Phil Harrison: Stadia starts an "inevitable and one-way shift" away from consoles | gameindustry.biz

[Remij 4,670]

Quote

On the corner of 4th and Howard, on the doorstep of San Francisco's Moscone Center, stands a small exhibition exploring the history of games consoles.

It showcases some of the most influential devices in our industry's history, from the NES to the original PlayStation, from the Dreamcast and, er, the Power Glove. Until yesterday, the final display case was empty, with a 'Coming Soon' placeholder card. It suggested that Google was about to announce a new games console this week.

But Stadia, as we learned yesterday, is not a console. It's not even a single device, it's a cloud-driven streaming service that lets players enjoy a variety of titles, hopping from smartphone to tablet to TV and back again as they see fit.

 

 

Phil Harrison -- vice president and general manager at Google and the face of the Stadia initiative -- further dashes hopes of such a machine.

"We are absolutely firm that we are not, will not, and will never release a console," he tells GamesIndustry.biz.

 

I said this a long time ago now.  Consoles will become unnecessary.  They have another generation left.. maybe 2.  Then it's done. 

 

I said that developers will develop ONE version of their games.. the PC version.. and then put it on all these gaming services.  

 

It's not going to happen all at once.. of course... but watch.. as these services begin to take hold.. and start posting more and more impressive numbers, and the market is big enough, then publishers will start to abandon traditional hardware... regardless of what companies like Sony or Nintendo do.  They'll stop seeing the point in targeting different console hardwares and costs associated with them.. and they'll start folding.  More and more devs will jump ship, and then "traditionalists" will too, because they'll go where the games are..  By then, the experience will be pretty damn good, and people will be satisfied.

 

That's why I said this is happening regardless of what Nintendo or Sony or whoever else do... They have no choice in this matter.  Once the developers start leaving.. they're forced to do the same.  Sony and Nintendo WILL adopt and will build up their own services... Sony will likely try to purchase more developers and build up a sizable mass of studios to keep producing content and keep the money flowing it.  

 

The hardware business is just not worth it anymore.  Right now we can even see that most games are multiplat because they NEED to be.. to recoup their costs and be successful.  That's only going to become more of a factor in the future.  We're beginning to see lines blur, and MS is releasing their shit on everything, Sony is even letting some of their IP slip across here and there.. Nintendo is dabbling in mobile.

 

It's now more important to reach the most people possible, rather than getting "your box" out there and building it up.  In the world we live in today, and increasingly so in the future, spending tons of money to build up install bases that could already there (and are already there potentially for your competition) isn't desirable.

 

This is all going to happen rather quickly...  The biggest companies in the world are all pushing in on this... you'd be a fool to think that it's going any other way.

[DynamiteCop 2,085]

I think we'll get this final one from Microsoft, Nintendo will peel off into third party software creation and Sony will try to weather the storm and go down in flames attempting to appeal to traditionalism for another console generation no one else will be a part of. 

 

[Goukosan 2,249]

9 minutes ago, DynamiteCop! said:

I think we'll get this final one from Microsoft, Nintendo will peel off into third party software creation and Sony will try to weather the storm and go down in flames attempting to appeal to traditionalism for another console generation no one else will be a part of. 

 

So your prediction is 1) Nintendo will go 3rd party 2) Sony will go down in flames and 3) MS will be triumphant in the end? 

 

Sounds like a dying lemmings fantasy 

[DynamiteCop 2,085]

2 minutes ago, Goukosan said:

So your prediction is 1) Nintendo will go 3rd party 2) Sony will go down in flames and 3) MS will be triumphant in the end? 

 

Sounds like a dying lemmings fantasy 

Sounds like inevitability 

[Goukosan 2,249]

Just now, DynamiteCop! said:

Sounds like inevitability 

in your lemming fantasy 

[Playstation Tablet 1,725]

What exactly do you want the vice president of the Google division to say.

[Remij 4,670]

3 minutes ago, Team 2019 said:

What exactly do you want the vice president of the Google division to say.

What they're pouring billions of $$$ into... that Streaming is the future...

