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Amazon is reportedly ‘investing hundreds of millions’ in game projects, including Stadia rival

Mista

Mista

Banned
amazon_game_studios_creative_logo-768x403.jpg


The corporation – which owns Streaming platform Twitch – is making big strides into video games, with “hundreds of millions of dollars” being invested in its own game creation, plus the new cloud platform codenamed Project Tempo, reports The New York Times.

Multiple outlets reported last year that Amazon would launch its Stadia rival in 2020, however according to NY Times’ sources Project Tempo could slip into next year amid coronavirus disruptions.

Tempo would rival Google’s recently launched Stadia, Nvidia’s Geforce Now and Project xCloud from Microsoft.

Amazon’s game development arm is said to be working on sandbox MMO New World, third-person survival shooter Crucible and “new unannounced projects”.

Mike Frazzini, Amazon’s vice president for game services and studios:
We love this idea that you have a player, a streamer and a viewer all sharing in this synchronous interactive environment of Twitch. It was very clear to everyone that people, customers, love video games. It was so obviously important to customers that we need to be doing something. The big picture is about trying to take the best of Amazon and bringing it to games. We have been working for a while, but it takes a long time to make games, and we’re bringing a lot of Amazon practices to making games.
Click to expand...
www.nytimes.com

Amazon Pushes Into Making Video Games, Not Just Streaming Their Play (Published 2020)

The internet giant is investing hundreds of millions of dollars in the effort, with its first original game, Crucible, to be released next month.
www.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com
www.videogameschronicle.com

Amazon is reportedly ‘investing hundreds of millions’ in game projects, including Stadia rival | VGC

Plus ‘interactive games’ coming to Twitch…
www.videogameschronicle.com www.videogameschronicle.com
 
DunDunDunpachi

DunDunDunpachi

Patient MembeR
Hundreds of millions is nothing. Their competitors have invested tens of billions into their projects over the years, and Stadia ain't a product you want to be emulating or rivaling.

Amazon has the distribution chain. Why not go physical? It's not often mentioned, but one reason why Atari found success with the 2600 is because they started a distribution chain (sporting goods dept at SEARS). Nintendo found success with the NES in a "dead" market because they were able to find distribution chains and leverage them. The same goes for SEGA and for Sony, leveraging their distribution chains to out-shelve their competitors in more stores in more countries.
 
Bojanglez

Bojanglez

The Amiga Brotherhood
Oh dear. Stadia gets mentioned and the thread is automatically derailed. We get it, you don't like it (and probably haven't tried it) but that doesn't mean there isn't space for streaming tech and competition is good for us all, I welcome anyone trying to progress the medium.
 
DunDunDunpachi

DunDunDunpachi

Patient MembeR
Mista said:
But for someone that is new to the scene, I find this a massive investment.
Click to expand...
It's not tiny and I'm not trying to downplay it, just putting it into proper context.

A single game like Red Dead Redemption 2 or Star Citizen can also be 'hundreds of millions'.
 
DESTROYA

DESTROYA

Member
Haven’t they seen Stadia’s carcass on the side of the road?


bjT9oM6.jpg


Bojanglez said:
Oh dear. Stadia gets mentioned and the thread is automatically derailed. We get it, you don't like it (and probably haven't tried it) but that doesn't mean there isn't space for streaming tech and competition is good for us all, I welcome anyone trying to progress the medium.
Click to expand...

Some of us have tried it and have seen first hand how a good portion of the games are unplayable due to lag, plus the game selection is pretty sparse with ( last i checked ) 50 games or so. Cloud streaming in general isn’t ready for prime time and not sure it ever will be due to the input lag I mentioned earlier.
 
bitbydeath

bitbydeath

Member
Bojanglez said:
Oh dear. Stadia gets mentioned and the thread is automatically derailed. We get it, you don't like it (and probably haven't tried it) but that doesn't mean there isn't space for streaming tech and competition is good for us all, I welcome anyone trying to progress the medium.
Click to expand...

A lot of people see it as a threat to the medium so naturally want to discourage others.
 
Sota4077

Sota4077

Member
Unless Sony gets into the Streaming market to the level Microsoft has they've already won that "war" IMO. They would be the only company that could compete because of existing libraries from signup. With Microsoft you have this massive library of games already at your hands. With anything Amazon comes out with and with Stadia you are buying the same damn games a second time if you own them on your console of choice already. Any service that doesn't let you play your current library of games is DOA unless the value proposition is off the charts.
 
