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[12Dannu123]

With the announcement of Game Pass support coming to XCloud and expanding the platform to PC, Android, IOS and eventually TVs, they are also supporting as many controllers as possible and also willing to take losses in revenue and profit to grow the service. I think this all shows that Game Pass will VERY likely become the defacto Gaming subscription service.

Why?

• Putting their First party on the service day 1
• Having all indies and third parties release their best and newish games on GP
• Supporting all platforms available.
• Willing to take losses to grow the service
• Has the partnerships to have Game Pass preinstalled on millions of devices. (Samsung x Microsoft partnership)
• Expanding to regions where Consoles are low adoption but have the infrastructure available (India)
• Having a potentially $299 Next-Gen Console to get early adopters onto Game Pass

This type of business model is sustainable for Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Apple, Facebook etc since they are large enough to absorb the losses. However, for much smaller companies like Sony, Nintendo, Square, EA and Activision, this business model is very hard to transition because it requires big losses the immediate term to sustain and it's questionable if they can all survive the transition without making that lost money through micro-transactions, MTXs etc.

This is why I think Microsoft will likely become the defacto Subscription Gaming service and this will extend into Game Streaming as well.

Sony needs to release their games Day 1 and aggressively invest in third party and indies to actually get PS Now off the ground. Sony cut the price of PS Now and as a result of this cut half of the games being released on PS Now, the service doesn't get indie releases day 1.

The way things are going, in order for Sony to effectively compete they will need to be in big losses in profit and revenue to get PS Now off the ground, their current strategy of releasing old games years later and not investing in indies and third parties is certainly not working. I'm not sure Sony can survive with this type of environment as they will have to go against a company that is all in Xbox and is willing to lose billions to dominate this market.

 

[Gargus]

I always said Microsoft should just stick to games and software. The one thing they have been successful at has nothing to do with the xbox itself. Their hardware is never anything special, they never have anything really compelling regarding exclusive games for said hardware, etc. They should just run game pass and publish/develop games for their game pass platform and other systems.

Sega quit hardware and their company only got better. Microsoft is essentially the new Sega in the console scene. They scream and yell about how awesome their hardware is meanwhile all their competition passes them up and they are left with nothing but software.

 

[PropellerEar]

PS+ is the defacto XboxGold.
If and when Sony feels the need to take over that area too it just will.
Their IP is so much ahead of MSFT's offer of mediocre games.

 

[12Dannu123]

I always said Microsoft should just stick to games and software. The one thing they have been successful at has nothing to do with the xbox itself. Their hardware is never anything special, they never have anything really compelling regarding exclusive games for said hardware, etc. They should just run game pass and publish/develop games for their game pass platform and other systems.

Sega quit hardware and their company only got better. Microsoft is essentially the new Sega in the console scene. They scream and yell about how awesome their hardware is meanwhile all their competition passes them up and they are left with nothing but software.

Consoles to Microsoft are merely touchpoints for users to access Game Pass. That's basically what it is. Hence why there's Lockhart being released. Microsoft gives no shit about holding back next gen, if they are able to get millions of Game Pass subscribers, they will take that route.

Relying on Consoles is a very risky strategy because if Subscription Gaming becomes big and Microsoft is the dominant service, then Sony has pretty much lost any advantage.

PS+ is the defacto XboxGold.
If and when Sony feels the need to take over that area too it just will.
Their IP is so much ahead of MSFT's offer of mediocre games.

Unless Sony can release their games day 1 onto PS Now and also survive the transition to a Subscription Gaming company, I will agree with you. Disney will be losing BILLIONS for 5 years to make Disney+ profitable and thats not even putting their content Day 1 on the service. How will Sony or any other gaming company in reasonable terms be able to sustain that?

In this business model, only those with big money can sustain the service.

 

[DESTROYA]

I’ll believe when I see it.

 

[CatLady]

With the announcement of Game Pass support coming to XCloud and expanding the platform to PC, Android, IOS and eventually TVs, they are also supporting as many controllers as possible and also willing to take losses in revenue and profit to grow the service. I think this all shows that Game Pass will VERY likely become the defacto Gaming subscription service.

Why?

• Putting their First party on the service day 1
• Having all indies and third parties release their best and newish games on GP
• Supporting all platforms available.
• Willing to take losses to grow the service
• Has the partnerships to have Game Pass preinstalled on millions of devices. (Samsung x Microsoft partnership)
• Expanding to regions where Consoles are low adoption but have the infrastructure available (India)
• Having a potentially $299 Next-Gen Console to get early adopters onto Game Pass

This type of business model is sustainable for Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Apple, Facebook etc since they are large enough to absorb the losses. However, for much smaller companies like Sony, Nintendo, Square, EA and Activision, this business model is very hard to transition because it requires big losses the immediate term to sustain and it's questionable if they can all survive the transition without making that lost money through micro-transactions, MTXs etc.

