Xbox Launch Exclusive 'High On Life' Was Once Meant For Google Stadia, Says Report

Sounds like stadia could have had a pretty decent 2022

Sounds like that women Xbox took on after Stadia pulled out of exclusives (they've still had the odd indie like Wavetale), might have paid off with High on Life and Kojima game.

It is a bit of a shame though as the tech works, and games like these might have brought people in especially if put on Pro.

@TryToBeHopeful Pro is great now as if you sign up today you've got access to like 50+ games, and I've had it almost since day one that I have a library of about 150 games in Pro.

Just on launch was only 4 games, and had took time to build that library up of always around 50 games in the service.

It's a shame about Stadia, as I understand the tech works reasonably well.

However... completely unsurprising that it was pretty much DOA.
Business/subscription model was unclear.
Market not yet ready for 100 per cent streaming.
Poor (i.e. lack of) marketing.
Tough competition from existing gaming ecosystems.
Lack of faith in Google providing long-term support... their history of half-heartedly launching products, only to quick ditch them is legendary.

Would be good to have another player in the market, but Google just don't seem to get what it takes.

Amazon's support for Luna also seems half-hearted, at best.

Well I'm really happy that it's now coming Xbox because this was the game I'm looking forward to the most from the showcase.

@Krzzystuff

Yep, it looks fun doesn't it?!
I was honestly surprised more people weren't talking about it after the showcase... I think it got drowned out in the conversation by Forza and Starfield.
Could use more fun games (I think there's more than enough dark and gritty stuff out there for now 🙂).

@antstephenson this is truly going to be GOTY.... Elden Ring beware!!! Knifie is coming to get ya.

Side note i tried Elden Ring over the weekend and as my first ever time playing a fromsoft game i now know I'm on the not for me side lol.

High on Life looks awesome, but it's strange to think Google though that would be a "system seller" for their pay-to-play-plus-pay-to-buy model.

Stadia had the best streaming tech in the industry and the worst business model of all. Granted, Xcloud may be bringing some of Stadia's business forward to Xbox with the announcement you'll be able to start streaming at least some purchased games. But that's in addition to the buffet library. Pretty different than paying just to access the games you bought.

It's weird where streaming is going. It's clear that it's the future, or at least a major part of the future, yet Stadia collapsed. Luna is....barely even mentioned, which is rare for Amazon. Apple is yet to get into it. GeForce now is doing ok. XCloud is growing well. Netflix is....kinda dipping a baby toe in? For being "the next big thing" it's kind of only tepidly supported at the moment. The weirdest part of all is other than Xbox, it's Nintendo that seems to be embracing cloud more than anyone with numerous Stadia-style "pay full price for a cloud-only game" titles. Who'd have imagined Nintendo succeeding with Stadia's failed business model.

And then there's Sony. They were the first to the show, and seem to be last in doing anything with it. I thought they were just upcharging by moving the Gaikai streaming into the premium bracket until they said it won't even stream current gen/PS5 games at all, and they have that partnership with GeForce Now as an on-again off-again thing. Seems like they want out of the streaming business outside legacy content, which is just weird, they were the ones that planted the streaming flag back when everyone laughed at them.

@themightyant Plus whatever Jade Raymond's studio is doing for Sony, so it doesn't sound like much was lost from Stadia.

@Krzzystuff LOL, I still don't understand the massive sales of Elden Ring. I understand why people that like it do. But I'm convinced Fromsoft's model is preaching to the faithful so it generates enough hype that tons of people buy their stuff expecting it to be great, and then they never touch it again when they realize how niche it is. It's definitely a genre very tailor made to a very specific niche....but those sales numbers are a lot bigger than that niche. (Although if you visit sites like this you get the impression EVERYONE loves masochism. )

@TryToBeHopeful see I'd say it's miles better than Gold or Plus which most comparable to and then library doesn't stay (like if signed up now I'd have 4 games not 50) with Jedi Fallen Order, Life is Strange, Wavetale, Ys etc

@NEStalgia I'm glad i had the ability to get it from the library to try it for free cuz ya....it's definitely not for me. The hype was massive for the game and I was getting caught up in it myself. Glad that the folks that enjoy these types of games are happy.

Back to the topic i do hope that the humour is top notch in High on Life and that playing it again with a different gun is different enough to warrant a replay...i almost never replay campaigns.

@SplooshDmg Interesting. Yeah, I really don't get the whole From mentality. I know they can't add difficulties because t3h h@rdc0r3 would revolt. But it's just weird that the fans insist that the only thing that makes it fun is requiring flawless reflexes as though there's nothing else to enjoy otherwise. I don't have flawless reflexes. Even as a kid I didn't have flawless reflexes, that's why I never bothered with Megaman. But the fans imply there's just nothing good about the game other than that required perfection, and that if you didn't have that requirement it would destroy the fun. Elitism for sure. No video game is worth going through rage and blood pressure slamming stress. It's a video game to unwind with, not a job to be stressed about. Whatever difficulty is satisfying is the right one. A litmus test of "standardized difficulty" is for online games. You're ranked by how you compare to other players because competing with other players is the point. Not a single player action game.