 

 

[jehurey 3,228]

41 minutes ago, Remij_ said:

 

I said this a long time ago now.  Consoles will become unnecessary.  They have another generation left.. maybe 2.  Then it's done. 

 

I said that developers will develop ONE version of their games.. the PC version.. and then put it on all these gaming services.  

 

It's not going to happen all at once.. of course... but watch.. as these services begin to take hold.. and start posting more and more impressive numbers, and the market is big enough, then publishers will start to abandon traditional hardware... regardless of what companies like Sony or Nintendo do.  They'll stop seeing the point in targeting different console hardwares and costs associated with them.. and they'll start folding.  More and more devs will jump ship, and then "traditionalists" will too, because they'll go where the games are..  By then, the experience will be pretty damn good, and people will be satisfied.

 

That's why I said this is happening regardless of what Nintendo or Sony or whoever else do... They have no choice in this matter.  Once the developers start leaving.. they're forced to do the same.  Sony and Nintendo WILL adopt and will build up their own services... Sony will likely try to purchase more developers and build up a sizable mass of studios to keep producing content and keep the money flowing it.  

 

The hardware business is just not worth it anymore.  Right now we can even see that most games are multiplat because they NEED to be.. to recoup their costs and be successful.  That's only going to become more of a factor in the future.  We're beginning to see lines blur, and MS is releasing their shit on everything, Sony is even letting some of their IP slip across here and there.. Nintendo is dabbling in mobile.

 

It's now more important to reach the most people possible, rather than getting "your box" out there and building it up.  In the world we live in today, and increasingly so in the future, spending tons of money to build up install bases that could already there (and are already there potentially for your competition) isn't desirable.

 

This is all going to happen rather quickly...  The biggest companies in the world are all pushing in on this... you'd be a fool to think that it's going any other way.

Nah.  You're thinking..........linearly.

 

You're thinking that these are regular games played on a regular controller. And Google is replacing the computing method in which it receives traditional input and sends back video as output.

 

If Sony and nintendo did nothing but traditional games based on traditional genres and design, you'd be right.

 

They are going to make video games have different experiences. Which means its going to give people a reason for LOCALIZED computing.

 

This explains Sony having alot of research and patents in VR. Nintendo is going to change the way you interact with a console, they've been doing that for about 15 years now. And the two hardware companies that CAN pull off the next wave of game design is Sony and Nintendo.

 

I can see third-parties who are LINEAR in their game design going down the path of google, because it just streamlines everything. This may make Sony and Nintendo's first and second party go in an even bolder direction, taking more risks in game design.

[Remij 4,670]

18 minutes ago, jehurey said:

Nah.  You're thinking..........linearly.

 

You're thinking that these are regular games played on a regular controller. And Google is replacing the computing method in which it receives traditional input and sends back video as output.

 

If Sony and nintendo did nothing but traditional games based on traditional genres and design, you'd be right.

 

They are going to make video games have different experiences. Which means its going to give people a reason for LOCALIZED computing.

 

This explains Sony having alot of research and patents in VR. Nintendo is going to change the way you interact with a console, they've been doing that for about 15 years now. And the two hardware companies that CAN pull off the next wave of game design is Sony and Nintendo.

 

I can see third-parties who are LINEAR in their game design going down the path of google, because it just streamlines everything. This may make Sony and Nintendo's first and second party go in an even bolder direction, taking more risks in game design.

Well, games will be traditional for the most part.  I figured it was self explanatory since we generally view gaming in the traditional sense, when contemplating how the future is going to change it from what it is.

 

VR is one part.. and the largest success of that will already have local processing in the headset itself.. so the portability is already there.  People aren't going to want to purchase additional hardware to run their VR headsets.  They already don't want to do that.  Sony isn't going to be making and designing custom hardware game consoles specifically to tether people to their VR sets.  It's all going wireless and "attached system-less" in the future.  Cloud based streaming will include VR titles as well.

 

As for what they'll do.. Nintendo, I presume will eventually just make Nintendo branded mobile devices which run their app and software.. and they will have their app on other devices as well.  In the future, people really won't want to have multiple mobile devices when they know that it could just as well be an app on their current mobile device..  Google, and MS, and Amazon, and whoever else... will make sure of that.  Other than that... if Nintendo wants to change how people interact with their devices.. then they can release controllers which do that.

