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[mejin]

new metric for gears? X billion bullets fired in launch week.

 

[JLB]

This is fantastic news for MS. It means that the strategy to shift its userbase to gamepass seems to be working.

 

[Hendrick's]

I love how some people are acting like physical isn't dead and that a Netflix like model for gaming isn't what everyone is chasing. Microsoft has a win here with Gears and Gamepass. I haven't bought a game in months, and have more than I would ever need to play. With Outer World's just around the corner, GP has some serious momentum going into the Holiday.

 

[mckmas8808]

I'm legit interested in how well the Gamepass model works for Microsoft. Is this going to be like that movie pass thing which eventually went bankrupt? I'm not good enough at figuring out financials to understand if things are working for a company or not, personally.

MoviePass is a GREAT comparison!! I'm equally as curious as you are. Everybody just assumes that this will be a success for Xbox without realizing that this version of Gamepass isn't the REAL version. Once everybody has to pay $10 - $15 a month, how successful will it be?

And that's what happened to MoviePass. Once they stopped during the one free movie a day deal, things started to fall apart.

Gamepass or not, the series has been losing momentum since judgement.

I wonder how much MS cares about this lose of momentum though.

I love how some people are acting like physical isn't dead and that a Netflix like model for gaming isn't what everyone is chasing. Microsoft has a win here with Gears and Gamepass. I haven't bought a game in months, and have more than I would ever need to play. With Outer World's just around the corner, GP has some serious momentum going into the Holiday.

You're going to have to explain how and why Sony and Nintendo aren't having this same issue first.

 

[Explosive Zombie]

MoviePass is a GREAT comparison!! I'm equally as curious as you are. Everybody just assumes that this will be a success for Xbox without realizing that this version of Gamepass isn't the REAL version. Once everybody has to pay $10 - $15 a month, how successful will it be?

And that's what happened to MoviePass. Once they stopped during the one free movie a day deal, things started to fall apart.



I wonder how much MS cares about this lose of momentum though.

People also are forgetting the Netflix comparison, where they continually up their price and reduce features, how soon before that's the story with Gamepass? If even the most ridiculously successful models like Netflix have to keep upping prices and are now even considering adding advertisements, lol.

 

[alabtrosMyster]

Game pass world? No, we are in a

I must be on some other planet, I have yet to meet someone who is on this.

 

[Fake]

We already have a metric for that: MAU

I love how some people are acting like physical isn't dead and that a Netflix like model for gaming isn't what everyone is chasing. Microsoft has a win here with Gears and Gamepass. I haven't bought a game in months, and have more than I would ever need to play. With Outer World's just around the corner, GP has some serious momentum going into the Holiday.

The problem is your post only works with 'Microsoft'. Both Sony and Nintendo sell physical very well.

If people don't like talking about physical sales so why tha hell post? Wait for a digital metric to show up and everyone will be happy.

 

[small_law]

speak for yourself, gears 5 is easily the best playing gears to date

i hate how nonfans just come out with things like "just let it die"... if it wasnt making money it would die dont worry, but its clearly still profitable so stfu and enjoy whatever you enjoy

I'm not the biggest Gears fan, admittedly. But I wasn't rooting for it to fail. Until now. Have fun.

 

[mejin]

We already have a metric for that: MAU

It doesn't work anymore cause Sony beat them at this too.

 

[Evilms]

 

[mckmas8808]

People also are forgetting the Netflix comparison, where they continually up their price and reduce features, how soon before that's the story with Gamepass? If even the most ridiculously successful models like Netflix have to keep upping prices and are now even considering adding advertisements, lol.

Exactly! And what's the price MS will have to hit before GamePass actually becomes profitable?

 

[iamvin22]

I'm legit interested in how well the Gamepass model works for Microsoft. Is this going to be like that movie pass thing which eventually went bankrupt? I'm not good enough at figuring out financials to understand if things are working for a company or not, personally.

Microsoft, I'm more interested in how it works for the developers. I bought gears 5 physical because I want to support the the dev. I really don't see how gamepass helps the developers at the end of the day.

If someone can come out with factual proof that it helps the devs then I'll sub to it.

 

[JLB]

We already have a metric for that: MAU

The problem is your post only works with 'Microsoft'. Both Sony and Nintendo sell physical very well.

If people don't like talking about physical sales so why tha hell post? Wait for a digital metric to show up and everyone will be happy.

