Where the Hell is Google's First party Stadia Games?

[themistermanguy]

So Stadia, the new Streaming-based Video Game Platform brought to you by Google launched last year to a collective... "Meh". But if you look at the current library for the system, there's one thing suspiciously missing from the lineup. First party games. With the announcement of Stadia, Google also announced the formation of a new Division, Stadia Games and Entertainment, the Stadia Platform's first party game publisher. Jade Raymond is captain of the ship, and Google Promises that Stadia G&E will provide Stadia with compelling and unique exclusives...

So... Where are they? For a brand new platform launch from a company brand new to the industry outside the big three, you'd think investing in First Party Game Development more would be their top priority. Instead, Stadia's Launch leans heavily on Indie games, and Ports of Third party games you probably own on other, better systems. Now, getting third parties on board day one is vital for any new console, especially for newcomers. But I feel establishing a strong and interesting First party lineup is equally as important.

Sony Computer Entertainment knew this when they were established to launch the PlayStation. Even Microsoft, Google's closest rival at this point, was smart enough to realize this when they launched the Xbox in 2001. Recently, Stadia G&E has been looking to set up shop for studios in places like Japan and Europe, and has recently acquired Typhoon Studios. Cool, but... why wasn't this done BEFORE Stadia launched? A big reason why nobody cares about Stadia right now is the lineup. There's a lot to play, yes. But nothing you haven't played on other platforms before. If you already own a PS4, Xbox One, or Swtich, there's pretty much nothing to see here at the moment. It lacks a big killer app, a game or handful of exclusive games that make people take notice and go "Take my Money".

Stadia as a whole was launched incomplete. Rushed, half-baked, and half-finished. It'll probably get better down the line, but the inability to have a tangible first party lineup ready for launch is IMO, the most boneheaded mistake Google made with the service so far. I think people can forgive the other problems with Stadia, if it at least had a library of compelling First Party Software exclusive to it, but it doesn't, so its flaws become even more apparent. Third Party Games give a platform market relevance, but First Party Games give a platform its personality. They help define the console's style, its features, its unique position in the market. Right now, aside from the novelty of Streaming, Stadia has no first party games, so as far as I'm concerned, it has no personality, no style, no uniqueness.

 

[BrawlMan]

Stadia is going to go to way of the Ouyah. A half baked console with not much planning involved. The only ones dumb enough to buy the stadia are ones with too much time and money on their hands.

 

[Dreiko]

I don't understand why you'd just form the first party studio with the release of the console and not years before so that the console could actually have release exclusives. You know, like a normal console. It may indicate that stadia was a sudden venture that didn't have much planning going into it.

 

[Catfood220]

Pfft, who really gives a damn about Stadia at this point? I don't think Google really care about it either, I expected to be inundated with adverts for it every time I went on Youtube but really, I've only just started noticing them. And again, they are hardly in your face all the time.

As you say, Stadia offers nothing that I haven't already got and my internet is so shit that I sometimes struggle to stream catch up TV (I wish I could change it, but I think my land lord would object) so I would be pissed off if it was my only way to game. I don't think its going to get any better, I think people will not give it time to get those first party games up and they and the system will die. Maybe Google would be better off with a game development division than a console that no one gives a shit about.

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

Stadia as a whole was launched incomplete. Rushed, half-baked, and half-finished.

That's how Google does pretty much anything, with the expectation that we'll all dive in because, hey, it's Google. And like so many of their other projects, they'll drop it like a bad habit when they get bored.

 

[Chimpzy]

Their first party games are in the same place as Stadia's viability as a platform: in the future.

But in all seriousness, they had to set up the studio and hire people, which as far as I can tell only happened relatively close to the announcement of Stadia itself back in march last year. Then comes at least one (but more likely multiple) round of pitching game concepts, which may or may not be greenlit. Then pre-production and planning. Maybe some other steps I'm missing. All before actual development can even begin. Now, it's possible all that pre-stuff mentioned above was already done before they announced Stadia and development had started in tandem. That still only leaves a little over a year of dev time.

That's not a lot. To put it into perspective, most modern AAA games take about 3 to 5 years to develop, with 1st party exclusives trending towards the upper end of that scale, or sometimes even longer. Unless Google is stupid, they'll want to create something that'll turn heads, because let's face it, that's what a 1st party exclusive is often meant for: getting you interested in the platform. And you can bet your ass a 1st party exclusive on a new untested platform would be scrutinized, so a smart Google won't take any chances. They'll put in the time and money.

