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PlayStation says it doesn’t think game subscriptions will dominate like Netflix and Spotify (VCG)

MikeM

Member
While I have GamePass and PSNow, I don’t use them all that much. I am seeing that i’d much prefer pay more and get exactly what I want, rather then pay a sub service and hope some games on there in the future will excite me. Basically, day 1 releases of certain games are all I care for on GP.
 

MonarchJT

Banned
Won’t stop 3rd parties dropping their content on there early. Truth be told, that aspect itself may actually end up bolstering the sonypass option beyond gamepass if sony can get some deals locked up. Couldn’t care less myself personally tho.
I'm sure all third party games will release day one on the service /s...just like gamepass where Ms is throwing a fuckton more money than Sony you see sparse releases and is for this reason that Ms now have 30+ studios because their service need those day one release to excite people. Is smart to say that is very VERY likely that ps+ will receive old games and rarely some release (probably indie)
 
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Swift_Star

Banned
I'm sure all third party games will release day one on the service /s...just like gamepass where Ms is throwing a fuckton more money than Sony you see sparse releases and is for this reason that Ms now have 30+ studios because their service need those day one release to excite people. Is smart to say that is very VERY likely that ps+ will receive old games and rarely some release (probably indie)
Literally you while writing that:
GIF by Brett Eldredge
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Beg Please GIF by Harlem
 

Coney

Member
Yet MS has also missed their projected target for Game Pass. So it was not as successful as they thought their other services in the timeframe they had hoped... at the moment, and have been seeding that Game Pass is not the only option again.

It has been a slow increase, and why are you asking the gaming market leader to follow 3rd place? That makes no sense. He said said the door is left open because "things can change." That is all he needs to say. PS gamers still buy games in the truckloads. Their focus will be also on GAAS, a much more profitable revenue generator if successful. Hence the Bungie acquisition.
I think it would be more important to use that as a debate of missing projected targets over a longer period of time. We were in peak pandemic in 2020.

Sony is already following 3rd place. They've emulated much of what Microsoft has done since the original Xbox. This is nothing new. All companies take inspiration from each other, though. Sony isn't the only one guilty of this. People will buy their games, yes, but they see the writing on the wall and aren't prepared to give up their 1st place position, because they would if they stayed complacent with their strategy.
 

Swift_Star

Banned
I think it would be more important to use that as a debate of missing projected targets over a longer period of time. We were in peak pandemic in 2020.

Sony is already following 3rd place. They've emulated much of what Microsoft has done since the original Xbox. This is nothing new. All companies take inspiration from each other, though. Sony isn't the only one guilty of this. People will buy their games, yes, but they see the writing on the wall and aren't prepared to give up their 1st place position, because they would if they stayed complacent with their strategy.
Pandemic is the period where these subscriptions made more sense though.
And Sony is not following third place, they’re merging existent services, both existed way before GP existed.
 

DeepEnigma

Gold Member
I’m a primarily PS user, but FPS boost on Xbox is no joke. I buy a lot of older games when they go on sale on there.
Not discounting that, at all.

I am only pointing out the flip flopping based on war narratives. "Do we like "old games" or nah?" "So new games are the hotness?" "Depends on the weather today, sir."
 
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MikeM

Member
Not discounting that, at all.

I am only pointing out the flip flopping based on war narratives. "Do we like "old games" or nah?" "So new games are the hotness?" "Depends on the weather today, sir."
Yeah I get it. I fall into the “all of the above” option though.
 

DeepEnigma

Gold Member
aha, and when was spencer saying the opposite of that?
When did I say he said the opposite? It was just never mentioned for a focus (if at all) the past several years, but unironically, it was mentioned a week before these numbers came out, and mentioned after they missed their target growth they hoped to achieve, in a pandemic to boot.

It's viable, here to stay, but not the end all be all people are propping them up to be.
 
