Stadia & xCloud Pose the Biggest Threat to Nintendo, Not Sony

[faceless]

we already know how much bandwidth this shit uses and how much latency it has and don't even know what this shit costs and somehow, some way, SOMEONE should be threatened.

the only people that should be threatened are early adopters to yet another failed Google Product that will inevitably be released for public consumption in Beta Test form.

 

[Epilexia]

Giving that normally the Nintendo audience is the less inclined to try online experiences, it's more focused in small indie games or in games with a "retro" feeling looking to the past, and that the material showed in the conference of Stadia was for the most part western triple A experiences, lacking things like Japanese developers in the scenario...

This is a fun declaration to make.

If something has proved the Nintendo audience is that they tend to ignore the current trends in the industry, being more inclined to try innovative things.

And if something was showed by Stadia, starting with the "gamer" feel of the red aggressive logo, is that Google is pursuing the same public that PS4 or Xbox One. A public more interested in the next Rockstar big thing, or the next graphical showcase.

 

[Schreckweg 5000]

Wait, are you telling me that Super Mario Odyssey, Breath of the Wild, Smash, and Splatoon 2 are party games that don't require super responsive controls? So why does nintendo have more first party games running at 60fps if they don't care about responsive controls? Joycon being on the small side is not at all comparable to having 150ms+ input lag.

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This is one of those "I only know Nintendo trough hearsay" threads

 

[Deleted member 197]

For me it feels that what Stadia is going for is "accessible" AAA games, they made a whole deal about their power and directly compared it to the PS4Pro and XBX, they also talked about huge downloads and what not. What the services are going for is obviously playing the new big games without having to own a console.

 

[Dark Cloud]

Nintendo just needs to keep making Switch like hardware and get streaming services to come to their hardware. One day they'll probably have a foldable Switch 4 lol.

 

[faceless]

If Nintendo's success is only about it's 1st party games like ya'll are saying, the Wii U would've been a rousing success. Clearly the Switch's play-anywhere capabilities are a large factor in why it's been so popular.

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and play anywhere might be a thing with streaming when we have 5G along railways and beamed into airplanes...

 

[digitalrelic]

This is one of those "I only know Nintendo trough hearsay" threads

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Lol what? I lined up for a Switch at midnight when it launched & I've played all those games. The Switch's joycons aren't known for their super-high fidelity input methods.

 

[MegaXZero]

Why wouldn't you be able to play Stadia or xCloud in a train/bus/car/plane? That's the whole point.

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You need to have a reliable internet connection to even play these games using Stadia/xCloud. Also using a detached controller to play the game with your phone being the screen is not a great experience on a bumpy ride.

Stadia will naturally first threaten gaming devices that are situated in places with reliable internet connections, aka your home, aka nonportable gaming platforms.

 

[Meatwad]

OP nowhere in your post do you even attempt to explain why Stadia XCloud won't be a threat to Sony, How exactly are these services not going to compete with Sony when they supposedly eat Nintendo's lunch? It makes no sense

 

[Deleted member 14312]

Personally, I'm more interested in knowing how to get in this magical mobile data plan that has no caps, widespread coverage, and consistently fast internet without outages that is required for the premise of this thread to even work.

 

[mugurumakensei]

XCloud and Stadia are not "play anywhere" in the sense of a Switch. They are play on any device*

*any device with a low latency high bandwidth internet connection

 

[faceless]

here's a question to think about...

will Stadia be gimped on iOS?

 

[hanshen]

Lol what? I lined up for a Switch at midnight when it launched & I've played all those games. The Switch's joycons aren't known for their super-high fidelity.

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So which one of the game is unresponsive in your opinion?

 

[Meatwad]

XCloud and Stadia are not "play anywhere" in the sense of a Switch. They are play on any device*

*any device with a low latency high bandwidth internet connection

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I mean Stadia on an unstable mobile 4G connection will be fine for Switch owners whom apparently have no standards

 

[digitalrelic]

So which one of the game is unresponsive in your opinion?

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I didn't say the games were unresponsive, I said the default input method is less-than-optimal. Is anyone really going to argue that Joycons are the best option for precise controls?

 

[digitalrelic]

here's a question to think about...

will Stadia be gimped on iOS?

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The beauty of Stadia is it's integrated with YouTube/Chrome, & has a wifi enabled controller that doesn't even have to actually interface with the device you're playing on. This should make iOS integration seamless.