So, assuming Google is not stupid, seems like at best the first Stadia exclusives are still a year or two of development away, but more likely they haven't even really started yet. At worst they'll never see the light of day because Google killed Stadia before they get the chance to.

Pfft, who really gives a damn about Stadia at this point? I don't think Google really care about it either, I expected to be inundated with adverts for it every time I went on Youtube but really, I've only just started noticing them. And again, they are hardly in your face all the time.

You'd think that the Covid-19 crisis and all the lockdowns would be an opportune time to push a game streaming service, but nah, nothing. I haven't seen any ads at all. Nor any really big news or announcements, either from Google or 3rd parties. Media don't pay it any attention anymore either. Did a search for Stadia at a few major outlets: IGN, Kotaku, Gamespot, Eurogamer, Giantbomb. Plenty news and updates til the end of november, then a sharp drop. Visited various forums to see if Stadia was talked about there. Not really, unless in threads like this, wondering what's keeping all the stuff promised. It might not be a good indicator for its success, but it's also not a good look when your product is no longer talked about after a mere 6 months, or at least not often in positive terms.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

This is what happens when big tech companies fail to understand let alone bridge the gap between fantasy and reality. Google also has a significant history of abandoning large projects when they either don’t go the way they want, get bored with it, etc. Hopefully all the gaming industry folks who got lured into this will have something else to fall back on if that happens here, because chances are they care more than the people who hired them.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

Their first party games are in the same place as Stadia's viability as a platform: in the future.

But in all seriousness, they had to set up the studio and hire people, which as far as I can tell only happened relatively close to the announcement of Stadia itself back in march last year. Then comes at least one (but more likely multiple) round of pitching game concepts, which may or may not be greenlit. Then pre-production and planning. Maybe some other steps I'm missing. All before actual development can even begin. Now, it's possible all that pre-stuff mentioned above was already done before they announced Stadia and development had started in tandem. That still only leaves a little over a year of dev time.

That's not a lot. To put it into perspective, most modern AAA games take about 3 to 5 years to develop, with 1st party exclusives trending towards the upper end of that scale, or sometimes even longer. Unless Google is stupid, they'll want to create something that'll turn heads, because let's face it, that's what a 1st party exclusive is often meant for: getting you interested in the platform. And you can bet your ass a 1st party exclusive on a new untested platform would be scrutinized, so a smart Google won't take any chances. They'll put in the time and money.

So, assuming Google is not stupid, seems like at best the first Stadia exclusives are still a year or two of development away, but more likely they haven't even really started yet. At worst they'll never see the light of day because Google killed Stadia before they get the chance to.
You'd think that the Covid-19 crisis and all the lockdowns would be an opportune time to push a game streaming service, but nah, nothing. I haven't seen any ads at all. Nor any really big news or announcements, either from Google or 3rd parties. Media don't pay it any attention anymore either. Did a search for Stadia at a few major outlets: IGN, Kotaku, Gamespot, Eurogamer, Giantbomb. Plenty news and updates til the end of november, then a sharp drop. Visited various forums to see if Stadia was talked about there. Not really, unless in threads like this, wondering what's keeping all the stuff promised. It might not be a good indicator for its success, but it's also not a good look when your product is no longer talked about after a mere 6 months, or at least not often in positive terms.

The thing is though, most places lay that groundwork years before they launch, because like it was mentioned above even Microsoft knew how crucial killer app exclusives were when they thought up Halo.

 

[Chimpzy]

The thing is though, most places lay that groundwork years before they launch, because like it was mentioned above even Microsoft knew how crucial killer app exclusives were when they thought up Halo.

Oh well, not that smart after all, I guess. Or maybe it's like Rogue Wolf said, that Google thinks their name alone will carry them through, even though they made a subpar product. Which is also silly of them of course. I mean, they're not Apple.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

Oh well, not that smart after all, I guess. Or maybe it's like Rogue Wolf said, that Google thinks their name alone will carry them through, even though they made a subpar product. Which is also silly of them of course. I mean, they're not Apple.

They probably both have an aire of arrogance about them for sure. Apple’s just been around longer and knows how to wait and see if needed.