In a move that is sure to raise plenty of eyebrows, and worry Stadia supporters, Google has announced they're shutting down SG&E (Stadia Games & Entertainment) and no longer doing first-party games.
They make it clear in the announcement that Stadia as a platform isn't going away, and they believe game streaming is "the future of this industry" and so they will "continue to invest in Stadia and its underlying platform to provide the best cloud gaming experience for our partners and the gaming community". It gets more interesting though, as Google said they will be expanding to "help game developers and publishers take advantage of our platform technology and deliver games directly to their players" and they will be working with partners who want a streaming solution.
Google clearly mention how costly it is to create big AAA games, and as Amazon have seen it doesn't always work out and burns a lot of money. Instead, the focus will be to "focus on building on the proven technology of Stadia as well as deepening our business partnerships" and on that note they mentioned that Jade Raymond has left Google now too.
Sounds like Google are going to be licensing the tech and hardware behind Stadia, while continuing to build up Stadia as a store itself. It makes a lot more sense, as big costly exclusives from Stadia for Stadia won't have enough of a pull to pay-off, whereas pulling in more and more 3rd party popular games will and would cost Google less to do. So, it is the smart move overall. The Stadia tech is good too, and it clearly works so they're doing what they do best in this way.
The thing is, it's another nail in the coffin of the idea Google sold it all on originally. The talk about these huge games that could only work in the cloud, which you're not likely to see from a 3rd party developer since their games will need to run on PC and consoles too most of the time.
So don't expect any Google / Stadia first-party titles after this year, if any of them come out at all. To be clear though, Google note they are "committed to the future of cloud gaming, and will continue to do our part to drive this industry forward" and that the Stadia store will continue bringing in more titles. Still, it won't stop people mentioning the Google Graveyard.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Mohandevir Feb 2, 2021
Quoting: LinuxwarperOne thing that is swept under the rug is how Stadia creates division. There was and is no reassurance from Google that they won't make Stadia successful at expense of local play. By that I don't mean they should allow local play on Stadia, I mean them getting exclusivity for games like Epic. Or doing anything else that's not third party exclusivity that won't erode availability or freedom to play games locally. But who cares about others as long as I get what I want right? Stadia is great! I can stream wohooo! Look at my controller in my gym bag! Wohoo!
In my opinion ensuring others are not negatively impacted by Stadia should be a concern by Stadia fans, but it does not seem like it. They largely don't care, and so I don't care. Division among gamers. Driving industry forward. Yeah right...
Just curious... In what is it any different than buying a PS4, XBox or Nintendo Switch? Why should it be more damaging? Imo it's a Linux console in the cloud. It's not a PC. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't see why...
Mohandevir Feb 2, 2021
Quoting: Liam DaweEA just announced they're putting FIFA on Stadia in March. Interesting timing...
Yeah... But... Where is NHL21?!
If they are getting into licensing, that means the licensing of proprietary code for which google already took open code and closed it down. Also, you are losing ownership of your game to play an interactive video on their closed source hardware and Chrome browser.
Quoting: t3gI don’t understand the reasoning to talk about Stadia on this site. Yes, I know that it’s running on a version of Linux, but those enhancements aren’t going upstream and it won’t encourage game developers to use the Stadia code in porting to Linux.Honestly getting sick of replying to this. We will write about anything, on Linux as long as it relates to gaming on this platform. Does Stadia work on Linux and is it a supported service? Yes. So we cover it. Same reason we cover Wine, Proton, Emulators, Game Engines and everything else.
Don't like it? Block the Stadia tag in your profile settings here or stop reading them.
Kimyrielle Feb 2, 2021
Quoting: TheRiddickand also have more local server access points
*cough*
I have a really super local access point for my games. It's called a SSD. The latency is absolutely fantastic, I tell you!