If a gamepass like service would be available on ps and switch, id happen the same thing. And yes, i know that psnow exists. But does not offer the same value of gp.
Having a constant, predictable flow of revenue like the one that gp or netflix or prime offers is music for corporate ears.

 

[CeeJay]

Microsoft, I'm more interested in how it works for the developers. I bought gears 5 physical because I want to support the the dev. I really don't see how gamepass helps the developers at the end of the day.

If someone can come out with factual proof that it helps the devs then I'll sub to it.

When you buy a game published by Microsoft the money goes to Microsoft not directly to The Coallition
When you play a game through Gamepass the subscription money goes to Microsoft not directly to the Coallition

In both cases there are KPIs that will show Microsoft just how popular their game is that could lead to more less investment in the studio. To you it may appear to be a huge difference in how you pay for the games you play but for the developer it probably doesn't make much difference as in neither case do they directly receive the revenue from the sales.

 

[PaNaMa]

I think about this from a retail shelves perspective tho, and how the relationship between Micrsosoft and the Retailers will be affected by Gamepass. The more Gamepass succeeds, by definition, the less Xbox titles people will be buying in stores. So if I own a store, and I see no one is buying xbox games anymore, then I start cutting my orders. With less Xbox foot traffic in my stores, maybe I stock less Xbox games, fewer xbox peripherals, console SKUs etc. I'll continue to load up my shelf space with Sony and Nintendo products, as their players are always in my store buying games and asking for things. I mean we already see EB Games/Gamestop feeling the pinch of Digital options, but Gamepass really crams it down retailers throats. I can't help but wonder if MS could be torpedoing their relationship with some big stores, and I wonder how eager they will all be to promote Scarlett vs PS5 when the time comes....

 

[JLB]

Microsoft, I'm more interested in how it works for the developers. I bought gears 5 physical because I want to support the the dev. I really don't see how gamepass helps the developers at the end of the day.

If someone can come out with factual proof that it helps the devs then I'll sub to it.

In the very specifi case of gears, it makes no sense. The coallition is a MS studio, thus all the money, one way or the other goes to the same bag.

 

[JLB]

I think about this from a retail shelves perspective tho, and how the relationship between Micrsosoft and the Retailers will be affected by Gamepass. The more Gamepass succeeds, by definition, the less Xbox titles people will be buying in stores. So if I own a store, and I see no one is buying xbox games anymore, then I start cutting my orders. With less Xbox foot traffic in my stores, maybe I stock less Xbox games, fewer xbox peripherals, console SKUs etc. I'll continue to load up my shelf space with Sony and Nintendo products, as their players are always in my store buying games and asking for things. I mean we already see EB Games/Gamestop feeling the pinch of Digital options, but Gamepass really crams it down retailers throats. I can't help but wonder if MS could be torpedoing their relationship with some big stores, and I wonder how eager they will all be to promote Scarlett vs PS5 when the time comes....

This is a reasoble concern. Yet, traditional retail stores like gamestop were doomed way before gp. They are going full speed through blockbuster route.

 

[CuteFaceJay]

I'm an all digital xbox and Switch so I believe this. Can't remember the last time I walked into a game store I think it was in 2013 to pick up GTA V on the 360.

 

[Slings and Arrows]

All according to plan.

Why buy a game when I can get games for £1 a month from gamepass?

Why buy a PlayStation 5 and games, when I can buy an Xbox scarlett and carry on my game pass + BC.

I can see gamepass keeping people in the Microsoft ecosystem long enough to push more people in to buying an Xbox next gen.

 

[Max_Po]

But what about Forbes article? Gears > Uncharted .....they don't have interzweb there ? Geez

 

[Dabaus]

Lets say a sizable portion of the xbox user base has gamespass, and because of that they buy less retail games, as we see with gears 5. Where does that leave third party developers whose day one games are not on games pass? If the xbox fanbase is being conditioned not to purchase games any longer Because they have a large backlog on gamespass, then wont third party devs become more dependent on playstation and pc sales? How does that help Microsoft?

 

[JLB]

All according to plan.

Why buy a game when I can get games for £1 a month from gamepass?

Why buy a PlayStation 5 and games, when I can buy an Xbox scarlett and carry on my game pass + BC.

I can see gamepass keeping people in the Microsoft ecosystem long enough to push more people in to buying an Xbox next gen.

