As Google launched its first cloud gaming platform called Stadia, initial reports show that numbers have been worse than expected.
While trying to compete with Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo, the cloud gaming platform is aiming to be a game-streaming version of Netflix – but many technical errors and a poor choice led users to complain.
As a result, Alphabet’s shares declined, pushing Google to reevaluate Stadia’s project – which, according to many experts, is likely to be put on hold.
Stadia: a failed launch
Gamers were excited about Google: Stadia, the giant’s first streaming gaming platform, which sounds promising. For $129 at a base price plus an additional $10 monthly subscription, dozens of early users reported that they did not receive their download codes.
Other early adopters reported technological glitches and missing features, which led many to stop using the platform.
As a result, early numbers disappointed shareholders as they were lower than expected. Stadia was only downloaded 175,000 times with the United States representing over 41% of the clientele.
Google is offering refunds to customers who purchased Stadia Pro's free December games before they were announced. https://t.co/p5nv0MPCaB pic.twitter.com/88tGZdSyQZ
— IGN (@IGN) November 27, 2019
Last but not least, only 22 games were available, which is far less than what gamers were expecting. While Google declared that four more games would be added before the end of the year, it has decided to refund users in the meantime.
Competitors seem ahead of Google
Not only is Google new to the video gaming industry, but competitors have already launched game-streaming services – or are about to.
Sony Promotes PS4 Remote Play During Google Stadia Launch Week https://t.co/vEd1DhYdKm #Repost #Sony #PS4 #RemotePlay #Trailers pic.twitter.com/6M9qqMalnJ
— Push Square (@pushsquare) November 23, 2019
For example, Sony Playstation is offering its users to stream to PCs and to PS4. Moreover, Microsoft has its Project xCloud, which is currently being tested in a beta version for Android devices and should be launched early next year.
While Microsoft has said that Project xCloud would be a “multi-year journey”, experts reportedly said to CNBC that the launch of Stadia was simply too early and might push users to unsubscribe.
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Will Stadia end soon?
As CNBC reports, Google has been keeping a tradition of putting failed projects on hold. The website called “Killed by Google” lists more than 156 failed projects, 18 apps and 16 hardware projects that stopped existing.
While the gaming industry is very competitive, it is also the most popular keyword on Youtube and could be a great opportunity for Google, if it manages to technologically catch-up.
Consequences of Stadia’s failed launch are already visible. November ended abruptly for Google’s Alphabet stock shareholders: while the stock reached $1,333, it went down to $1,293 on the day of Stadia’s launch.