Google Stadia has had a rough launch. The new game-streaming service has been live for about a week now, and the best thing we can say is that it works - but just barely. The service is still bare-eyed, not only missing features to be added next year, but many of them promised by Google for launch day. Despite months of pre-ordering, there are problems with fulfillment as well as waiting for many early adopter days to obtain an access code.
But a bad launch does not mean that Stadia has failed. Outside the gate of new platforms, from game companies to Google, there are just too many examples to mature into a stable, thriving ecosystem. We're comparing different launches to very different problems, of course, but it's still worth looking at how companies responded, whether they listened to their fans, adapted to the changing landscape, or just some stars Aligned. let's take a look.
Back in 2013, Microsoft unveiled the Xbox One during its E3 press conference. The response was not good, to do it lightly. This required a constant Internet connection, was overpriced, bundled with a Kinect sensor that left some wanting, and temptation of other issues. A poll conducted by us at the time stated that 75% of IGN viewers were visibly disappointed. It was so bad that Microsoft later withdrew many more problematic issues with the system, such as the necessary always-on-internet connection and limitations on game sharing. Even with those changes, however, the XB1 still had a rough launch, mostly held back by the price tag - a side effect of Kink inclusion.
Six months after launch, Microsoft started rolling things out. In addition to some personnel changes due to taking over the reins of current Xbox chief Phil Spencer, Microsoft dug the Kinect sensor, bringing the Xbox One price down to $ 400. In early 2015, the price again dropped to $ 349, leading to increased sales of major games such as the Orient and the Blind Forest and Holland 5.
Now, years later, Xbox One is doing fine. Sure, you could argue that Sony's PS4 won this round of console wars, but as a platform, the Xbox One has shone well. Reduced in price, the Xbox Game Pass offers an incredible value proposition, and the Xbox One X offers the best 4K gaming experience you can get from a console.
In another realm, one of the most ubiquitous aspects of PC gaming was once also a newcomer. Steam, by far the most prominent digital storefront for PC games, was not very welcome when it was first launched in 2003. Billed as a valve to manage and drool out patches for Counter-Strike and its other games, gamers didn't like Steam at the time when it needed a constant Internet connection when widespread use of the Internet almost didn't Was what it is today. Other issues include overloaded authentication servers, slow download speeds, and the Clooney UI.
Today Steam is a near-synonym for PC gaming - even though the UI has changed all of this. Valve made some smart - if controversial - decisions to help his stratospheric rise in the early days, including making Steam need a shorter game called Half-Life. It was another unpopular move at the time, but it got people on stage. , And as the public became more comfortable with digital shopping, Steam became a place to buy PC games. Over time new features were added, ranging from basics like friends lists and profile pages to more complex - but arguably more important - things like cloud save, family sharing, and spreading mod databases that Steam Workshop. Now Steam is the gold standard that new services such as the nascent Epic Games store are organized.
There is also precedent from Google. Today's most popular smartphone platform Android was completely pummeled by Apple in the early days. While Apple's iPhone streamlined things with its single phone, Android was a ritual platform with no real flagship phone to popularize. Over the years, Android improved, borrowing popular iPhone features such as lock screen and a robust web browser, and beating Apple over many others, such as copy and paste, gesture typing, and more recently, a night-mode camera. Today Android is a robust platform with a wide variety of smartphone options, making it a market leader among mobile operating systems.
All this is to say that just because Stadia is running rough in its early days does not mean that it automatically fails. Unavailable features will eventually be added, and while late deliveries may offend many of Stadia's biggest fans, it's not the kind of issue that is a necessary indication for the long-term health of a platform. The underlying technology of Stadia is the sound - or sound enough, at least - and the free version which is worth using the service due to launch sometime next year or not.
Of course, just because other platforms have recovered from rocky launches, it also does not mean that Stadia is a guarantee of future success. There are plenty of valid reasons for the platform to fail - constant latency issues, lack of user adoption, and more ISPs introduce data caps to name a few. Google doesn't have to mention all that - for the platform to actually succeed - wide access to the gigabit-speed Internet major among them. But all those stars need to align, one of which is not the correct launch.
