Alphabet's (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) Stadia is at the forefront of what may be the next big revolution in video games: cloud gaming. Google's new video game streaming platform and its accompanying hardware represent a challenge to established video game giants like Sony (NYSE: SNE), Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), and Nintendo (OTC: NTDOY).
Other cloud gaming competitors will come soon, including other tech giants: Amazon is working on cloud gaming projects. The prospect of Google's big arrival on the video game scene, as well as the broader shift toward "video games as a service" and away from the traditional video game sales model, has had Sony and Microsoft moving to address cloud gaming weaknesses in the months ahead of Stadia's debut. Now, the big moment is here -- and Stadia isn't quite delivering on the hype.
Stadia may yet become the service that was supposed to change video games forever, but it certainly is not that service right now. Stadia's debut has been marred by pre-order issues, laggy gaming, and poor reviews.