Google has an opportunity to capture a portion of the gaming market simply because it has the immense ability to direct attention. bafeldman writes
Photo: Ina Fasbender/AFP via Getty Images Google’s long-anticipated gaming service, Stadia, finally landed yesterday with a resounding thud. The “cloud gaming” platform was announced earlier this year with a lot of lofty promises. The central idea of Stadia is that rather than running video games on a computer that is located in your home, the computer actually exists in a Google data center, and video from that is sent to the player, who sends control inputs back.
Clearly, this train is being built as it’s already rolling down the tracks. Google initially announced a paltry lineup of 12 games for the Tuesday launch, only one of which, Gylt, is a new title not available on other platforms. Late Sunday night, it expanded that number to 22 games, a clear sign of desperation.
The real secret weapon for Stadia, the one that matters above all else, is the fact that Google owns Google. It controls the most important search engine, and the most powerful means of directing and controlling information, on the planet. Last week, the Wall Street Journal put out a long piece on the evolution of the Google search algorithm over time, and how those tweaks affect the first page of Google search results, which is usually the only page that a user sees.
As an example, let’s say I search for “avengers.” On a desktop browser, before I scroll through anything, I get five different modules: a sponsored result for Avengers toys; an informational box about the 2012 movie, including its rating, runtime, and critical consensus; a link to the Wikipedia page for said movie. There’s also a module that tells me where I can pay to rent the film — two of the five options are platforms owned by Google.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Google Bets on the Future With Launch of Stadia Game Streaming Service'You’re going to see a number of things that Stadia can do that is not possible on other platforms,' says Jack Buser, director for games at the tech giant.
Read more »
Google requested a trove of documents from the Texas attorney general's antitrust probeGoogle is calling on Texas's attorney general to hand over a vast trove of internal documents and communications related to a multi-state antitrust probe of the tech giant, including any information supplied to regulators by Texas's outside consultants and Google's chief critics and rivals.
Read more »
Google Stadia Works Better At A Hotel Than At My HouseWhile Google Stadia was performing poorly at my house, it's doing better at a hotel with worse internet. What's going on?
Read more »
U.S. Congress seeks answers on patient privacy in Google, Ascension cloud dealFour Democratic leaders on the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce...
Read more »