*cough*
Ahem. Anyway... I really also fail to see how Google basically burying what Stadia was meant to be would somehow be good news for fans of cloud gaming, but they seem to argue as if it somehow would be. Denial mode much? The simple truth is more likely that Stadia is dead in the water and Google is cutting their losses. Games tailored for cloud computing would have been the ONE selling point for cloud gaming. Like Super Massive MMOs with photo-realistic graphics. Stuff that just won't run on your own PC, ever. Otherwise there is like -zero- point in cloud gaming. Who wants to play World of Warcraft on a smartphone anyway, or why would I hog my bandwidth if I can install the same game locally and for the same price? People are going to continue having gaming rigs at home, so really, what's the point? Cloud gaming is more likely to become the next VR: A big hype touted as the future of all things, that ends up sitting in a very small niche.
Mohandevir Feb 2, 2021
Quoting: Kimyrielle.. Otherwise there is like -zero- point in cloud gaming...
Have you tried buying PC hardware lately? PS5? Xbox Series? Prices have skyrocketed if available at all... These "PC component crisis" are becoming quite common stuff. That's an area where cloud gaming might become attractive.
Still I wonder why Google didn't launch Stadia on Android TV first, though.
Personnally I really do like the idea of not having to buy a new console every couple of years, be it Stadia or not.
Last edited by Mohandevir on 2 February 2021 at 6:09 pm UTC
Kimyrielle Feb 2, 2021
Quoting: GuestActually, "Creating best-in-class games from the ground up takes many years and significant investment, and the cost is going up exponentially."
Translation: Making AAA games costs money.
Google must have been really shocked to find out. It was such a well-kept secret that making AAA games costs money!
And...I dunno. EA and Ubisoft seem to be quite successful making AAA games and Google is 100 times (or 1000?) richer than these two companies combined. *shrug*
Kimyrielle Feb 2, 2021
Quoting: MohandevirHave you tried buying PC hardware lately?
Actually yes. Last Christmas. And spontaneously decided that my old PC will serve me well for another year. I know that -right now-, gaming PCs are almost impossible to buy.
But unless you're trying to say that the pandemic (which is ultimately the root cause for this) will become permanent, this is not relevant for the future of cloud gaming vs local gaming. The hardware market will eventually return to normal conditions.
Mohandevir Feb 2, 2021
Quoting: KimyrielleQuoting: MohandevirHave you tried buying PC hardware lately?
Actually yes. Last Christmas. And spontaneously decided that my old PC will serve me well for another year. I know that -right now-, gaming PCs are almost impossible to buy.
But unless you're trying to say that the pandemic (which is ultimately the root cause for this) will become permanent, this is not relevant for the future of cloud gaming vs local gaming. The hardware market will eventually return to normal conditions.
Pandemic is a factor for sure, but not the only one... Cryptomining is another one, precisely at this moment and there were issues with the CPU supplying chain at Intel long before the pandemic... It was exacerbated by it, no doubt, but can you promise me there won't be another pandemic in the near futur?
There was also an incident that destroyed a memory manufacturing facility a couple of years ago... RAM availability and prices skyrocketed too. These phenomenons are happening a lot more frequently lately.
This said, I'm just showing what kind of stuff could make for a good argument for cloud gaming. I'll be the happiest guy when everything will come back to normal, but who can say with certainty when it will really settle?
In the meantime, I was still waiting on a RX5600 to show up somewhere... Decided to wait for the RX 6700, but I'm not holding my breath. All this makes cloud solutions attractive, nonetheless.
Edit: The thing is not to know if the pandemic will last... It created a window of opportunity to cloud gaming. Once a habbit is acquired, it's hard to get rid of it. Cloud gaming will never replace my PC, I like that thing too much, but I personnally heard about Stadia from 2 PS4 users who bought the Stadia Controller with the Cyberpunk deal and who have been totally satisfied. I never ever mentionned it (Stadia) to anybody, because I am careful about it, even if I like the concept. Google doesn't need a Stadia Gaming studio to achieve that. Even more true when you consider the Cyberpunk fiasco.
Last edited by Mohandevir on 2 February 2021 at 7:37 pm UTC
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