Yep, exactly what I think.

 

[Vawn]

Is there any particular reason here with your recent behavior / about you re becoming hostile toward me ?

We used to be on the same side ( playstation camp) in case you ve forgotten

It's nothing personal, I respond to comments without really even checking who the poster is. I just thought it was odd that you were bragging about pointing out something pretty obvious.

Also, I'm a bit cranky today.

 

[JLB]

Lets say a sizable portion of the xbox user base has gamespass, and because of that they buy less retail games, as we see with gears 5. Where does that leave third party developers whose day one games are not on games pass? If the xbox fanbase is being conditioned not to purchase games any longer Because they have a large backlog on gamespass, then wont third party devs become more dependent on playstation and pc sales? How does that help Microsoft?

Games not in GP are not affected by GP presence. At least not directly. Say, once GTA 6 is released, Ill buy it, even though Im subd to GPU.
Now, if the current flow of quality games released on GP keeps the same pace, some people will wonder why to buy other games at all, since GP offers more than enough.
Casuals and new gamers could easily get tempted to jump on Xbox ecosystem, since they would just pay 15 bucks a month and have a catalog 10 times bigger than the one offered by the competition, at the same cost.

 

[scalman]

Seems like its no stem no problem at all on pc.

 

[mejin]

Lets say a sizable portion of the xbox user base has gamespass, and because of that they buy less retail games, as we see with gears 5. Where does that leave third party developers whose day one games are not on games pass? If the xbox fanbase is being conditioned not to purchase games any longer Because they have a large backlog on gamespass, then wont third party devs become more dependent on playstation and pc sales? How does that help Microsoft?

Sales will start to plummet because the community know if they wait for 5, 6 months said game will be available at gamepass or they will have enough backlog to wait for promos, no need to pay full price at launch (unless it is something really, really, really special). Developers will be more inclined to get DAT money from Epic on pc and so on. Anyone wondering why japanese developers won't launch their games on xbox specially at gamepass, should think harder.

Gamepass is not an option service, it is the main attraction for MS.

 

[Dabaus]

Casuals and new gamers could easily get tempted to jump on Xbox ecosystem, since they would just pays 15 bucks a month and have a catalog 10 times bigger than the one offered by the competition, at the same cos

What im saying is, as gamespass backlog gets larger, people signed up to it will have less incentive to buy new game releases. Third parties that are not there day one will increasingly be looking to pick up the slack on other platforms. Keep in mind third parties like EA, Ubisoft, and soon to be Square do not put games on gamepass and will not because they have streaming services of their own. Japanese games already sell abysmally may to continue to avoid the platform altogether. So long term, if this is the trend, third parties are going to going to playstation and PC to receive the bulk of their sales. Gamespass seems to only have one beneficiary, that being MS, everyone else be damned.

 

[xrnzaaas]

I love how some people are acting like physical isn't dead

Because it's not for Sony and Nintendo systems.

Why buy a PlayStation 5 and games, when I can buy an Xbox scarlett and carry on my game pass + BC.

I can see gamepass keeping people in the Microsoft ecosystem long enough to push more people in to buying an Xbox next gen.

I don't think there's going to be a huge change when next-gen arrives. People using Xbox as their primary console will continue to do so and same for Sony. Gaining/losing users will ultimately be about the same things - price-performance ratios of the consoles and their exclusives.

 

[Fake]

All according to plan.

Why buy a game when I can get games for £1 a month from gamepass?

Why buy a PlayStation 5 and games, when I can buy an Xbox scarlett and carry on my game pass + BC.

I can see gamepass keeping people in the Microsoft ecosystem long enough to push more people in to buying an Xbox next gen.

You really don't know what are you talking about...
Why people will buy Xbox Next Gen if they can use gamepass on PC? Even if people don't use gamepass they can buy the same game on PC as well. Don't make any blood sense.

It doesn't work anymore cause Sony beat them at this too.

For people comparing Netflix to gaming everything is possible.

 

[gatti-man]

Microsoft need to rest their main IP's (Halo and Gears) for a few years. They should allow The Coalition and 343 to make different games or new IP's... expand their portfolio.

I think it’s more that these games aren’t that good. Make games people want to play, take chances. Both halo and gears 4/5 felt like ultra safe trend chasing derivative stuff. Nothing was edgy or unique.

 

[DanielsM]

The one guy is asking about "profits".