This is why I think Microsoft will likely become the defacto Subscription Gaming service and this will extend into Game Streaming as well.

Agree 1000% MS & Game Pass are killing it and like you said as one of the richest companies in the world MS can sustain the initial losses to eventually dominate and be profitable in this arena of gaming.

 

[pr0cs]

It certainly has an effect on whether or not I buy their console at launch, if their launch titles are all on gamepass I'll consider that when looking at retail cost of the device.
ie if the console is expensive I'll still consider it if I save 100s on titles for it since gamepass has them

 

[Nikana]

They are positioned to do amazing things with it but I hope that they aren't over doing it in these early days to get people on board.

They catalogue is mind boggling good but I look at some of the releases like how a ton of FF games are all coming at once next month and can't help but think....is it going to last?

I hope it does but they have me locked in till 2022. So ill find out lol.

 

[12Dannu123]

Agree 1000% MS & Game Pass are killing it and like you said as one of the richest companies in the world MS can sustain the initial losses to eventually dominate and be profitable in this arena of gaming.

Agreed, this is exactly why Microsoft is doing it, they will disrupt it as much as possible and hoping no one will be able to compete for and went they do, they will bankrupt themselves because they can't sustain the service. The TV and Movie industry is different because you already have large players like Warner Bros, Disney, Comcast. The gaming industry, while makes the most money the companies aren't that big and are pretty small.

 

[Soapbox Killer]

I agree however, Sony doesn't need to play that game...just yet. While I have gamespass it felt like a (great) service born out of desperation. Furthermore, it doesn't make the notion of paying $59.99 for Horizon Zero Dawn II or Ghost of Tsushima any less appealing.


I would like Nintendo to do an "Nindie Pass" for Switch. I'd pay 14.99 /m or 99.99 /year for unlimited access to indies on switch.

 

[12Dannu123]

I agree however, Sony doesn't need to play that game...just yet. While I have gamespass it felt like a (great) service born out of desperation. Furthermore, it doesn't make the notion of paying $59.99 for Horizon Zero Dawn II or Ghost of Tsushima any less appealing.


I would like Nintendo to do an "Nindie Pass" for Switch. I'd pay 14.99 /m or 99.99 /year for unlimited access to indies on switch.

What happens if Microsoft becomes more and more dominate? and Subscription gaming becomes the standard? How will Sony react? Will they survive the transition? That's the key, it's a big IF if smaller companies will be able to transition to a subscription orientated industry.

TBH That may explain why Microsoft doesn't give any numbers, likely because either they are waiting to reach a threshold or they are deliberately hiding numbers from competition like Sony and the industry.

 

[Fbh]

In a way, yeah.
Though I'd be really curious to see their numbers as right now I think it's a good enough deal for the end consumer that it makes me wonder if it's profitable and sustainable in the long run

 

[12Dannu123]

In a way, yeah.
Though I'd be really curious to see their numbers as right now I think it's a good enough deal for the end consumer that it makes me wonder if it's profitable and sustainable in the long run

Why would Microsoft give numbers out? I guess their reasoning is that they want to reach a certain milestone or they are hiding the numbers from competitors, so they could have 50 Million Subs but Sony assume its 5 Million because Sony doesn't know, so Sony are not focused on Subscription Gaming.

 

[mejin]

Maybe Sony and Nintendo will finally make a partnership to fight the sharks that want to destroy the market.

 

[sol_bad]

What's with all these Xbox Gamepass fanboy threads? Can't all this speculation and "future telling" thoughts be contained in a single thread?

 

[Soapbox Killer]

What happens if Microsoft becomes more and more dominate? and Subscription gaming becomes the standard? How will Sony react? Will they survive the transition? That's the key, it's a big IF if smaller companies will be able to transition to a subscription orientated industry.

Sony will either have to adapt or Uncharted 6 will be on Stadia. I don't thing either company believes streaming is the immediate future or neither of these next gen consoles would be coming with 4k Blu Ray players. Hard to see the future is.

 

[diffusionx]

What's with all these Xbox Gamepass fanboy threads? Can't all this speculation and "future telling" thoughts be contained in a single thread?

Maybe people just really like the service.

Look Ive been buying shit on Steam sales for almost a decade now. Yet after 2 months of GamePass I am looking at the sale and hesitating because hey what if the game comes to GP next year? And lots of games I did buy, or wanted to buy, have already landed on it (like a week or 2 ago - Age of Wonders Planetfall). So if MS can break 10 years of customer behavior with their service they might be onto something here.

 

[sol_bad]

Maybe people just really like the service.

