Yes, Google Groups is very close to what's needed - unfortunately, it's proprietary and Google doesn't really maintain it, it's only a matter of time it goes the way of Reader.
At this point, unlike Reader, there's real cash behind the functionality. It's possible they could just fold it into Gmail, I guess, but with other mail interfaces like Inbox popping up in the Google ecosystem it seems if anything they're trying not to shoehorn too much more into a flagship product.
My guess is Groups will stick around for a while yet.
So it’s possible.