 

I think all this specialized system hardware gets phased out for peripherals which attach to devices you already own... much like Google's controller.

 

I'm not sure Sony's out to take any risks in game design outside of VR.  And the VR space is going to be just as competitive as the streaming space...  Sony's strength is to keep pushing and raising the bar with traditional gaming, and keep producing world class studios to make great games.  That will keep them super successful.. especially if they can reach every device/screen.

[jehurey 3,228]

6 minutes ago, Remij_ said:

Well, games will be traditional for the most part.  I figured it was self explanatory since we generally view gaming in the traditional sense, when contemplating how the future is going to change it from what it is.

 

VR is one part.. and the largest success of that will already have local processing in the headset itself.. so the portability is already there.  People aren't going to want to purchase additional hardware to run their VR headsets.  They already don't want to do that.  Sony isn't going to be making and designing custom hardware game consoles specifically to tether people to their VR sets.  It's all going wireless and "attached system-less" in the future.  Cloud based streaming will include VR titles as well.

 

As for what they'll do.. Nintendo, I presume will eventually just make Nintendo branded mobile devices which run their app and software.. and they will have their app on other devices as well.  In the future, people really won't want to have multiple mobile devices when they know that it could just as well be an app on their current mobile device..  Google, and MS, and Amazon, and whoever else... will make sure of that.  Other than that... if Nintendo wants to change how people interact with their devices.. then they can release controllers which do that.

 

I think all this specialized system hardware gets phased out for peripherals which attach to devices you already own... much like Google's controller.

 

I'm not sure Sony's out to take any risks in game design outside of VR.  And the VR space is going to be just as competitive as the streaming space...  Sony's strength is to keep pushing and raising the bar with traditional gaming, and keep producing world class studios to make great games.  That will keep them super successful.. especially if they can reach every device/screen.

I'd say that 60% of the industry's best game designers are employed by Nintendo and Sony. I may even put that percentage even higher.

 

As long as Sony and Nintendo are clearly heads above the rest, and utilize their big name IPs without driving them into the ground (i.e. Microsoft), they can sustain their own business model.

 

Dude, the Smartphone industry SHOULD'VE killed Nintendo's handheld business by now. There are 224 million smartphone users in the US. Just the United States, alone.

 

Here we are, in 2019. Nintendo handheld are going strong, their Pokemon sales are bigger than ever. Smartphone game development basically gave up, and there is no actual threat from them anymore.

 

I expect Sony and Nintendo to weather similar storms. 

 

I view Google the same way I viewed Microsoft when they introduced Xbox Live...........they ARE GOOD AT THIS THING, clearly superior than Sony and Nintendo at THIS PARTICULAR THING. They're flexing their muscle.

 

But Sony and Nintendo can beat Microsoft back with games, and still having the best game development in the world. And they did.

[Remij 4,670]

2 minutes ago, jehurey said:

I'd say that 60% of the industry's best game designers are employed by Nintendo and Sony. I may even put that percentage even higher.

 

As long as Sony and Nintendo are clearly heads above the rest, and utilize their big name IPs without driving them into the ground (i.e. Microsoft), they can sustain their own business model.

 

Dude, the Smartphone industry SHOULD'VE killed Nintendo's handheld business by now. There are 224 million smartphone users in the US. Just the United States, alone.

 

Here we are, in 2019. Nintendo handheld are going strong, their Pokemon sales are bigger than ever. Smartphone game development basically gave up, and there is no actual threat from them anymore.

 

I expect Sony and Nintendo to weather similar storms. 

 

I view Google the same way I viewed Microsoft when they introduced Xbox Live...........they ARE GOOD AT THIS THING, clearly superior than Sony and Nintendo at THIS PARTICULAR THING. They're flexing their muscle.

 

But Sony and Nintendo can beat Microsoft back with games, and still having the best game development in the world. And they did.

Nintendo especially is vigilant... I'm not as worried about them as I am Sony.

