Post-Google and Apple gaming service announcements, do you still think Sony/MS/Nintendo are in trouble?
- Thread starter zombiejames
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Google is trying to compete directly with consoles, Apple is just happy continuing to beat android as far as games offering is concerned.
Either way I don't think MS/Sony/Ninteno should be worried
Either way I don't think MS/Sony/Ninteno should be worried
Nah, Sony has developed the pedigree at this point. The PlayStation has a very large and dedicated fanbase. Plus they do have folk who can handle streaming services and what-not. Really, none of them, atm, have anything to particularly worry about
I think people are really underestimating price and acessibility. If Stadia offers a quality service with better price and people have acess to the hyphy 3rd parties games GTA, CoD, FIFA... Stadia will have a place on the market, probably not the market leader, but definitely a place.
Lol, no matter how many times you post this it's just as ridiculous every time.
I mean, they'd probably be okay with that. The margins on the hardware aren't even close to the margins on the software/subscriptions, and it carries a big risk (if your game flops, that's not as big a deal as if your console flops, which then further hurts your software).
There's obviously some lost profit for Sony/MS if they don't sell consoles, but I'm pretty sure it could be made up in software and subscriptions. Especially if it ever got to a point where you could play these things on something like a Roku Stick (as those are cheap enough that you'd easily sell more of them than $400 boxes assuming parity in the quality department).
Overall though, I don't think it's an issue. I just don't see the killer app. Like, I'm very into digital and streaming, so I'm really the ideal person to want to use Stadia, but what would I use on it? What's there that I can't just do right now on my Xbox that I already boot up all the time and have all accessories (controllers, headsets, etc...) set up on? Unless Google finds their Halo, I don't see why I would use it.
I haven't seen Apple's thing, but it doesn't sound like it's any better positioned than Stadia.
In trouble isn't the way I would describe their situations. The market is changing, yes, but it doesn't mean that the sky is falling and their businesses are going obsolete. There are new challenges and new opportunities and what happens will depend on how effectively they can adapt to the changes while keeping their core businesses strong. Although Nintendo is still doomed, of course, that never changes
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Depends if either one is going to money hat games away from the consoles, and sell it for cheap on their own platform under the guise of shaping the industry up so that everyone benefits from it.
Non Nintendo people will say Nintendo is in trouble
Nintendo fans will point out Sony/MS stands to lose as well
The truth is all 3 could potentially lose if these services catch on. That's a big if and Apples announcement in particular seems more like tapping into people already tied into their ecosystem and enjoying mobile games on iOS for a.more refined subscription experience. The Spotify of Appstore gaming so to speak.
Nintendo fans will point out Sony/MS stands to lose as well
The truth is all 3 could potentially lose if these services catch on. That's a big if and Apples announcement in particular seems more like tapping into people already tied into their ecosystem and enjoying mobile games on iOS for a.more refined subscription experience. The Spotify of Appstore gaming so to speak.
Apple isn't really trying to compete with other platforms beyond Android, just enhancing their position in mobile and trying to create an avenue for more premium games where F2P dominates.
Google clearly is trying to compete though, and while I do think streaming will eventually be the future, it's simply too soon. Internet speeds, reliability, data caps, and latency are all going to cause big problems for many people. And with Google's reputation for throwing projects in the trash when they get bored with them, I'm not overly optimistic for Stadia.
Google clearly is trying to compete though, and while I do think streaming will eventually be the future, it's simply too soon. Internet speeds, reliability, data caps, and latency are all going to cause big problems for many people. And with Google's reputation for throwing projects in the trash when they get bored with them, I'm not overly optimistic for Stadia.
Sad how some of the usual folks in this topic are saying Microsoft and Sony will be fine and not Nintendo.
Sony and MS no
Nintendoom'd jokes aside, their terrible history with handling online in general and their long historic cheapness when it comes to offering good deals and value makes me believe if things continue in this game sub direction they'll find it very very hard to adapt
Nintendoom'd jokes aside, their terrible history with handling online in general and their long historic cheapness when it comes to offering good deals and value makes me believe if things continue in this game sub direction they'll find it very very hard to adapt
Not really .. the young mine craft players are tomorrow's core gamer
Apple no, they are hitting another market altogether as of now, with games that can still run on mobile devices.
Google, not for awhile, and primarily with Sony due to Sony's ability to scale up its PS Now service being far less than what Google already has (Google is a much bigger company based on market cap).
Microsoft already does data centers akin to what Google does for services far more valuable than its gaming division (like Office), and they are a bigger company based on market cap. Google can be a competitor, but I would not call it a threat.
What Sony has is a great repertoire of first party titles alongside studios with the experience and talent to create software. All else fails, Sony can transition into just being a publisher/developer. Microsoft, while in a much better state than Google, is still way behind the curve on first party development. Even with the new studios they are going to have severe growing pains before they reach Sony's capabilities around creating new IP that have high initial quality standards (Horizon:ZD vs Sea of Thieves (and Rare was established too!)).
