In the lead up to a new video game console launch, there's a lot of hype around hardware bells and whistles. Forum threads light up with spec comparisons, and people furiously break down the potential benefits and liabilities of using particular types of RAM (or whatever).
That stuff matters of course, but horsepower and gimmicks don't sell video game consoles — it's the games.
Look no further than Nintendo's wildly successful Switch console for proof: Launching alongside "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild," a fantastic game that could only be played on Nintendo hardware, was a crucially important move. The game was so good, in fact, that it sold millions of consoles. People bought a Nintendo Switch solely so they could play "Breath of the Wild."
There's a term for these types of games: System sellers.
When "Mario Kart 8 Deluxe" launched soon after the Switch, it compounded interest — now there were two system sellers on the Switch. By the time "Super Mario Odyssey" arrived, later in the same year, the Switch had gained serious sales momentum.
Do people buy the Switch because it's a tablet? Because of its adorable little controllers? Because of the touch screen? Sure, that stuff helps. But the reality is that people buy the Nintendo Switch because it has a ton of great games that can only be played on the Switch.
Without that — great games that can only be played on Stadia — it's unlikely that Google will succeed.