a.k.a, gaming industry news round-up
a.k.a., just a ramble of some of the stories I found interesting.
So, let's start with Stadia. The news isn't surprising, but Stadia -
Google's game streaming service - is dead. Deader than dead, even.
After failing to pick up any market share, Google decided to
transition it to an API that could be used by other developers to
create their own cloud-based streaming services. And now they've
announced even this initiative is dead in the water. Because nobody -
not gamers, not publishers - wants to invest in a service that Google
is likely to kill on a whim. Which is what everybody warned Google
about three years ago. So rather than take this lesson to heart -
maybe make some guarantees to wary purchasers that the product will
remain viable five years down the road? - Google kills it on a whim.
The loss of Stadia isn't big news itself. Streaming games from the
cloud was never dependent on Google's involvement, and there are a
number of alternatives (Microsoft, Sony and GeForce being the primary
ones). But Stadia's closure only proves what people have been saying
about Google for a long time; that, despite making money hand over
fist, the company is too willing to abandon products that may - with
enough long-term investment - have a strong future at the first sign
of trouble. Corporations are becoming increasingly wary of depending
on Google for anything, which is a problem as Google Search - while
ubiquitous - becomes ever less useful, Gmail's importance diminish as
people rely less on Email, and YouTube faces off against ever-stronger competition. Google remains strong at present but its inability to
meaningfully innovate puts the company's future in jeopardy. Stadia's
closure may either result in much-needed changes to the corporate
culture, or may be the first sign of its eventual demise (or, at
least, greatly reducing its significance in the industry).
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/03/stadias-pivot-to-a-cloud-service-has-also-been-shut-down/
Also, NFTs! Look ma, I'm burying the lede so people won't think I'm
fixated on this one topic! Facebook is pushing away from the damn
things, yay! They're 'winding down' support for 'digital collectibles'
in Facebook and Instagram. Plus, its crypto-wallet project 'Novi' has
been shuttered and its proposed crypto-coin isn't going anyway.
Details on the 'why' are scarce - especially after Zuckerberg made so
much noise about how important NFTs were going to be to his metaverse
- but I think it's safe to assume it's because it wasn't making money.
Which is a good sign; it means fewer people are getting caught up in
this nonsense. Crypto will never go away - because scams never really
die out - but hopefully it can be brought down to manageable levels
rather than being seen as the Next Big Thing that needs to be
incorporated into every piece of tech.
https://www.engadget.com/meta-is-killing-nft-support-on-facebook-and-instagram-225517412.html?src=rss
Finally, the Microsoft/Activision deal is still having a lot of
problems getting past the finish line. The EU seems to think that
having two giant gaming publishers merge might somehow be bad for the
industry as a whole, bandying words like 'monopoly' and 'unfair
competition' around. But I mean, we're talking about Microsoft and
Activision, two companies with sterling reputations... what could
possibly go wrong? Sony is the biggest objector, pointing out how
Microsoft basically nixed all Playstation ports of Bethesda games
after acquiring that company. Some people have pointed out that Sony
is being a bit hypocritical in its argument, since it isn't averse to
using exclusivity deals to bolster sales of its own game console...
but I think that only strengthens the EU's argument. Just because you
have one corporation acting unlawfully doesn't mean you need to make
it 'fair' for another corporation to do so too. But Microsoft isn't
taking this lying down, and has some major media campaigns in the UK
and Europe trying to convince people of the rightness of its cause.
Of course, as a PC gamer I can't help but smile, because these
'exclusivity' deals rarely affect me. Almost everything comes to PC
eventually, whether it's Playstation or XBox or mobile (and you can
scratch out that 'almost' if you figure in emulation and pirated
games. Nintendo might say you need to buy a Switch to play 'Breath of
the Wild' but with a little smarts and Internet savvy, a PC will do
you just fine too ;-) So this is really just about shareholders
wanting more control and more money, and since I generally think large corporations have enough of both already, I'm fine with governments
stepping in and saying, 'No, you've got enough.'
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/64086532d3bf7f557532cefc/2023-03-07_Microsoft-Activision_-_SIE_Observations_on_Remedies_Notice__Revised_NCV__redacted.pdf
Anyway, just a few thoughts on some of the industry news that caught
my eye. It's sad that these days I find their shenanigans more
interesting than their products. But triple-A published games are so
grindy, and so over-full with monetizations, or just are bland sequels
or remakes, that it's no wonder I focus more on the classics of
yesteryear than their newest releases. Maybe these corporations should
work on that rather than trying to buy their way to dominance.
--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)