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DunDunDunpachi

DunDunDunpachi

Patient MembeR
SotaSkoldier said:
Unless Sony gets into the Streaming market like Microsoft has they've already won that "war" IMO. With Microsoft you have this massive library of games already at your hands. With anything Amazon comes out with and with Stadia you are buying the same damn games a second time if you own them on your console of choice already. Any service that doesn't let you play your current library of games is DOA unless the value proposition is off the charts.
Click to expand...
lol it's getting so silly

www.playstation.com

PS Now games

Discover all the PS2, PS3 and PS4 games available to stream on-demand or download to PS4, from the PS Now game library of over 700 titles.
www.playstation.com www.playstation.com
 
Hostile_18

Hostile_18

Banned
Feel like I've heard this millions of times over the years from Amazon and nothing of note ever really materializes.
 
Sota4077

Sota4077

Member
DunDunDunpachi said:
lol it's getting so silly

www.playstation.com

PS Now games

Discover all the PS2, PS3 and PS4 games available to stream on-demand or download to PS4, from the PS Now game library of over 700 titles.
www.playstation.com www.playstation.com
Click to expand...

I wasn't writing off Sony PS Now at all. But what Microsoft are doing with Xcloud is not quite comparable to what Sony has done. PS Now is only on PC. Xcloud I can play from literally anywhere with any Android or iOS device effectively. I wasn't doing some console warrior BS. I was just leaving out Sony because their offering is not the same as Microsoft on the matter.
 
Doom85

Doom85

Member
Amazon considers Stadia a potential rival? That's like Goku calling Chiaotzu a potential rival, it's baffling.
 
Ovek

Ovek

7Member7
I can see Amazon doing a far, far better job at something like this than Google. Shit they might even be able to integrate Twitch so you can stream your games whilst you stream your games.
 
Bojanglez

Bojanglez

The Amiga Brotherhood
DESTROYA said:
Haven’t they seen Stadia’s carcass on the side of the road?

Some of us have tried it and have seen first hand how a good portion of the games are unplayable due to lag, plus the game selection is pretty sparse with ( last i checked ) 50 games or so. Cloud streaming in general isn’t ready for prime time and not sure it ever will be due to the input lag I mentioned earlier.
Click to expand...

I use Stadia almost daily, it allows me to play Football Manager on any device I have and runs fine. Stadia is not without its problems, but it is certainly not unplayable (at least on my connection). I could list lots of things wrong with Stadia:
  • Small library (something that plagues most new platforms)
  • Requires stable connection
  • No 3G/4G/5G support in the app (although interestingly tethering on even a 3G connection is often playable)
  • Limited device support
Yes the list goes on, I'm not an apologist for Google, the launch and communication was very poor (and still not great). But that doesn't mean that the platform or the concept of cloud gaming is without value. The more competitors there are, the closer we (gamers) are to having a product that can compliment console and PC gaming in a meaningful way. I like to keep an open mind, but a healthy level of skepticism, rather than trying to spread FUD.
 
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Dory16

Dory16

Banned
DunDunDunpachi said:
Hundreds of millions is nothing. Their competitors have invested tens of billions into their projects over the years, and Stadia ain't a product you want to be emulating or rivaling.

Amazon has the distribution chain. Why not go physical? It's not often mentioned, but one reason why Atari found success with the 2600 is because they started a distribution chain (sporting goods dept at SEARS). Nintendo found success with the NES in a "dead" market because they were able to find distribution chains and leverage them. The same goes for SEGA and for Sony, leveraging their distribution chains to out-shelve their competitors in more stores in more countries.
Click to expand...
Not physical I guess because they have the cloud infrastructure ready. Probably the largest in the world. Must be cheaper to just leverage that instead of producing a console from scratch which they would probably suck at to begin with.
 
DESTROYA

DESTROYA

Member
Bojanglez said:
I use Stadia almost daily, it allows me to play Football Manager on any device I have and runs fine. Stadia is not without its problems, but it is certainly not unplayable (at least on my connection). I could list lots of things wrong with Stadia:
  • Small library (something that plagues most new platforms)
  • Requires stable connection
  • No 3G/4G/5G support in the app (although interestingly tethering on even a 3G connection is often playable)
  • Limited device support
Yes the list goes on, I'm not an apologist for Google, the launch and communication was very poor (and still not great). But that doesn't mean that the platform or the concept of cloud gaming is without value. The more competitors there are, the closer we (gamers) are to having a product that can compliment console and PC gaming in a meaningful way. I like to keep an open mind, but a healthy level of skepticism, rather than trying to spread FUD.
Click to expand...
No ones spreading FUD when I myself experienced pretty bad input lag and it wasn’t just one game, I have a pretty good internet connection also.
Being out almost 5/6 months now the game selection is pretty dismal considering it just a game service and not making the games for a specific platform.
 
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DS_Joost

DS_Joost

Member
Microsoft, Google and Amazon can battle in the cloud all they want, all day, all year, forever.

Meanwhile I'll just go PlayStation and enjoy it's wonderful exclusives and laugh my fucking ass off.😂😂😂
 
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JimboJones

JimboJones

Member
I already have like 25 games on Amazon's service by virtue of having Amazon prime, they obviously want in although they haven't been as loud about it as epic, no trying to force exclusives to their service yet either.
I think they'd have a better stream service than Google they seem to have a better base for it but it's a low bar to to try and beat lol.
 