 

[Apa504]

I didn't say the games were unresponsive, I said the default input method is less-than-optimal. Is anyone really going to argue that Joycons are the best option for precise controls?

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Then you bring a pro controller, no different from having a separate controller with your phone, tablet.

 

[Disclaimer]

The Switch is the last thing I see the Stadia threatening. The Stadia will have neither Nintendo's first party software output nor its overwhelming independent support, and the "play anywhere" capacity of Stadia is limited by more factors than the Switch's — namely, complete dependence on stable WiFi and mobile hardware whose battery and data the average person won't want to murder on game streaming.

Count me among those skeptical of the Stadia's capacity for universal reach and success given current infrastructural realities. There are many parts of the U.S. alone without access to high speed internet, let alone services like google fiber.

 

[mugurumakensei]

The beauty of Stadia is it's integrated with YouTube/Chrome, & has a wifi enabled controller that doesn't even have to actually interface with the device you're playing on. This should make iOS integration seamless.

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Note: google has to share revenue if games on iOS.

 

[PedroRVD]

I think the complete opposite; Nintendo can greatly benefit from these trends. Google can partner with Nintendo to stream Stadia to the Switch ... they have done some cool things together already, especially on April's Fools and things on google maps, so they may have a good relationship. That would force Microsoft to do it as well ... ... and then ... Poof! Nintendo instantly complements its amazing first party and indies output with a ton of third party games. Everybody wins, especially them.

 

[A Strong Latte]

OP nowhere in your post do you even attempt to explain why Stadia XCloud won't be a threat to Sony, How exactly are these services not going to compete with Sony when they supposedly eat Nintendo's lunch? It makes no sense

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When you're high on corporate fanboy juice anything makes sense! Sony rules! Buy God Of War!

 

[digitalrelic]

Then you bring a pro controller, no different from having a separate controller with your phone, tablet.

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Yes, you can buy a $70 extra controller, but I'm talking about the default included input method provided by Nintendo.

 

[Deleted member 4783]

Is Nintendoomed time?

 

[Zombie]

As long as they retain the quality of their 1st party and internet structure progresses at the same rate it has for the last 10 years then I don't think they have anything to worry about. The convenience of not having to carry around a dedicated portable when console scale games are available on your mobile is offset when you need to carry around a controller 2/3 the size of the switch to play them along with drop outs any time you're in a coverage dead spot for more than 5 seconds and constant lag spikes on anything other than a perfect connection will keep the switch/switch successor viable for a long time to come.

 

[digitalrelic]

When you're high on corporate fanboy juice anything makes sense! Sony rules! Buy God Of War!

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Lol I don't even own a PS4.

 

[Deleted member 32018]

I don't think the OP thought this through all that well.

The Switch doesn't get many AAA games as is so any partnership with either company would increase the amount of AAA games on the Switch.

The games that generally sell best on the Switch are 1st party and indie games, neither of which would be affected/improved by either cloud solution.

Add to all this the fact that the OP hasn't dealt with the questions posed over "play anywhere" too (lacking reliable internet/data caps).

 

[Nanashrew]

The Switch has a library mostly focused on party games, local multiplayer, singleplayer games that don't require high-precision, and family games.

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???

I'm really confused on this one. There are a surprising number of games from Nintendo that rely on precision and timing, or have a number of moments of that. Something like Mario & Luigi series may be a turn-based RPG, for example, but would be unplayable with high latency issues because of how the combat uses timing to dodge, counter, and attack.

 

[Dark Cloud]

Is Nintendoomed time?

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Yep as usual. You know how this goes. Nintendo is going to die at the hands of Google now.

 

[hanshen]

I didn't say the games were unresponsive, I said the default input method is less-than-optimal. Is anyone really going to argue that Joycons are the best option for precise controls?

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xcloud/stadia will have the same problem, if the player is using a mobile controller, plus the added input lag. So it's not really comparable.

 

[DecoReturns]

I don't think the casual player will care about Super precision inputs.

 

[adobot]

Nah. People get Nintendo consoles to play Nintendo franchises. When you can play Pokemon on Mario on Stadia, then Nintendo might have something to worry about.

 

[Apa504]

Yes, you can buy a $70 extra controller, but I'm talking about the default included input method provided by Nintendo.

