This is why I don't "get" go. If it was supposed to replace C++, why does it not compete with C++ directly? Why were they even using C++ for those projects in the first place?
Why use C++? Performance, universal familiarity, ability to access low level APIs (libraries, x86, syscalls), abundance of good tooling, manual memory management (+debug tooling), legacy.
Why not directly compete with C++? The performance and compatibility/"close to the metal" requirements are separate. Much of C++'s complexity comes from the latter. It makes sense to create a solution for applications that require one but not the other.
I think in the beginning they did think of it as a C++ replacement, but it has been a long time since anyone from the core team has used those terms (system language) to describe it. It is more of an alternative to Java or Python. Possibly the server described should have been written in Java in the first place.
