Why Google Stadia and Amazon Games Seem Doomed to Fail
b'Why Google Stadia and Amazon Games Seem Doomed to Fail Recent news that Google has decided to shut down its internal game development studios comes on the heels of a report by Bloomberg that suggests Amazon\\u2019s own game division is burdened by issues that it could prove to be insurmountable.\\n\\nOn the one hand, you want to be surprised by these revelations. There\\u2019s certainly a degree of surprise that comes naturally when you hear that two of the largest companies in the world have seemingly botched their entries into the video game industry so soon after they started. There was this idea that both companies would stay in the game long enough to just figure it out eventually. On the other hand, these stories are, in the minds of many, more upsetting for the employees impacted by them than they are surprising in the least. Maybe that\\u2019s because of all these signs that pointed to the simple conclusion that Google and Amazon were seemingly doomed to fail as video game companies.\\n\\nThey Just Never Had the Games\\nBefore we go into the various problems that plagued Amazon and Google\\u2019s gaming efforts, I should make it clear that the companies\\u2019 biggest problems were enhanced by the fact they just never offered any truly great (or even good) games. Amazon Game Studios\\u2019 limited efforts include Crucible (a game that arguably fell faster and harder than any title in recent memory), New World (which has some promise but has a long way to go before realizing any of it), and a simple racing game based on The Grand Tour. Google, meanwhile, published some Stadia exclusives (including Submerged: Hidden Depths and Outcasters) and Stadia included third-party exclusives like Super Bomberman R Online, but they never really found the software that made you feel like you needed to be a Stadia subscriber. For that matter, the promise of upcoming Stadia exclusives remained vague throughout and was long treated as more of a bonus for those already interested in the service.\\n\\nSuccess in the gaming industry comes down to a variety of factors, but at some point, you\\u2019ve got to actually release noteworthy video games to survive in this business.'