[bushbaba]

Stadia launched without the full backing of google. Google could have easily foresee the public reaction, and mitigated it with a different pricing model or some guarantee that game purchases will be refunded if stadia closes down within 3 years of purchase.

[ethbr0]

Say what you want about Microsoft, but they executed with XBox and continued pouring money into it, because they knew its potential as a foothold in the living room was larger than its near-term revenue.

[endisneigh]

they didn't do the same with Windows Phone, though. survivor bias.

[belval]

Windows Phone had a market share so low (~3%) it just didn't make sense to keep pouring money into it when cheap Chinese Android phones were coming in troves and Apple/Samsung dominated the high-end segments.

The Xbox only true competitor is the PlayStation which is much more manageable. Even the first Xbox had a market share of 33% in the US. It's important not to mix up killing a product before its prime and pouring money into an established market for dominance. Windows Phone was the latter.

Cloud gaming (if we believe it will eventually catch on) does not have an established "winner" yet. Nvidia/Xbox/Luna (Amazon) are still trying to make it work and Google had a better approach than all of them with lower controller latency.

[ethbr0]

Point. At some point post-launch, you've got to appraise the situation and come up with a scenario where you win.

Windows Phone started too far behind, and the only scenario where it caught up was "Everyone stops making Android phones."

On the other hand, the path to XBox dominance seemed feasible.

[endisneigh]

What are you talking about lol. Windows mobile was before android and iOS. You’re seriously suffering from survivor bias. There’s was a very obvious path to success with Microsoft and mobile

[ethbr0]

Windows Phone 7: 2010

HTC Dream: 2008

There's a reason Microsoft completely ditched Windows Mobile, because it was never in the post-iPhone fight.

[chem83]

Nor HoloLens (team laid off), or SPOT watches, or the Band etc. Survivor bias indeed.

[aliswe]

They put a billion dollars into the refunds of xbox red circled units, nd then sfter that billions more into rnd to make it what it is today. they definitely had a long term vision for it

[mort96]

Launching products without the full backing of the company sounds like a pretty large part of the mess.