Neither PS Now or Xbox Game Pass generate any real revenue by themselves that we can see from the numbers, which is why Sony continues to reset their free trials and has offered it as low as $69.99 a year, and Microsoft kept giving away free months and offering the $1 deal. Last quarter Microsoft did see a big uptick in subscription revenue but that was probably because people were extending the Game Pass deal by extending their XBL Gold subscription. Neither Sony or Microsoft give individual profit numbers on their subscription services, heck, Microsoft doesn't even give a profit/loss statement on their Gaming products/services let alone an individual services.

XBL Gold and PS Plus generate a ton of revenue, PS Now and probably Game Pass not so much. These are money losers.

Whoever is doing these rental andor streaming services have a very long road ahead. A game like even Spider-Man which doesn't even have a MP component will probably have 20 times the revenue of Game Pass and PS Now combined over a year or two. I remain suspect there a viable business model exists as far as streaming and a new game rental service into a big package like Netflix can exist.

Microsoft is about to see a whopper of a drop in gaming revenue going forward, huge. Phil is going to have to ask Uncle Satya for much more money. What Microsoft is going to find out is.... gaming is very cheap.... the only way the shift the consumer to rental/streaming services is to go much lower on prices.... all they have to do is ask Sony.

 

[Dabaus]

The one guy is asking about "profits".

Neither PS Now or Xbox Game Pass generate any real revenue by themselves that we can see from the numbers, which is why Sony continues to reset their free trials and has offered it as low as $69.99 a year, and Microsoft kept giving away free months and offering the $1 deal. Last quarter Microsoft did see a big uptick in subscription revenue but that was probably because people were extending the Game Pass deal by extending their XBL Gold subscription. Neither Sony or Microsoft give individual profit numbers on their subscription services, heck, Microsoft doesn't even give a profit/loss statement on their Gaming products/services let alone an individual services.

XBL Gold and PS Plus generate a ton of revenue, PS Now and probably Game Pass not so much. These are money losers.

Whoever is doing these rental andor streaming services have a very long road ahead. A game like even Spider-Man which doesn't even have a MP component will probably have 20 times the revenue of Game Pass and PS Now combined over a year or two. I remain suspect there a viable business model exists as far as streaming and a new game rental service into a big package like Netflix can exist.

Microsoft is about to see a whopper of a drop in gaming revenue going forward, huge. Phil is going to have to ask Uncle Satya for much more money. What Microsoft is going to find out is.... gaming is very cheap.... the only way the shift the consumer to rental/streaming services is to go much lower on prices.... all they have to do is ask Sony.

I agree 100 percent with what your saying, however MS may not see a large drop in revenue because the launch of the new minecraft may mask those numbers. The entire xbox division is running on fumes but that is hidden because mincraft is such a cash cow.

 

[GHG]

This is fantastic news for MS. It means that the strategy to shift its userbase to gamepass seems to be working.

And then what? What's the end-game?

Fill the games with microtransactions and lootboxes? Gradually increase the price for subscribers? Decrease the amount that non-first party games can make from being on the service?

I'm all for anything that is great value for us on the consumer level, which gamepass currently is, but there are also many reasons to be cautious about this from the point of view of sustainability.

If the first party games continue to sell like this and (if) it eventually spreads to third party games on the service then what will the end result be?

 

[DanielsM]

I agree 100 percent with what your saying, however MS may not see a large drop in revenue because the launch of the new minecraft may mask those numbers. The entire xbox division is running on fumes but that is hidden because mincraft is such a cash cow.

Microsoft had a 10% yoy drop in revenue last quarter in Gaming, I'm expecting a much larger drop this quarter 15-30%. They recognized XBLG revenue years out with the Game Pass deal, so service revenue is about to tank as well... as they pulled future demand to the present. I would not be surprised by Microsoft selling as low as 4m Xbox units this year.

From what I can tell... all they did was pull in Xbox whales for 2-3 years out on XBLG, they now need someone to pay the bill - so they need new paying customers at some point.

I remain very suspect on any of these streaming/rental models..... games are mostly front loaded on the revenue front.

 

[joe_zazen]

I'm one of those who is inclined to believe that Gamepass will be a long term negative for the industry. I am having a hard time seeing how MS will be able to sustain high first party development costs with it and provide 3rd party games to it over the long run.
I think MS made a huge mistake opening up Day 1 availability for 1st party games. There is no going back from it. What I fear will happen is that 1st party development will suffer drastically as new games will need to be put out quickly and quality will suffer and developers will become lazy. Gamepass had a place and is excellent to put older games on and is an absolutely perfect gift for Xmas.

I bought two additional years of Xbox Live Gold for like $80 and spent the $1 to have all of that converted to Xbox Ultimate so I am no doubt going to enjoy playing MS 1st party games for the next 2+ years. I can't complain that I got something good out of it already. How many of the current subscribers took advantage of it and how many will stay on the service once the mega deal ends? WHo knows?

It is a way to get market share and hurt the competition. They don't care about short/med term profits right now. What they want is for people to,start expecting free first party games and not choosing sony/nintendo because of it.

But i agree it will hurt gaming because the best products are the ones people are willing to pay for, and the more up front they are asking the consumer to pay, the better the product has to be. This is true with regard to cars, TV shows, whatever. I dont want a world where games are only ever worth $2 or free.

 

[demigod]

so how many ways can you guys spin it some more that gamepass is a bad thing?
very rare to actually go into a physical game store these days ..there is a reason gamestop and many bricks and mortar sellers are moving onto other things as physical media is dying...and very fast

Only xbox fans like you could spin gamepass into a good thing. It might be good for you now but it might end up being worse in the long run. What happens when AAA games doesn't make any profit? They will end up making cheap AA games for gamepass or end up being closed down.

Also I have some good news for you, you don't even have to set foot into a physical game store to buy physical games .

 

[Dabaus]

Microsoft had a 10% yoy drop in revenue last quarter, I'm expecting a much larger drop this quarter 15-30%. They recognized XBLG revenue years out with the Game Pass deal, so service revenue is about to tank as well... as they pulled future demand to the present. I would not be surprised by Microsoft selling as low as 4m Xbox units this year.

I think their hardware sales will be down dramatically, probably selling less the 4 million all year, but with minecraft being the cash cow that it is, may mask the otherwise dismal results of the xbox division. The dioblo knockoff minecraft is what im referring to.

It is a way to get market share and hurt the competition. They don't care about short/med term profits right now. What they want is for people to,start expecting free first party games and not choosing sony because of it.

But i agree it will hurt gaming because the best products are the ones people are willing to pay for, and the more up front they are asking the consumer to pay, the better the product has to be. This is true with regard to cars, TV shows, whatever. I dont want a world where games are only ever worth $2 or free.

My question is if these gamepass subscribers stop purchasing games day one and instead use only games pass, where does that leave third parties? Wouldnt sales of their games see a drop on the xbox ecosystem because a large portion of the base no longer buys games? Wouldnt that in turn lead third parties to lean more heavily on playstation and PC/epic? Hw does THAT help xbox long term?

 

[Lionel Richie]

All according to plan.

Why buy a game when I can get games for £1 a month from gamepass?

Why buy a PlayStation 5 and games, when I can buy an Xbox scarlett and carry on my game pass + BC.

I can see gamepass keeping people in the Microsoft ecosystem long enough to push more people in to buying an Xbox next gen.

If that's the plan then that's a terrible plan. We don't know if gamepass is going to profitable when you have to launch at least 2 AAA games for it each year, we don't know if people would buy hardware just to use that service, and we don't know what Sony will do. If MS is putting all of their eggs on the gamepass basket, it could go south FAST.

 

[JimmyRustler]

Baffling... I thought everyone and their sister is running to buy this game now that it has a strong female main character.

 

[Dabaus]

Baffling... I thought everyone and their sister is running to buy this game now that it has a strong female main character.

Not sure if sarcasm but im willing to bet it turned alot of traditional fans off solely for that reason.

 

[Sosokrates]

It's not a bad week launch, it's just that it's was available day 1 on game pass, gears 4 was not.

I bet player count is higher for gears 5.

 

[joe_zazen]

I think their hardware sales will be down dramatically, probably selling less the 4 million all year, but with minecraft being the cash cow that it is, may mask the otherwise dismal results of the xbox division. The dioblo knockoff minecraft is what im referring to.



My question is if these gamepass subscribers stop purchasing games day one and instead use only games pass, where does that leave third parties? Wouldnt sales of their games see a drop on the xbox ecosystem because a large portion of the base no longer buys games? Wouldnt that in turn lead third parties to lean more heavily on playstation and PC/epic? Hw does THAT help xbox long term?

If you train your customers to expect to spend nothing for your products, then that is what they will do. Mobile gaming is shit because nobody there is willing to buy products upfront. Console gaming is superior because the audience is willing to pay for premium product. But that is not something that is always going to be the case.

Long term for xbox, if they become THE de facto non-mobile gaming platform, they will make a lot of money the same way apple does on their gaming plat, 30% of every micro-transaction.

And I dont think it is such a crazy notion. They have minecraft and now a bunch of new studios and a cheap as fuck sub program. While epic is doing all it can to kill steam. In ten years, i can see MS being the king of non-mobile gaming.

 

[Slings and Arrows]

I don't think there's going to be a huge change when next-gen arrives. People using Xbox as their primary console will continue to do so and same for Sony. Gaining/losing users will ultimately be about the same things - price-performance ratios of the consoles and their exclusives.

You're exactly right; it is all about price and performance. If a customer can buy an Xbox, which is roughly the same performance of the PS5, for less money, with a launch line-up of 250+ games, all for free, that puts the Xbox at an immediate advantage.

You really don't know what are you talking about...
Why people will buy Xbox Next Gen if they can use gamepass on PC? Even if people don't use gamepass they can buy the same game on PC as well. Don't make any blood sense.

For people comparing Netflix to gaming everything is possible.

I think you're confusing things here. Not every PC user has an Xbox and visa versa. Some people have a PC and an Xbox, to which buying next-gen Xbox makes more sense, as they can share their library and saves, across two platforms, rather than one.

It's all speculation until we see the hard numbers and boldly claiming I don't know what i'm talking about, without being able to produce any evidence yourself, makes you look foolish and a little bit arrogant.

If that's the plan then that's a terrible plan. We don't know if gamepass is going to profitable when you have to launch at least 2 AAA games for it each year, we don't know if people would buy hardware just to use that service, and we don't know what Sony will do. If MS is putting all of their eggs on the gamepass basket, it could go south FAST.

Possibly. I bought an X because of gamepass. A library of 250+ games, running at 4k, for - at the time - £40 a year seemed like a no-brainer. Even though I prefer the PlayStation games and the playstation platform this gen, when it came to decide between X or Pro, it was a simple decision.

I remember when XBLG first launched and Microsoft were releasing heavy-hitters everymonth and people raised the same question you do now "how will they make money if they give games away for free?". How many console makers + PC storefronts now give games away for free?

IMO I don't see how game pass would make any money for Microsoft. However, I've watched Microsoft for decades and they have a unique knack of pigs-ear out of things - Kinect, Always online, HD-DVD - as well as changing the industry - OG Xbox using PC parts, Xbox live, BC. While it may not make sense to me, I do sense, that they are on to a winner here.

Time will tell

Edit: to add a point to all three posters; Gamepass is cheap now, but once customers are locked in an eco-system, or one that they come to rely on for convenience, they will not move on. This has been proven time and time again across all industries; offer a free trial, knowing most people won't cancel when the bills starts (Amazon, NowTV, Netflix).

Gamepass could become more expensive next gen, or Microsoft may add new tiers, we do not know what the future holds. One thing is for certain though, if you want to boil a frog, you don't throw it in to a pan of boiling water. You place it in cold water and adjust the temperature slowly.

 

[joe_zazen]

You're exactly right; it is all about price and performance. If a customer can buy an Xbox, which is roughly the same performance of the PS5, for less money, with a launch line-up of 250+ games, all for free, that puts the Xbox at an immediate advantage.



I think you're confusing things here. Not every PC user has an Xbox and visa versa. Some people have a PC and an Xbox, to which buying next-gen Xbox makes more sense, as they can share their library and saves, across two platforms, rather than one.

It's all speculation until we see the hard numbers and boldly claiming I don't know what i'm talking about, without being able to produce any evidence yourself, makes you look foolish and a little bit arrogant.



Possibly. I bought an X because of gamepass. A library of 250+ games, running at 4k, for - at the time - £40 a year seemed like a no-brainer. Even though I prefer the PlayStation games and the playstation platform this gen, when it came to decide between X or Pro, it was a simple decision.

I remember when XBLG first launched and Microsoft were releasing heavy-hitters everymonth and people raised the same question you do now "how will they make money if they give games away for free?". How many console makers + PC storefronts now give games away for free?