Google, not for awhile, and primarily with Sony due to Sony's ability to scale up its PS Now service being far less than what Google already has (Google is a much bigger company based on market cap).
Microsoft already does data centers akin to what Google does for services far more valuable than its gaming division (like Office), and they are a bigger company based on market cap. Google can be a competitor, but I would not call it a threat.
What Sony has is a great repertoire of first party titles alongside studios with the experience and talent to create software. All else fails, Sony can transition into just being a publisher/developer. Microsoft, while in a much better state than Google, is still way behind the curve on first party development. Even with the new studios they are going to have severe growing pains before they reach Sony's capabilities around creating new IP that have high initial quality standards (Horizon:ZD vs Sea of Thieves (and Rare was established too!)).
They're never in trouble. Actually after apple and google announcements I got more excited about Sony and Microsoft next gen.
Nintendo is much more vulnerable to this sort of thing than the others. It targets the casual and family gamer, and may well be very attractive to the indie devs that would have otherwise flocked to the e-shop.
Of course the Dynamics changes if Stadia streaming is as seamless as it looks and launches on Apple TV as an app. Then whole families may well forgo buying a traditional console.
None of that has harmed in them in the few decades. Not sure why it'd harm them now, especially when their appeal and sales have never been stronger
The Apple announcement doesn't signify at all. Stadia is the start of a new era of gaming, for sure, whether Stadia itself is successful or a failure, or whether or not we like it or not. Streaming will reduce the need for hardware more and more as the technolgy matures. That doesn't necessarily mean trouble for any of these companies. They can offer subscriptions of their own. Nintendo can sell controls and accessories for their service even if they don't have a box. But it will affect everyone, at some point.
When gaming started it was a couple of companies, then others saw the potential and jumped into the space. They perfected it and thrived, and unfortunately some of the original companies couldn't keep up. It's entirely possilbe that gaming historians will look back decades from now and see that Google, Apple, and Microsoft moving towards streaming could have been the beginning of the end of Nintendo and Sony in the hardware business, where they decided to go the Sega route and stick with software.
We know Microsoft is going to announce their own streaming service during E3 so they won't be falling behind and they have the same infrastructure capabilities as Google or Apple. Sony has already started with PSNow and if they can partner with someone with data center capabilities (i.e. AWS) they will be in good shape.
Nintendo....Nintendo will march by the beat of their own drum and start streaming in 2050 after the other companies switch to whatever ends up coming next.
Nintendo....Nintendo will march by the beat of their own drum and start streaming in 2050 after the other companies switch to whatever ends up coming next.
No, and that's not out of defensiveness over how things are. I'm cool with evolving the gaming industry, I just don't think what Google is presenting will take off in a major way. And, I feel like from what little amount I saw the Apple thing is going to be regulated to mobile friendly experiences that I'm either not interested in or would rather play on Switch.
I'm fine with the attempts. Except for Google maybe because I really think it's going to be quite staggering how much shit they are tracking per user.
I'm fine with the attempts. Except for Google maybe because I really think it's going to be quite staggering how much shit they are tracking per user.
The Switch isn't the Wii, a system with a gimmick that couldn't have possibly been appealing forever. It's appealing to every kind of gamer, with Nintendo's own games being the biggest reason to get the system. The only thing that ever limited the sales of some Nintendo devices have been unappealing hardware and very little to non-existent support, such as the Wii U. These sort of services don't really change any of that. Indie developers flocking to Apple or Google doesn't stop them from supporting the Switch, seeing as the same thing didn't stop them from properly supporting the PS4 and XB1
They'll be impacted by this, yes. Last gen we had 5 consoles that all sold 80+ million units (Wii, Xbox 360, PS3, NDS, PSP). Now we're down to 3 consoles and only one of them has sold 80+ million (the Switch has a solid chance of getting there too, but that's years from now).
While it didn't "destroy the console market" or anything ridiculous like that, mobile has still had a huge impact on the market, and I suspect these new services will as well.
While it didn't "destroy the console market" or anything ridiculous like that, mobile has still had a huge impact on the market, and I suspect these new services will as well.
No. I don't think any of these services are going to muscle anyone out. They'll just broaden the accessibility of gaming and give developers access to new audiences.
The Apple thing is a nothingburger really. The price will be the most interesting thing and knowing Apple, it won't come cheap. They'll probably charge $20 a month or something like that. The only people who might be in trouble are companies who rely on F2P games on iPhone for revenue. The Google thing is a sort of wait and see, but in general I think it will be a failure -- if it affects anyone on consoles, it won't be Nintendo.. since it lacks Nintendo games.
Apple's subscription will have locally run games on the phone, on the TV and on the computer. It is exactly the same market.
Apple's thing is focused mostly on mobile gaming. I'm not sure there's a huge market for Stadia, and if there is I'm not convinced it comes at the expense of existing markets: consoles are still primarily about exclusive content and the PC is still driven by people looking for either the flexibility of the PC (mod your games!) or the absolute best experience with high-end hardware, neither of which are well served by streaming at all.