JimboJones

JimboJones

Member
EHuntingon said:
Are people clamoring to stream games? Is this some vast, untapped market? I just don’t get it.
Click to expand...

These guys (Amazon,Google, Microsoft) have already paid the up front cost for this infrastructure because they all deal in cloud services, it's relatively easy for them to set these services up, they would be dumb not to do it basically because it has the chance of being a huge market in the future.
 
A.Romero

A.Romero

Member
DunDunDunpachi said:
Hundreds of millions is nothing. Their competitors have invested tens of billions into their projects over the years, and Stadia ain't a product you want to be emulating or rivaling.

Amazon has the distribution chain. Why not go physical? It's not often mentioned, but one reason why Atari found success with the 2600 is because they started a distribution chain (sporting goods dept at SEARS). Nintendo found success with the NES in a "dead" market because they were able to find distribution chains and leverage them. The same goes for SEGA and for Sony, leveraging their distribution chains to out-shelve their competitors in more stores in more countries.
Click to expand...

I think they are betting on what's coming next, not what's currently the biggest piece of the pie.

Cloud gaming hasn't been my cup of tea so far but it seems a lot of people really think it's the future.
 
DunDunDunpachi

DunDunDunpachi

Patient MembeR
A.Romero said:
I think they are betting on what's coming next, not what's currently the biggest piece of the pie.

Cloud gaming hasn't been my cup of tea so far but it seems a lot of people really think it's the future.
Click to expand...
You can search Amazon's own shop to see third-party sellers marking up physical releases from Super Rare Games, Limited Run, Play-Asia, etc

Physical is surging. If it wasn't, we wouldn't have little boutique shops popping up like daisies turning a profit on runs of a few thousand. Certainly we're in a time where physical and digital co-exist, but the notion that one will erase the other seems willfully ignorant in light of what happened in the last few years with book sales and music sales.

And when it comes to streaming, all it takes is a pandemic to choke the internet lanes of the world. Then people think twice about doing everything via these subscriptions...

I don't think they should ignore the digital market, but putting all the eggs in that basket seems dumb, especially when Amazon is in the unique position to offer both digital and physical through their unified storefront. Something I love about buying physical albums (and certain books) is that the digital version will appear in my Amazon music service, voila! If a company started doing this with physical game purchases, I'd be all over that. Neither Sony nor Nintendo nor Microsoft are in a position to do so, but Amazon is.
 
A.Romero

A.Romero

Member
DunDunDunpachi said:
You can search Amazon's own shop to see third-party sellers marking up physical releases from Super Rare Games, Limited Run, Play-Asia, etc

Physical is surging. If it wasn't, we wouldn't have little boutique shops popping up like daisies turning a profit on runs of a few thousand. Certainly we're in a time where physical and digital co-exist, but the notion that one will erase the other seems willfully ignorant in light of what happened in the last few years with book sales and music sales.

And when it comes to streaming, all it takes is a pandemic to choke the internet lanes of the world. Then people think twice about doing everything via these subscriptions...

I don't think they should ignore the digital market, but putting all the eggs in that basket seems dumb, especially when Amazon is in the unique position to offer both digital and physical through their unified storefront. Something I love about buying physical albums (and certain books) is that the digital version will appear in my Amazon music service, voila! If a company started doing this with physical game purchases, I'd be all over that. Neither Sony nor Nintendo nor Microsoft are in a position to do so, but Amazon is.
Click to expand...

I'm not saying you are wrong. Other than PC I prefer physical releases always. However, they might have a different expectation in the following years.

Time will tell if they are betting on the right distribution. Hell, we don't even know if they will be a competent player in the space or if they are going to just fall on their faces.
 
Bojanglez

Bojanglez

The Amiga Brotherhood
DESTROYA said:
No ones spreading FUD when I myself experienced pretty bad input lag and it wasn’t just one game, I have a pretty good internet connection also.
Being out almost 5/6 months now the game selection is pretty dismal considering it just a game service and not making the games for a specific platform.
Click to expand...
What do you mean "just a game service and not making the games for a specific platform" ? Developers still have to port a game specifically to the platform/service, in that respect it is like developing for a console, it's not like Geforce Now where they just use the PC version.
 
DunDunDunpachi

DunDunDunpachi

Patient MembeR
A.Romero said:
I'm not saying you are wrong. Other than PC I prefer physical releases always. However, they might have a different expectation in the following years.

Time will tell if they are betting on the right distribution. Hell, we don't even know if they will be a competent player in the space or if they are going to just fall on their faces.
Click to expand...
I apologize, I wasn't taking it that way, just trying to expand on what I said. You're definitely right that the folks at Amazon are watching the market and likely see digital as the way forward.
 
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