I never said it was new. But with its rise of popularity came the negative effects on regular gaming. And again, I never said all good "standard" games vanished because of it, nor will that be the case with Stadia.
What I'm arguing is that absolutely nothing being introduced with this new attention on "cloud gaming" will have any major effect on any form of established game design. PC, consoles, mobile devices, etc. will continue plugging along just like they always have. New competition doesn't automatically dictate a danger, and the more I learn about how Stadia works, the less and less I worry about it
changing anything. It's simply
adding to the pot.
Seriously? Have you taken a recent look at most AAA publishers/studios and the tactics they employ? Your arguments seems to be "I'm still able to buy good standard games, therefore nothing changed," which doesn't follow at all.
Seriously. Let me go back to the 1980s. Video arcades full of coin-op machines were the known industry, and it was largely a struggle with very little return. Take a look at the
heinous business practices Atari used at that time. PC games were mostly rubbish with the occasional gem. They didn't run well. No one was interested. There was no established market. They weren't taken seriously (...even by the many devs). Gamers were "nerds", "geeks", and "losers", and they worried that the hobby they loved so much would never be respected and wind up just fading away. Challenges, challenges, challenges.
Let's go to the '90s. There were a few devs that had come up with really inventive stuff, but there was still no established market. Tech was limited and outrageously expensive. Consoles (especially Nintendo) and simplistic games that worked like coin-ops were gaining all of the attention due to much wider, mass apeal and far less expensive tech. Gamers on PC were worried that real gems like X-COM and Ultima would never be given the attention they had very much earned. Challenges, challenges, challenges.
Early 2000s. KAAABOOOM! The market had not only become established, but the gaming industry had surpassed Hollywood in terms of gross net worth. Huge developers had sprung out of tiny offices (Activision, Interplay, Ubisoft, EA, Bioware, Relic, etc.) So much money in the system, that the vast majority of games were me-too rip-offs or half-baked rubbish that were little more than cash grabs. MMOs were "
ruining" single player games. The PC and console markets were so neck-and-neck...that they actually started pooling resources instead of competing. There was all sorts of controversy about how games were becoming too streamlined and easy and the industry was ripe for an outright collapse. And that happened! Challenges, challenges, challenges.
And that brings us to now. By the mid 2000s and into the '10s, mobile gaming was this huge threat that was going to completely devastate hardcore gaming and we were looking at the end of any sort of depth and quality in the face of the overwhelming market for casual, mobile games. Now...cloud gaming is going to do it, right?
Nope.
At any point in that history, I can list off the absolutely awesome games that I remember from that time. Some points have been better than others. Same with restaurants...or fishing spots...or sports teams. Same with everything. There will always be a market for things that people want. It doesn't require a particular industry to be #1 and dominant to create ongoing quality.
Not sure what you mean, if its about mobile popularity bringing more indie mobile games, I'll take your word for it. If it's a clam that mobile brought more indie titles overall I'd love an elaboration on that.
iTunes and other mobile stores set a very productive precedent. "You don't need to pitch a game to a professional studio and win a contract in order to be successful. You can just sit down in your spare time and wind up making games for a living. If people like it, you can market it here." Viola -- Android Store, Kickstarter, Steam Greenlight, Desura...
It was the appeal of very simple, mobile games that first started encouraging people to take the plunge. Tech was very manageable for small teams, and you didn't need to make any huge investments. Literally, all you needed was time, focus, and a good idea to break in.
Stadia exclusives are merely one negative effect, but still enough to prove my point. Once more: just because you'll still have good standard games to choose from doesnt mean overall gaming wont be negatively affected.
If by "negative effect" you mean "sharing the wealth", then I disagree. Progress of any sort demands change. Nothing stays in the spotlight forever. As tech advances and changes, as new ideas are brought to fruition, so will everything about everything constantly be changing. Once, hot dogs were so unique and exclusive that they were all the rave. Now they're a dime a dozen, mass-produced, and available world-wide. The hot-dog cart on the corner is still in business. And it's still
awesome.