![]() ![]() Could its demise be weaponized by Sony, or even NVIDIA? Could they use Stadia as an example over how Microsoft's content exclusivity may harm their own streaming services? I certainly think the slow death of Stadia could become a factor in future regulatory discussions. It's still early days for the cloud streaming space, but one thing is clear: it was the lack of content that killed off Google Stadia. Still, Sony's own cloud streaming service is a mere footnote in a space increasingly dominated by Xbox and NVIDIA's GeForce Now. Microsoft typically responds by noting how much smaller it is than PlayStation and Tencent both, even after the Activision-Blizzard deal, while emphasizing its intent to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation. Sony's PlayStation has decried the deal, saying that giving Microsoft sole control over mega franchises like Call of Duty will hurt its market position. The UK competitions regulator recently signalled its intent to more closely scrutinize the Activision-Blizzard deal for Microsoft, which is slated to be valued around $70 billion dollars. However, is there a possibility that the death of Stadia could be seen by regulators as decreased competition in a space Microsoft is essentially now poised to dominate? Microsoft hasn't been the subject of major regulatory investigations since the browser wars of the late 90s. Amazon and Google both have been the targets of criticism, over how they've exploited their dominance in retail and search to stifle competitors. Facebook has been blamed for disseminating fake news and disinformation campaigns from hostile governments, leading to various legal challenges over the years. In the early days of social media, Facebook was allowed to snap up WhatsApp, Instagram, and other platforms essentially transforming itself into the sole arbiter of social content on the web. There's a school of thought that this action revolves around the relative nascence of the VR space. There's no hint at any specific companies being targeted, but the FTC intervened recently to block Facebook from acquiring a VR fitness company, in a move that was seen as quite rare among some legal experts. United States President Joe Biden has been on a tweet spree recently signalling intent to boost competition in the U.S. But could the death of Stadia bring with it some regulatory complexities for Microsoft? A bad thing for Xbox Cloud Gaming? Many of those users will now be taking all of their Stadia refund money and perhaps considering an investment in Xbox Game Pass Ultimate instead, which is slated to get a Family Plan in the near term, and mountains of upcoming Xbox exclusive games in the long term. Still, Stadia did have some passionate fans, and for its flaws, cloud gaming does have some great use cases for those times you're not able to use the TV, for whatever reason. "Built it, and they will come" isn't enough in gaming, and Google has sorely learned that the hard way. Stadia VP Phil Harrison reportedly blamed Xbox's acquisition of Bethesda for Google's ambivalence towards building in-house content, realizing that content acquisition will actually, you know, cost money at some point. Games like Diablo IV will be truly massive on Xbox Cloud Gaming, with latency benefitting from the isometric game design, offering a true Diablo experience on mobile devices that are plagued with pay-to-win clones (like Blizzard's own RPG-meets-casino Diablo Immortal). They also confirmed its intent to build a Stadia-like streaming console that you can plug straight into your TV, called Xbox "Keystone." Microsoft also announced its intent to more than double Xbox Cloud Gaming's server capacity to "meet demand." If Xbox's cloud platform wasn't doing so well, I doubt they'd be making those kinds of investments.Īnd indeed, speaking of investments, the mammoth Activision-Blizzard deal is almost entirely about investing in content. Earlier this year, the firm committed to bringing games you own into the cloud service beyond the rotating Netflix-like library it offers now. It's often frustrating that Microsoft doesn't publicly offer direct numbers on the usage of many of its services, but they have offered hints that its Xbox Game Pass Ultimate cloud service is doing pretty well. #Outset media games windows#(Image credit: Jez Corden | Windows Central) ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |