I Love Xbox Game Pass But It Scares the Hell Out of Me

Cultured Vultures: Is Xbox Game Pass threatening to monopolise gaming? Based on what we know and what we've seen, it's a concern.

[EasilyTheBest]

"With hundreds of games in its library, day one releases of first-party Microsoft games, up to 20% discount on purchases, and a ridiculously low monthly fee, Game Pass offers the most insane value I’ve ever seen in the gaming industry. I don’t even feel bad for not finishing games I don’t like anymore."
Couldn't of put it better. A good read especially the bit about developers liking it & getting a good deal.

[4Sh0w]

People are too scared of change. The author must still short his pants when the nostalgia of Blockbuster causes those weird visions while watching Netflix.

[KwietStorm_BLM]

What.

[4Sh0w]

My bad I forgot you guys are too young to remember Blockbuster Video.

[Kakashi Hatake]

The reason your analogy doesn't work is because movies went to theaters before coming to Blockbuster or Netflix back in the day. What Gamepass is doing is getting rid of the movie theater and making everything straight to video. High end directors and actors don't put out their best work direct to video, not enough money to motivate them. What do you think will happen to quality games if they don't get their "in theater" time. Quality will drop. That's why Gamepass doesn't work with really high quality games. The day and date thing doesn't work. Add stuff on gamepass once it's made its money "in theater"

[4Sh0w]

jeesh, relax it was a joke. I never meant it was exactly the same, I thought the "weird visions" was enough sarcasm to make it obvious I wasnt serious. My main point was that like it or not gaming & how we access/buy games will change.

I do however disagree with your take that quality will drop because of gamepass, that makes absolutely no sense, as long as devs are well compensated & have the neccessary resources to create games why would day & date on gamepass change the quality of the game itself? No good devs, with the proper resources will always make good games, gamepass wont change that.

[pocolocoX]

No sorry but Netflix, Disney, Hulu, Amazon, Apple, are all making original content now. Movies. That don't go to the movie theater. Its exactly the same.

[enkiduxiv]

@4Sh0w You don't think the quality will drop? Of course it will! Why would a dev feel incentivized to revolutionize gaming with their title if they know Microsoft will just throw a few million at them regardless of what they put out? Just like Netflix, there will be one or two hit shows every now and then and then a bunch of boring crap no one really cares about.

I see a plethora of bland open world games coming to Game Pass. A sea of multiplayer skinner boxes with color coded loot. What I don't see is a bunch on indie titles swinging for the fences in the hopes of becoming the next CDPR, and that is concerning because that competitiveness is what gets us games that are actually memorable.

At least Nintendo and Sony are still trying... for now.

[BeOpenMinded]

The way I see it initial game sales drop off a cliff after initial release. It gives a title new life and exposure. Seems to be a win win. Metro exodus comes to mind and a few others

[ElementX]

I used to rent games, then I became old enough to get a job. GP is nice but it could harm devs in the long run. People may switch to only playing GP games and that would result in fewer 3rd party sales and potentially games skipping Xbox.

[Kerppamaister]

You do know that having your game on game pass increases the sales...?

[Bathyj]

Any proof of that?

[Sunny_D]

That depends on the type of games. I could see it for a small unknown title but maybe not for AAA titles.

[chiefJohn117]

True, quite a few Devs came out and said their games saw a boost in sells after coming to gamepass. For me personally any game i plan on buying im still buying even if its on Gamepass. The games I don't buy on gamepass are games I was on the fence about buying to begin with (likely wasnt gonna buy) and games i had 0 interest in before trying it out on gamepass. For some people they'll play it on games and go head and buy it if they like it.

[blvdnights1414]

@Bathyj

"Any proof of that?"

How about you stop being lazy pos troll and find some proof to bring to the discussion since you have the internet like the rest of us.

[derek]

The idea that a big budget game would make more for a developer on gamepass is so stupid you have to wonder those making such statements are smoking.

[jukins]

So why isn't cod nba 2k gta5. . Basically all the huge games that sell millions not on sub services?

[oof46]

@Bathyj: https://twitter.com/ZhugeEX...

[morganfell]

Any title that has been out a while and goes on gamepass 6 months down the line might see an increase in sales. That is about exposure.

[roadkillers]

No, what will happen is the same thing that is happening to Netflix... There will be a Activison streaming Service, TakeTwo, EA Play, Ubisoft, Warner Bros, and various others. All the 3rd party will go back to the respected companies platform.

Honestly, this is what Microsoft, Amazon, and Google would want because these services would need to run on their cloud services to survive (Azure, AWS, Google Cloud).

[subzero1992]

Thats good that we have people like you. Folks with the disposable income for $70+ games are needed. I have my Series X preordered and I'm paid up for Gamepass till 2023. Thats all I plan on shelling out because I'm poor so we going to need the rest of yall to #supportthedevs at full retail price.

[therealmarauder]

I know right. All these guys dissing gamepass - guys we love playing games too and its nice that we dont have to shell out 60$+ each time for a game.

I am paying 5$ for gamepass on PC and have played 4 different games in the last 30 days. It was great! :D

[boing1]

Game pass is a great deal, no doubt about it. Still buying PS5, though. Sony will respond eventually, if they start recognizing it as a threat. Upcoming gen will give us the answer I think.

[NEXUS-6]

Is gamepass really that much better than PSNow?

I get the day 1 releases of ms titles - but lets not sugar coat this, they're pretty average titles the consumer would be reluctant to pay $40 for.

Anyone that has been gaming for a little has either played/tried, like/disliked all that Bethesda has to offer.

So again - is it really that much better? To the point of shunning retail on the hopes that game gets put on gamepass?

[S2Killinit]

This ^

Add to that cost of any add ons, plus fact that games dont stay there for you. You are still paying same if not more for the same amount of gaming except now you are limited to whats available at the time. If you supplement the service with buying, now you are really paying up the you know where.

[Homushi]

so gamepass is typically gonna have 3rd party games that are either 6 months old or longer so by then the devs have made their money and then some, and gamepass give the dev's game more exposure. Games on gamepass dont stay on gamepass forever. Now games by Microsoft studios ie. exclusives will stay on GP forever and are party of the service and are added to GP from Day 1 of release. It is truly insane value. I currently have Gamepass ultimate and LOVE IT. there's no downsides to this service it really is that good, thats why we all talking about it.

I believe, while I LOVE Sony PS, what separates Microsoft from Sony is that Microsoft are masters at structuring these kinds of deals with devs and other business partners and know how to bundle a good package for the customer. This is way too pro consumer to ignore and they continue to provide much much value.

Microsoft is going things right this new gen. They learned from their mistakes and following up with even better deals.

[S2Killinit]

They are doing the same thing they did last gen. With new PR.

[dcbronco]

If your game is on game pass you're making money. If you get a contract that gives you a percentage of the monthly fee and theh have 20 million subscribers the chances are you will make your develop cost back. With game pass it's like the entire subscriber group bought your game on sale. As opposed to the 1/2% of people who buy most games. Selling a million copies and sharing with publishers and retailers as well as paying for everything else that goes along with physical sales doesn't come close to the $60 asking price.

[ocelot07]

I only use gamepass for MS 1st party titles that interest me. Since it's still only £1 a month on pc.

I'll use the £1 offer when age of empires 3 comes out later in the month. 3rd party titles of they interest me I just buy day one on PS4/ps5.

If MS are happy to let me play there 1st party titles for £1 a month. Then am happy to continue to do it.

[Zeref]

Developers still get their moneys worth. It doesn't harm games at all.
They get paid up front and some of them get a percentage based on player base on top of that.

[CYALTR]

This is a very thoughtful and even handed look at both the benefits and the potential issues with subscription gaming services. I especially liked his points about the risk of monopolies in our current economic climate. There are pluses and minuses with any corporate strategy, but never forget, the point of ALL OF THEM is to make money for shareholders. "Gamer friendly" only goes as far as highest and profits takes it.

[senorfartcushion]

That's the one sad thing about this last few years. Profit has become more important to the wrong people. What are they going to do, drag the cash behind their coffins after they die?

[danny818]

I’m almost positive that these publishers have run all scenarios. I’m sure they get a small cut per download. Looks what happened to artist and the streaming industry

[franwex]

Some artists got discovered due to music streaming. Maybe maybe the same thing can happen to an indie developer.

[Sciurus_vulgaris]

Companies still expect people to buy their games. A first party AAA MS game selling 4 million units would generate 240 million. 15 million game pass users (paying $10 monthly) would generate 150 million revenue per month or 1.8 billion revenue per year. Hence gamepass subs are given discounts on titles to encourage them to purchase 3rd and 1st party games included with their subscription.

[morganfell]

I see what you are saying but the math needs clarification. One title makes $240 million. That user generated revenue of $150 million you listed has to be split among all the titles on game pass. If you are generous in an estimate and say out of 100 titles, 10 are garnering 60% of the downloads and for simplicity sake split those earnings evenly among the 10 titles that is $9 million a piece. $9 million doesn't cover the cost of development for a AAA title.

And this only applies if MS awards revenue based on their respective number of downloads. If they pay a flat fee then game pass becomes worth it for less popular titles because they are paid out of the earnings of more popular titles. In essence more popular titles are paying welfare for lesser ones. Hardly a Darwinian structure where the better games are rewarded.

[esherwood]

This is Microsoft’s way of getting people comfortable with micro transactions. I’d bet anything they got a 10 year plan or something to work them in more and more. Gamepass is just the Trojan horse. All the devs where saying how $60 isn’t enough for games anymore and now all of a sudden there’s a cheaper option?

[Bender6502]

I suspect if what you say is true, then GP will untimately fail.At least I hope so, because MTX aren't popular and I don't see them being any more popular on GP than any other service.

[esherwood]

Season passes and all that aren’t included in gamepass, I see there first party games getting more and more bare with paid content. Maybe I’m wrong but it’s weird $60 wasn’t enough at the beginning of this generation and now there’s a cheaper option

[Phoenix76]

I agree with you esher. GP is ultimately a trojan horse.
I can't remember who said it a few back (probably an EA ex) but line went something like "it's not about giving gamers what they want, but making them believe that this is what they need.
Ultimately (in the long run) GP only works in the favour of the company, not the consumer.

[esherwood]

I’ve always been an Xbox guy buy definitely don’t like the way there going. Maybe I’m old school but all these changes Phil’s making cost a ton of money and for a company like Microsoft to give him the green light they have a plan

[Traecy]

LOL!

[enkiduxiv]

Most of my criticisms of Microsoft have nothing to do with theit consoles and everything to do with GamePass and honestly it’s because they are offering so much value.

I just don’t trust the big monopoly to keep giving us everything we ever wanted for peanuts. To me, this model can’t work no matter how many subscriptions they get. Sooner or later the value has to go down in order for them to make money. I just hope Sony and Nintendo can weather the storm in the mean time.

[Bender6502]

You know, I wonder that too. Generally in life, if something sounds too good to be true, it usually is.
And GP, does seem too good to be true. However, while I'm looking for catch I'll be enjoying the cheap games and incredible value it currently offers. Though I suspect a price hike may make it less attractive. Then again, First party titles day one.. we'll see.

[Lexreborn2]

What makes people believe that a service like gamepass will accommodate every gamers desires is pretty silly. I’ve had Gamepass ultimate since it was announced. I’ve still purchased games outside of the service.

I still have humble bundle, PSNow and ps plus, yet I still bought day 1... the last of us 2, ghost of Tsushima, final fantasy 7 r, Avengers and Doom Eternal.

[Sciurus_vulgaris]

I recently didn’t renew my gamepass ultimate sub. Some of the 1st party games being added to the service I would rather own. And I don’t like renting 100 games a month that I most likely won’t play.

[Lexreborn2]

My sons are at the age where they will play anything. Learning their taste and the subs save me a ton of money letting them play games I normally wouldn’t buy.

So it’s again finding your balance and if for you it don’t work. Then simply it don’t work

[Bender6502]

I would hazzard a guess you buy games because you are a gamer. Great games get purchased regardless, but GP is useful for at least evaluating a game first. Least, that's what I think.

[jjb1981]

I really only use it to test games. I can't dedicate my time to Gamepass games. I've actually dodged a couple bullets because I was allowed to test them without buying them. The only reason I really care about Gamepass is for the MS "exclusives".

[blacktiger]

I paid $1 it was worth it

[FanboySpotter]

Concern trolling hardcore

[TheColbertinator]

Been good to me on PC. Thinking of keeping it there for this month.

[Father__Merrin]

I usually play multiple games over time if games are revolving in and out it wouldn't be for me. But at least 1st party titles remain on permanent

[DEEHULK88]

What a silly article. 🤦‍♂️

[Hedstrom]

If i would buy into the game pass wagon. I would never buy any game or DLC or season pass. Why would i buy it to a game i dont own? I dont think game pass is viable in the long run!

[Psychotica]

Love it on my PC. The ability to be able to try a PC game beyond the 2 hour limit that is on Steam makes it invaluable.

[S2Killinit]

It will lead terrible gaming practices both from consumers AND from developers.

[wiz7191]

I get his point but gamepass works for me for the simple fact I can get the chance to play games I wouldn’t be able to otherwise , it’s gives me the option to discover new games without risking losing money if the game is bad.

[Truplaya]

The amount of games I’ve played because of gamepass that I wouldn’t otherwise is huge. Some I couldn’t get into (wastelanders) and some I absolutely loved (SOR4 and overcooked). Some just saved me the full price like gears and forwa which I would have bought anyway. Plus rewards program means I don’t even pay for game pass so it’s a win win in my eyes. Gamepass is the reason I’m buying my son a series S for his birthday because he’ll have so many games to try

[Silly gameAr]

Gamepass definitely looks like a hell of a deal, until you think more long term. How does MS plan to make money? How do they plan to keep the 3rd parties happy enough to put their games on gamepass, especially with the cost of game development going up next gen?

Fans won't use common sense, because they want to see MS win so bad, and cheap gamers think it's a win because they can pay one price and play as much as they want, but these people have their eyes closed to the long term.

MS want to turn gaming into a service, and this is the first step to doing that. Get people hooked, and slowly make their bs plan into a reality.

[Nick_515]

Game pass seems good, but I would rather own games. Shoot, if it made sense, everything would be physical for me. Some games don't make sense, though