Google Faceplants Again on Stadia

Sean Hollister, writing for The Verge:

On June 6, Google opened up preorders for the $130 “Founder’s Edition” of its Stadia cloud gaming service, promising those buyers would be the first to experience the future of gaming — and reserve a unique username. Though Stadia went live on November 19th, many buyers are still reporting they haven’t received the most crucial piece of the entire Stadia package: the invite email that opens the door to actually let them in.

This seems like a small thing, but the diehard gamers — the ones who preorder to be a “founder” and secure their user name — take this stuff seriously. It’s just a stupid misstep, but it’s more proof Google just doesn’t get serious gaming.

Apple did such a good job positioning Apple Arcade as a casual gaming service. Arcade under-promised and over-delivered, which is what every service should aim for.

★ Monday, 25 November 2019