IMO I don't see how game pass would make any money for Microsoft. However, I've watched Microsoft for decades and they have a unique knack of pigs-ear out of things - Kinect, Always online, HD-DVD - as well as changing the industry - OG Xbox using PC parts, Xbox live, BC. While it may not make sense to me, I do sense, that they are on to a winner here.

Time will tell

So you now expect 250 plus free games and all first party games for free when you buy a console.

we are now seeing the mobile-ization if console gsmers. Lol. This hobby will suck like mobile in ten years if people stop buying full priced retail.

 

[JimmyRustler]

Not sure if sarcasm but im willing to bet it turned alot of traditional fans off solely for that reason.

Of course it was sarcasm. And yes, of course it turned off many fans.

Like, I really don't get this crap. If they think this typical meathead stuff is obsolete, fine. But let it fucking rest then. Do not swap the genders of the main characters and then expect everyone to be ok with it. What the hell? It's like they'd to a new Commando movie but instead of a Schwarzenegger meathead you'd get a petite female acting like the badass that Schwarzenegger was. And then lo and behold, no one wants to see this shit. I wonder why.

 

[Northeastmonk]

It took $2 to play Gears 5. That was $2 and the campaign was finished before it actually launched. In my mind I wonder if the development team would get the same amount of money as say Epic did when they shipped their games. How do they make bonuses and so forth? I was wondering how well Borderlands 3 would have sold had they started with GamePass first. I bought Gears 5 digitally too, just in case I don't keep the GamePass sub.

A part of me feels like The Coalition isn't making as much as Epic did on this franchise.

 

[JLB]

And then what? What's the end-game?

Fill the games with microtransactions and lootboxes? Gradually increase the price for subscribers? Decrease the amount that non-first party games can make from being on the service?

I'm all for anything that is great value for us on the consumer level, which gamepass currently is, but there are also many reasons to be cautious about this from the point of view of sustainability.

If the first party games continue to sell like this and (if) it eventually spreads to third party games on the service then what will the end result be?

The end game? To have millions of users paying usd15 + taxes per month.
Regarding the rest of things you mentioned...who knows? I cant do futurology.

 

[Dabaus]

Of course it was sarcasm. And yes, of course it turned off many fans.

Like, I really don't get this crap. If they think this typical meathead stuff is obsolete, fine. But let it fucking rest then. Do not swap the genders of the main characters and then expect everyone to be ok with it. What the hell? It's like they'd to a new Commando movie but instead of a Schwarzenegger meathead you'd get a petite female acting like the badass that Schwarzenegger was. And then lo and behold, no one wants to see this shit. I wonder why.

Kind of like the new terminator movie? Which also bombed?

 

[Slings and Arrows]

So you now expect 250 plus free games and all first party games for free when you buy a console.

we are now seeing the mobile-ization if console gsmers. Lol. This hobby will suck like mobile in ten years if people stop buying full priced retail.

I don't agree. I think gamepass will allow the resurgence of B-tier games that have littered our fondest memories and tinted our spectacles with Rose for the last few decades.

I have found some of my favourite games this gen on Gamepass. Not ones that will have the budget, marketing or play-base of the AAA games, but those who bring something to gaming that is unique. Slay the Spire, Battlechasers, KCD and For the King are chalming games I would have never tried without gamepass.

If these developers see a swell of support, and the increase in budget that often comes with it, we could see some truly unique games.

If console gaming does become mobile-ised, it will be seen in the AAA MTX/Lootbox whale hunting that we often see in mobile games. Where as the lower-budget titles will only have the luxury of focusing on what matters; Gameplay.

 

[JLB]

What im saying is, as gamespass backlog gets larger, people signed up to it will have less incentive to buy new game releases. Third parties that are not there day one will increasingly be looking to pick up the slack on other platforms. Keep in mind third parties like EA, Ubisoft, and soon to be Square do not put games on gamepass and will not because they have streaming services of their own. Japanese games already sell abysmally may to continue to avoid the platform altogether. So long term, if this is the trend, third parties are going to going to playstation and PC to receive the bulk of their sales. Gamespass seems to only have one beneficiary, that being MS, everyone else be damned.

Maybe, cant say with certainty. But TBH I dont care which corporation gets the best part of this model. While I get 200 games plus multiplayer online for 15 bucks, thats their problem.