Microsoft might have just killed Google Stadia

Microsoft just announced that XCloud is coming to Game Pass… This is a bombshell. What could Google even do to respond to this? Stadia probably won’t be able to compete with this and be profitable at the same time, which means Stadia will be in the Google Graveyard in 5 or 6 years. After tonight, it’s really looking like Microsoft is going to be the Netflix of gaming.

Conversation 18 comments

  • chrisltd

    14 November, 2019 - 10:45 pm

    <p>It depends on if Microsoft can pull off the streaming tech as well as Google. Sony has a ton more games on their PS Now service than MS or Google has announced, but no one seems to care.</p>

    • wright_is

      Premium Member
      15 November, 2019 - 4:49 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#489231">In reply to chrisltd:</a></em></blockquote><p>Microsoft have 30 more years of experience of remote application streaming than Google. They also have a lot more experience in gaming. The chances are good that Microsoft has the know-how to implement it properly.</p>

      • Vladimir Carli

        Premium Member
        19 November, 2019 - 7:52 am

        <blockquote><em><a href="#489262">In reply to wright_is:</a></em></blockquote><p><br></p><p>did you ever try Microsoft remote application streaming? I did a couple of times and I didn't get any confidence that they have a huge advantage over anyone else</p>

  • Bats

    14 November, 2019 - 10:51 pm

    <p>LOL…are you kidding? Seriously are you? Google is going to be a tremendous player in this space and whatever they want, they pretty much will get it. They have a track record of success. Not just that, but people are forgetting the "Kings" of gaming and that is Sony. They have a super-large following that Microsoft can't even touch and they are marketing the hell out of their Playstation Now service to those people. Do you actually think with all the communities built around the Playstation Universe, that they will actually switch to the Xbox? Thurrott has been trying to champion Game Pass since 2017 (and earlier) and nothing has happened. </p><p><br></p><p>This is not to say that XCloud is going to fail. It's simply going to be another service to compete against Stadia, Playstation Now, Nvidia, later Amazon, Apple, etc….</p><p><br></p><p>If you or anyone is having dreams of Microsoft dominating this space…………………………………….?. Seriously, Microsoft does not know how to dominate any kind of space. Is it really necessary to list a litany of the failed consumer products by this company? </p><p><br></p><p>I know what Thurrott said about XCloud. He's wrong……again. Microsoft does not have an "expertise" in gaming, as he describes it. "Expertise" in this space is only limited to the expertise of the people Microsoft, Google, Sony, Apple, …….. McDonalds, Burger King, Petri…….hires to working other product/service. That's the truth. </p><p><br></p><p><br></p>

  • rob_segal

    Premium Member
    14 November, 2019 - 11:02 pm

    <p>Not a bombshell. It was an obvious move for Microsoft. Google can do a lot to compete. Expand their free tier, deal on their hardware for a one year commitment. Google has a lot of cloud computing power and a lot of money, as well as Android and ChromeOS to leverage. The number of Android and ChromeOS users dwarf the number of Xbox users. IOS users greatly outnumber Xbox users, too. Google will compete if they want to. Try not to overreact. Also, don't forget about Apple Arcade.</p>

  • lvthunder

    Premium Member
    15 November, 2019 - 12:17 am

    <p>I don't think any of these big tech companies want to dominate here. That would just bring more ammo to those that want to break them up. It's better for them to all compete and we have a larger then two choice like you do in the automotive space.</p>

  • Daishi

    Premium Member
    15 November, 2019 - 3:06 am

    <p>I’d say that what Google can do is simple. Be prepared to lose a butt load of money over an extended period of time undercutting the competition by selling hardware, software and subscriptions at below cost in order to buy some market share. Filling the ‘it may not be the best option in the market but it’s good enough for a casual user, it’s simple to use and costs half as much’ niche has been their go to play for entering markets. That was the Android strategy. It was the Chromebook strategy. It the Chromecast strategy and it would be the Home strategy except that there they’re up against possibly the only company more prepared to just eat losses than they are in Amazon. </p><p><br></p><p>I actually think that there is a measurably greater chance that in 5 years from now Microsoft will have scrapped Xcloud than there is that Google will have killed Stadia.</p>