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Coney

Member
Pandemic is the period where these subscriptions made more sense though.
And Sony is not following third place, they’re merging existent services, both existed way before GP existed.
I see what you're saying, but it's also a huge contributing factor of why there was such a surge of subscribers in the first place, so they missed their goal based on those generous expectations if that makes sense. It doesn't mean they aren't preforming well by missing their target. That's why I think more time is necessary to get a better understanding of where things are going.
 

reksveks

Member
I see what you're saying, but it's also a huge contributing factor of why there was such a surge of subscribers in the first place, so they missed their goal based on those generous expectations if that makes sense. It doesn't mean they aren't preforming well by missing their target. That's why I think more time is necessary to get a better understanding of where things are going.
We are also looking at CEO bonus goals, which in theory should be a stretch. They also missed other targets as well.
 

DaGwaphics

Member
I see what you're saying, but it's also a huge contributing factor of why there was such a surge of subscribers in the first place, so they missed their goal based on those generous expectations if that makes sense. It doesn't mean they aren't preforming well by missing their target. That's why I think more time is necessary to get a better understanding of where things are going.

Absolutely, they've put almost $80b into this venture just over the last couple years and we haven't really started to feel that in the service just yet.

The weirdest strawman with these discussions is the idea that one direction is explicitly right and the other wrong. GP can thrive and be a huge win for MS WHILE the traditional model moves on unbothered. It's not a either or. Subscriptions are nothing to fear, they could even offer a safe haven for unique experiences. This is never more true than if the "blockbusterization" of gaming continues at the current pace. When you have 10 or 15 games sucking up the majority of player time and money, the subscriptions might be a lifeline for different kinds of ideas.

More on topic, it will be interesting to see where Sony goes with their services. With almost 70% of their users paying annually, the PS4/5 download library is basically a $40/yr sub. How far can they stretch that, what kind of quality and variety they can provide, etc? Also, we don't know if the starting library is distinctly different from the existing PSNow library, or is this more of a rolling transition.
 
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coffinbirth

Member
Not discounting that, at all.

I am only pointing out the flip flopping based on war narratives. "Do we like "old games" or nah?" "So new games are the hotness?" "Depends on the weather today, sir."
To me it's the glaring issue that despite spending ungodly amounts of money on PS1 & PS2 Classics and PSP games on THE SAME ACCOUNT, they are now asking me to rent some of them and not give me access to most of them, it's total half-baked bullshit...and that goes without mentioning that my physical games aren't compatible either. Xbox has this covered.
 

DeepEnigma

Gold Member
To me it's the glaring issue that despite spending ungodly amounts of money on PS1 & PS2 Classics and PSP games on THE SAME ACCOUNT, they are now asking me to rent some of them and not give me access to most of them, it's total half-baked bullshit...and that goes without mentioning that my physical games aren't compatible either. Xbox has this covered.
I agree.
 

Shmunter

Member
I'm sure all third party games will release day one on the service /s...just like gamepass where Ms is throwing a fuckton more money than Sony you see sparse releases and is for this reason that Ms now have 30+ studios because their service need those day one release to excite people. Is smart to say that is very VERY likely that ps+ will receive old games and rarely some release (probably indie)
The amount needing to be paid is directly proportional to the expected losses in sales. Larger install base and access to other intangible perks that only a leading console giant potentially commands can alter the deal. See where it lands.
 

MonarchJT

Banned
The amount needing to be paid is directly proportional to the expected losses in sales. Larger install base and access to other intangible perks that only a leading console giant potentially commands can alter the deal. See where it lands.
this is not PS4 gen...the install base will grow in proportion to the availability of consoles, surely there will be markets where the PlayStation will dominate but these markets are unfortunately the least interesting ones for AAA studios we usually talk about here on neogaf. In short ... it is unlikely that games like a new FARCRY will release these big titles on day one on the service ...They are not doing it with Ms money and a huge growth service like gamepass and they will not do it on Sony's.
Obviously none of us know for sure how it will turn out we will see
 
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Sw0pDiller

Member
i think digital is the way forward but ifyou can still buy these games on another channel there is no "need" to get any kind of subscribtion unless they make it ultra cheap or something. series and shows on netflix are netflix only (not looking a illigal downloads) so if i want to see there shows i need a subscription. this need is not yet here...
 

zedinen

Member
Subscription video-game services face an uphill battle, repeating Netflix's playbook.

220 million subscribers, benefits from economies of scale ... and still doesn't work.

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