@SplooshDmg Yep, there was an article on Polygon or RPS long ago arguing that the right difficulty is variable by player and where it presents just enough challenge without frustration is the right one. But then there's that pushback that an identical experience of having a very fixed challenge to overcome and working to get better at it is the experience.

I think there's a lot of masochists in gaming with FAR too much free time. If you have to "work" at the game it's no longer entertaining, it's work. Now, there is a genre where that's acceptable which is competitive online gaming, including fighters etc. I really wonder why people that claim to hate multiplayer online and love single player want their single player experience to effectively be a multiplayer competitive experience. I think the "souls shouldn't have difficulty" crowd should consider just going eSports since it's what they seem to actually want - comparing their skill benchmarks against other players. Which is cool, but it's a really weird mindset. The point of competitive games is to improve and demonstrate your superior skill to other players. The point of single player games should be entertainment. Not demonstrating superior skills. Which is why competitive exists...

Interesting that it's popular to mod the difficulty on PC, home of the 1337 while Console gamers seem to love the suffering. I really would love to see the play times on Elden from the masses that bought it. It's really not a game for everyone. Those sales have to be largely hype fueled.

@NEStalgia “It’s a video game to unwind…” Elden Ring is the first Fromsoft game that I played, and I have put less than 3 hours into it. I understand that the game is designed specifically not to be a game to unwind with. It is supposed to be a challenge that you work at and be satisfied when the work is done. It is like saying that you would unwind by taking a hike on Mount Everest. Other mountains might be nice for hiking and relaxing, but Mount Everest is there for those that are up to the challenge and dedicated to mountain climbing. The challenge is intended by the developers and I think that’s great. If every game had to have the same difficulty, the lack of variety would get boring quickly.

@SplooshDmg Yeah, and it's not just pure reflexes, either. It's SPECIFIC TIMING reflexes. There's a reason I'm not a drummer or a member of a symphony. I don't have that on-queue timing. And yet, I'm probably actually better at eSports than at Fromsoft. It's a different kind of reflex. A prediction/reaction rather than a pattern memorization with a split second response. I'm good at patterns - as in puzzle/rpg loops etc. But not split second recognition of which random element from the pattern is unfolding, I'm the kid the baseball goes by, then swings later. Takes a while to process it. When I see a "tell" in that kind of game, I either think it's a different action happening, or sit and do nothing while I go through the list in my head and think of what the options are and appropriate reactions.

Yet for pure reflex, eSports style, I'm actually decent. Consistently S in Splatoon. Could go S+ if I tried hard but I don't. Definitely NOT that super tier they introduced, I can't hang with the biggest boys, but still in the high ranks. Which a lightning fast shooter. Reflex against human opponents I'm fast with. I'm 2 years out of practice again, hopefully will get back into it in the fall with 3 coming out, but I'm crazy with the melee/close range rollers which is pure frantic action.

So it's not just reflex, it's musician's timing in randomized patterns. I don't process the "tell" within the queue time you're required to react. Couldn't do it as a kid, either. Just not how my brain has ever worked.

Similarly I skip most of the counter/parry/pefect-guard functions in most any game that has it. I'm just not able to do it with any reliability. I was ok with it in Kena but I assume it has wide windows.

Now logic puzzles...that's totally my jam.

@Johnnel That's what optional bosses, post-game content, platinum trophies/rare achievements are for. That's the mount everest. Including only the optional challenge as the only game is arguably just bad game design that the gatekeeper types like to perch and preen on. Beating it on hard mode (the default mode now) would certainly be just as much of a mount everest challenge for those that like it

Or conversely if it's designed to be a niche game that only a certain type of person should like then we can be pretty sure that most of the sales are hype and online echobox and not that the world is mostly full of people that want to climb everest.

And alternately some people are never going to climb everest, but for them the big rock in the park is their own everest. I'm not sure good game design is "oh well, too bad, this game isn't for you, buy something else" than letting anyone make it their own everest like that PC mod enables. That sense of achievement is a different slope for everyone. Having a single title of "best" is, like I said, what competitive games are for. It's rankings are there for that purpose.

I get that it's now established and theres a certain faction that loves that that's the case, but I'm not sure it's a great thing. A lot more people could enjoy the games and have their own challenges, and it sounds like on PC, that's exactly what happens. That fans are making that possible instead of Fromsoft, on PC where it's possible, says something, and should say something to Fromsoft.