But a bad launch does not mean that Stadia has failed. Outside the gate of new platforms, from game companies to Google, there are just too many examples to mature into a stable, thriving ecosystem. We're comparing different launches to very different problems, of course, but it's still worth looking at how companies responded, whether they listened to their fans, adapted to the changing landscape, or just some stars Aligned. let's take a look.
Xbox one
Back in 2013, Microsoft unveiled the Xbox One during its E3 press conference. The response was not good, to do it lightly. This required a constant Internet connection, was overpriced, bundled with a Kinect sensor that left some wanting, and temptation of other issues. A poll conducted by us at the time stated that 75% of IGN viewers were visibly disappointed. It was so bad that Microsoft later withdrew many more problematic issues with the system, such as the necessary always-on-internet connection and limitations on game sharing. Even with those changes, however, the XB1 still had a rough launch, mostly held back by the price tag - a side effect of Kink inclusion.
Six months after launch, Microsoft started rolling things out. In addition to some personnel changes due to taking over the reins of current Xbox chief Phil Spencer, Microsoft dug the Kinect sensor, bringing the Xbox One price down to $ 400. In early 2015, the price again dropped to $ 349, leading to increased sales of major games such as the Orient and the Blind Forest and Holland 5.
Now, years later, Xbox One is doing fine. Sure, you could argue that Sony's PS4 won this round of console wars, but as a platform, the Xbox One has shone well. Reduced in price, the Xbox Game Pass offers an incredible value proposition, and the Xbox One X offers the best 4K gaming experience you can get from a console.
Steam
In another realm, one of the most ubiquitous aspects of PC gaming was once also a newcomer. Steam, by far the most prominent digital storefront for PC games, was not very welcome when it was first launched in 2003. Billed as a valve to manage and drool out patches for Counter-Strike and its other games, gamers didn't like Steam at the time when it needed a constant Internet connection when widespread use of the Internet almost didn't Was what it is today. Other issues include overloaded authentication servers, slow download speeds, and the Clooney UI.
Today Steam is a near-synonym for PC gaming - even though the UI has changed all of this. Valve made some smart - if controversial - decisions to help his stratospheric rise in the early days, including making Steam need a shorter game called Half-Life. It was another unpopular move at the time, but it got people on stage. , And as the public became more comfortable with digital shopping, Steam became a place to buy PC games. Over time new features were added, ranging from basics like friends lists and profile pages to more complex - but arguably more important - things like cloud save, family sharing, and spreading mod databases that Steam Workshop. Now Steam is the gold standard that new services such as the nascent Epic Games store are organized.
Android
There is also precedent from Google. Today's most popular smartphone platform Android was completely pummeled by Apple in the early days. While Apple's iPhone streamlined things with its single phone, Android was a ritual platform with no real flagship phone to popularize. Over the years, Android improved, borrowing popular iPhone features such as lock screen and a robust web browser, and beating Apple over many others, such as copy and paste, gesture typing, and more recently, a night-mode camera. Today Android is a robust platform with a wide variety of smartphone options, making it a market leader among mobile operating systems.
All this is to say that just because Stadia is running rough in its early days does not mean that it automatically fails. Unavailable features will eventually be added, and while late deliveries may offend many of Stadia's biggest fans, it's not the kind of issue that is a necessary indication for the long-term health of a platform. The underlying technology of Stadia is the sound - or sound enough, at least - and the free version which is worth using the service due to launch sometime next year or not.
Of course, just because other platforms have recovered from rocky launches, it also does not mean that Stadia is a guarantee of future success. There are plenty of valid reasons for the platform to fail - constant latency issues, lack of user adoption, and more ISPs introduce data caps to name a few. Google doesn't have to mention all that - for the platform to actually succeed - wide access to the gigabit-speed Internet major among them. But all those stars need to align, one of which is not the correct launch.
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