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But you have mentioned the google controller, you have to buy that too, or other controller, because if not, then you have to play with touch and THAT is not ideal.

 

[Deleted member 176]

switch is killing it because of indies and Nintendo games. the former can already be played on portable devices other than the switch yet still sell on Switch and receive no benefits from 4k/60fps, while the later will never be on either of those cloud systems.

 

[mugurumakensei]

I don't think the OP thought this through all that well.

The Switch doesn't get many AAA games as is so any partnership with either company would increase the amount of AAA games on the Switch.

The games that generally sell best on the Switch are 1st party and indie games, neither of which would be affected/improved by either cloud solution.

Add to all this the fact that the OP hasn't dealt with the questions posed over "play anywhere" too (lacking reliable internet/data caps).

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Exactly. Indie games which make a majority of non-Nintendo titles on the Switch don't benefit from cloud gaming. AA games like Octopath don't need high specs therefore again no need for streaming. Only high-end games really require a streaming solution.

 

[digitalrelic]

xcloud/stadia will have the same problem, if the player is using a mobile controller, plus the added input lag. So it's not really comparable.

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In one sentence you literally said they have the same problem and that they're also not comparable. Which is it?

 

[Guerrilla]

people will drop the switch to play stadia on the cell because????

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Because they'll be able to play an extremely laggy version of Odyssey with disconnects on the go duh...
People are expecting this to work way better than it will. Without a really good stable wifi connection don't even think about firing up that stadia/xcloud app...

 

[digitalrelic]

But you have mentioned the google controller, you have to buy that too, or other controller, because if not, then you have to play with touch and THAT is not ideal.

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The Stadia's default controller is the Stadia controller. You can't buy a Stadia console so yes, you obviously have to buy the controller. The xCloud streaming box will presumably come with an Xbox One controller. So your comparisons don't really hold up.

 

[Deleted member 176]

Because they'll be able to play an extremely laggy version of Odyssey with disconnects on the go duh...
People are expecting this to work way better than it will. Without a really good stable wifi connection don't even think about firing up that stadia/xcloud app...

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we are getting 5g soon to be fair

 

[Deleted member 10737]

sure, jannete

 

[GSG]

I can't wrap my head around your logic OP, the Stadia isn't a threat to anything but, if anything, the opposite is true(it's more of a threat to Sony/MS than Nintendo).

For one, the Stadia is not a true portable solution and I would never replace my Switch with it. You can't play games on Stadia without a stable internet connection, which means gaming in the car, on public transportation or on the plane is a no go. Most hotel wifi connections are probably a no go as well. The Switch, being a perfectly capable offline console, works everywhere.

Second, software is king and most people buy Nintendo hardware for Nintendo software, something you won't ever be seeing on the Stadia. Your premise seems extremely flawed.

 

[hanshen]

In one sentence you literally said they have the same problem and that they're also not comparable. Which is it?

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"Added input lag". That makes playing on Switch not comparable to streaming. Try adding 150ms lag to Mario, that's almost 10 frames btw, you get an unplayable game.

 

[blueredandgold]

I just googled "is nintendo doomed". I figured they'd be up front about it you know.

 

[DecoReturns]

All these posts about the controllers and it's like the least important aspect of the topic on hand lol

 

[Garrett 2U]

I think a Nintendo Switch with cellular data could be a really attractive device to consume XCloud content.

 

[Nateo]

Good luck playing anywhere with a Wifi connection. I know I know it'll work on 5G. Yeah good luck finding somewhere with 5G in the next two years let alone it being affordable. Switch isn't threatened in the slightest.

 

[SinCityAssassin]

 

[Marukoban]

OP, I just don't see how you can get stable internet in a subway.
And as it is, Switch already eat battery quite fast.
Stadia will be lucky to last 1 hour between higher graphic fidelity and your device continually connecting to 4g/5g.

 

[timrtabor123]

What's the average internet speed on trains, planes, rural areas...?

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Was my first thought when reading point #1

 

[Thatguy]

Actually if nintendo partnered with Google it would be amazing. Imagine if they put a Stadia app on Switch. People would skip next gen and sell their PlayStations. Switch would play the Indies or the super hardcore or Nintendo first party. It might just be the glorious return of the single console.

 

[Random Character]

Sony hasn't even been part of the conversation, they've been completely overlooked this GDC.

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Spoiler

Both Sony and Nintendo will be fine.