  • wright_is

    Premium Member
    15 November, 2019 - 4:47 am

    <p>There are millions of people out there who game on Google Android, who have never gamed on XBox or Windows and probably have never heard of XCloud. Then there are the Microsoft haters…</p><p>Google might still pick up a couple of users.</p>

    • Greg Green

      15 November, 2019 - 8:54 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#489261">In reply to wright_is:</a></em></blockquote><p>That’s the key point, mobile gaming is almost 50% of gaming revenue, and almost 90% (worldwide) of smartphone use is android. In Europe android is about 70% market share and in US about 50%. Even if android is only 60% of the mobile gaming revenue, android gaming revenue by itself may be bigger than either PlayStation or Xbox.</p><p><br></p><p>If mobile gaming has legs, and so far it has very long ones, this is google’s to lose.</p>

      • Greg Green

        15 November, 2019 - 9:11 am

        <blockquote><em><a href="#489322">In reply to Greg Green:</a></em></blockquote><p>On the other hand, to argue with myself, PC gaming revenue is $36B, and 95% of that must be Windows gaming. Console gaming revenue is $48B, and suppose that a third of that is Xbox. That means that MS has a $34B plus $16B equals $50B market. Against Google’s $41B.</p><p><br></p><p>It’s a battle of clumsy titans.</p>

  • Lordbaal

    15 November, 2019 - 9:59 am

    <p>When <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Stadia&nbsp;ships, Google said they will be missing thing at launch. When they had months to work on it.</span></p>

  • madthinus

    Premium Member
    16 November, 2019 - 8:04 am

    <p>I still don't think we understand what Stadia is, and I also think the proclaiming it's death is premature. </p>

    • buzza24

      17 November, 2019 - 10:11 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#489587">In reply to madthinus:</a></em></blockquote><p><br></p><p>I don't think even Google knows what Stadia is. But I wouldn't be surprised to see it on the Google Graveyard list within 12 months of the launch.</p>

  • StevenLayton

    18 November, 2019 - 8:01 am

    <p>I think we all need to hope that Google keeps Stadia in the market. The more players in the game (ahem) the better Microsoft/Google/Sony/Nintendo etc will need their offerings to be, and the more financially competitive they may have to make their solutions.</p>

    • vernonlvincent

      Premium Member
      18 November, 2019 - 9:37 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#489995">In reply to StevenLayton:</a></em></blockquote><p>I agree with this, but would go one step further: We need all of the players in the market to have some level of interoperability. When we're talking about cloud streaming of games – the hardware essentially is to be secondary to the point of irrelevant. There should be no technical reason why xCloud couldn't work on Statia or Apple TV or Sony or any other device that is always connected to the internet.</p>

  • Vladimir Carli

    Premium Member
    19 November, 2019 - 8:05 am

    <p>I don't think is really looking like that now. We simply don't know and you are not taking into account some important factors:</p><p>1) xbox users will continue to stay on xbox and xcloud, that's almost sure. The main issue that will determine success is who is able to attract more new users</p><p>2) Game pass may seem as an amazing deal but it's not, at least not for everyone. If you want to give it to your kids so that you can reject their requests to buy games (which will still happen) it might work. However, it's some sort of all-you-can-eat service that doesn't really satisfy all needs. Neflix is not a good example because the audience of tv consumers is very different than the gaming audience. One can play the same three games for years and be happy. Even if you have time to waste, you might not be interested in a hundred games, most of which are very low quality. You don't require the same amount of content that you need if you are binge watching tv shows.</p><p>3) Apart from game pass and various studios that microsoft owns, what other games will be available on xcloud? On which platform will Activision, EA, Ubisoft games be available? This is going to be a major factor in choosing which service to use. </p><p>4) There have been several discussions on this site about Chromebooks in education. Remember those millions of kids who get a Chromebook from school but they hate it because they can't do much with it, apart studying? Suddenly, with Stadia, they can use it to access AAA titles which used to require hundreds (or thousands) of dollars of hardware. This is a big deal.</p><p>5) Stadia is going to have a free tier, xcloud is not. How many people will be driven to Stadia only for this reason?</p>

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