 

But dude, there's a difference between a smartphone that can play any brand new top of the line game with high fidelity graphics at 60fps... and mobile "game" apps...  Let's not pretend we can draw parallels there.

 

This will be uncharted territory.. especially with the backing of new.. extremely powerful competitors and new business models...  We'll just have to see how it all goes down, and continue to do our parts to push the industry in the direction we all want it to go.

[Remij 4,670]

This is currently Nintendo's "new way of interacting with games" Jer..  

 

 

 

 

Just thought that was funny  

[kaz 2,439]

streaming will never take over traditional consoles. and consoles will never die because it has the comfortability bonus. 

[jehurey 3,228]

5 minutes ago, Remij_ said:

Nintendo especially is vigilant... I'm not as worried about them as I am Sony.

 

But dude, there's a difference between a smartphone that can play any brand new top of the line game with high fidelity graphics at 60fps... and mobile "game" apps...  Let's not pretend we can draw parallels there.

 

This will be uncharted territory.. especially with the backing of new.. extremely powerful competitors and new business models...  We'll just have to see how it all goes down, and continue to do our parts to push the industry in the direction we all want it to go.

If anything, I'd say that Ubisoft games selling on Stadia helps subsidize those console versions existing.

 

If I'm Sony and Nintendo, I'd be making courteous yet emphatic "reminders" to Activision, EA, Ubisoft, Take Two, Square Enix, Warner Brothers, and all the other traditional publishers that they better not think about treating their existing relationship as second-priority compared to Google or any other streaming company. That they better deliver those same exact games, developed optimally for the consoles, on the same launch day that it comes out on Stadia.

 

And if they don't do that, then maybe Sony and Nintendo don't need to carry their games anymore.

[JonDnD 2,608]

Being a bully typically doesn't work IRL.  They'd probably walk .

And Nintendo barely gets games anyway 

[Remij 4,670]

2 minutes ago, jehurey said:

If anything, I'd say that Ubisoft games selling on Stadia helps subsidize those console versions existing.

 

If I'm Sony and Nintendo, I'd be making courteous yet emphatic "reminders" to Activision, EA, Ubisoft, Take Two, Square Enix, Warner Brothers, and all the other traditional publishers that they better not think about treating their existing relationship as second-priority compared to Google or any other streaming company. That they better deliver those same exact games, developed optimally for the consoles, on the same launch day that it comes out on Stadia.

 

And if they don't do that, then maybe Sony and Nintendo don't need to carry their games anymore.

I agree.  It will be that way for a while.  Streaming isn't going to instantly take over... but slowly it will begin to chip away at the traditional gamers.  It will keep happening quicker and quicker from that point as the tech gets better.  Those 3rd parties will bide their time and placate Sony and Nintendo... until they are no longer needed.

 

I know it sounds bad.. but I really feel that will be the case.  Those boxes will become expendable at some point.. and if all those 3rd parties left Sony or Nintendo... their consoles will be dead in the water... no matter how good their first party games are.  Sony will follow.. they will adapt before that comes around.

 

Like I said.. I feel Sony's best way forward, is games games games.  That's where all the money is regardless.  Let the companies spend billions in infrastructure and hardware... and reap the rewards.

[JonDnD 2,608]

It will be interesting too see of Google pulls an epic store and just goes in on Ms and Sony .

They could do it if they wanted. 

[jehurey 3,228]

Nintendo and Sony need to start securing licenses for MLB, NBA, and probably FIFA, and they need to start creating first-party studios just to churn out annual sports games.

 

They need to start thinking about developing more first and second party studios to increase the diversity of their games. JUST in case.

[DynamiteCop 2,085]

11 minutes ago, jehurey said:

Nintendo and Sony need to start securing licenses for MLB, NBA, and probably FIFA, and they need to start creating first-party studios just to churn out annual sports games.

 

They need to start thinking about developing more first and second party studios to increase the diversity of their games. JUST in case.

So basically they need to become Sega?

 

[Alphonse★ 453]

21 minutes ago, JONBpc said:

It will be interesting too see of Google pulls an epic store and just goes in on Ms and Sony .

They could do it if they wanted. 

Epic has been going hard with client exclusives with their limited budget. Imagine the damage google can do.