enough on it that even the total refund felt like something. And now on top of that I own a controller to use with the GeForce Now embedded in my LG TV. Consumer galore.

Re: Stadia Bluetooth Mode

#15

Post by james_in_the_uk »

skybrian wrote: post #6
willio58 wrote: post #2

Google has become impressively good at killing their own products. It's just unfortunate they can't support things enough to get them off the ground in the first place.

I don’t think it’s all on Google. The customers get a say too. Most gamers said no, so the product failed.

Target market = people who: (I) like to play computer games (II) haven’t already invested in hardware and a library (II) aren’t sensitive to latency. Not exactly surprising that it didn’t take off.

Re: Stadia Bluetooth Mode

#16

Post by ascagnel_ »

SketchySeaBeast wrote: post #13
skybrian wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t think it’s all on Google. The customers get a say too. Most gamers said no, so the product failed.

It's circular though - I think a lot of gamers said no because they knew that Google could kill the service, and in this case everything they bought would disappear forever. I didn't want to invest in such an ecosystem. So it's a self-fulfilling prophecy at this point.

Additionally, there are competitors (Microsoft's xCloud, NVidia's GeForce NOW) that side-step the problem of Stadia's ecosystem. xCloud is only available with Microsoft's all-you-can-eat, Netflix-style game subscription service (and generally only plays games available on that service), while GFN works with a user's existing digital library. Stadia seemingly offered the worst of all options: games had to be purchased at full price through Google's storefront, could not be played locally, and required Google's streaming back-end to be available.

Re: Stadia Bluetooth Mode

#17

Post by hbn »

AlexandrB wrote: post #8

Credit to Google, they didn't have to do this. Especially after issuing refunds for hardware already.

It could also be a way of covering their asses. Big tech ends up in courts all the time these days, I wouldn't be surprised if creating a bunch of e-waste out of 1 to 3-year-old controllers would be brought up at some point

Re: Stadia Bluetooth Mode

#18

Post by sp332 »

skybrian wrote: post #6
willio58 wrote: post #2

Google has become impressively good at killing their own products. It's just unfortunate they can't support things enough to get them off the ground in the first place.

I don’t think it’s all on Google. The customers get a say too. Most gamers said no, so the product failed.

Partly, but also they spun up an entire game studio and then shut it down after two years. What was that even for?
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