Hats off to Stadia engineers for the engineering marvel that they created. I'm certain they'll be sought after both internally at Google and externally.
Also, hats off to Google for refunding all hardware(!) and software purchases. I don't remember any parallel to this from a large company.
Essentially, gamers participated in a wonderful large-scale experiment which cost them nothing (except maybe the occasional monthly fee).
I am a happy Stadia user, I am sad to see it sunset.
I agree completely with you, thats how I am seeing the whole situation. Even if I knew the outcome I would be part of it again and I could even spend more money and time. But on the other hand Google could do much better and stadia could be luckier if it was managed by someone else
Has any other company been in a position where they'd have to offer refunds though? The combination of a hardware device that relies entirely on an external service and requires "purchases" rather than rentals, and said service being discontinued after only three years and the company in question still being solvent seems like it'd be a black swan.
Google is refunding everything, not just hardware.
Contrast this to Amazon for instance, where movies/tv shows you have bought just disappear from your account when Amazon loses the license to serve them.
Also, hats off to Google for refunding all hardware(!) and software purchases. I don't remember any parallel to this from a large company.
Essentially, gamers participated in a wonderful large-scale experiment which cost them nothing (except maybe the occasional monthly fee).
I am a happy Stadia user, I am sad to see it sunset.