Look Ive been buying shit on Steam sales for almost a decade now. Yet after 2 months of GamePass I am looking at the sale and hesitating because hey what if the game comes to GP next year? And lots of games I did buy, or wanted to buy, have already landed on it (like a week or 2 ago - Age of Wonders Planetfall). So if MS can break 10 years of customer behavior with their service they might be onto something here.

That's all well and good. I just don't understand why we need a weekly thread about Gamepass.

 

[quest]

That's all well and good. I just don't understand why we need a weekly thread about Gamepass.

It's still a controversial topic here you have the haters and supporters. So you will have lots of topics by both sides to prove their side is right. Those are scared of games as a service. Those who see the wonderful value in the service especially if they have kids. It's like a mini console war honestly.

 

[Dory16]

I always said Microsoft should just stick to games and software. The one thing they have been successful at has nothing to do with the xbox itself. Their hardware is never anything special, they never have anything really compelling regarding exclusive games for said hardware, etc. They should just run game pass and publish/develop games for their game pass platform and other systems.

Sega quit hardware and their company only got better. Microsoft is essentially the new Sega in the console scene. They scream and yell about how awesome their hardware is meanwhile all their competition passes them up and they are left with nothing but software.

This is idiotic. The Xbox One X is the best piece of hardware in console gaming today and it's their hardware. You wanna focus on who sells the most consoles it's your right but to suggest that they should quit manufacturing consoles is a spit in the face of all their customers and believe it or not there are tens of millions on them on console AND other platforms with streaming on its way.

 

[Dory16]

That's all well and good. I just don't understand why we need a weekly thread about Gamepass.

How about only reading the threads that you are interested in? Daunting but it could work. I'd give it a try.

 

[diffusionx]

That's all well and good. I just don't understand why we need a weekly thread about Gamepass.

Hype about next gen is at a fever pitch. GamePass figures prominently into MS’ plans for next gen. I think it is THE most important part of their strategy, more important than the hardware. On a forum full of people who care about next gen, it makes sense people will talk about GamePass.

 

[bilderberg]

microsoft needs to fix their store, the xbox app, get rid of uwp, let me access folders and a whole bunch of other stuff if they want game pass to be worth it on pc.

 

[Klayzer]

That's all well and good. I just don't understand why we need a weekly thread about Gamepass.

Paid marketing plants (just kidding). Xfans have been pimping Gamepass nonstop on every message board. Don't believe me, check any conversation mentioning Xbox and watch the seamless coordination. Every topic turns into an infomercial for it.

 

[njean777]

It certainly has an effect on whether or not I buy their console at launch, if their launch titles are all on gamepass I'll consider that when looking at retail cost of the device.
ie if the console is expensive I'll still consider it if I save 100s on titles for it since gamepass has them

Well they are very versed in backwards compatibility (looking at windows) so I think the best thing about Scarlett may be that you have a plethora of games via gamepass (if subscribed) plus Halo and some other way better looking games due to Scarlett. I see that as their strategy this launch, that way you can play all your older games, and have gamepass with Halo to supplement your next gen hunger for the time being while they develop new titles.

 

[ph33rknot]

I always said Microsoft should just stick to games and software. The one thing they have been successful at has nothing to do with the xbox itself. Their hardware is never anything special, they never have anything really compelling regarding exclusive games for said hardware, etc. They should just run game pass and publish/develop games for their game pass platform and other systems.

Sega quit hardware and their company only got better. Microsoft is essentially the new Sega in the console scene. They scream and yell about how awesome their hardware is meanwhile all their competition passes them up and they are left with nothing but software.

You're crazy if you think Sega is doing better they've been on the decline since

 

[sol_bad]

Hype about next gen is at a fever pitch. GamePass figures prominently into MS’ plans for next gen. I think it is THE most important part of their strategy, more important than the hardware. On a forum full of people who care about next gen, it makes sense people will talk about GamePass.

I care more about their first party games and if they'll deliver more than Halo, Gears of War and Forza. Hellblade 2 is a good start.

 

[bitbydeath]

The model will disrupt any chance of them going all in on AAA’s like Sony does. But maybe they can create their own market out of it like how Nintendo does.

 

[Virex]

Gamepass shilling intensifies

 

[majestix1988]

Only the seeing its pro's of it but con of it mostly will hit Xbox game sales

 

[Kagey K]

Only the seeing its pro's of it but con of it mostly will hit Xbox game sales

This is funny, especially since developers and MS keep saying that Game Pass has been nothing but productive to them.

You should stop worrying about the big corporations, they aren’t worrying about you.

Listen to this around the 50 min mark.

645: End of the Year (and Decade!) with Phil Spencer - Xbox Wire

Larry Hryb, Xbox Major NelsonGamertag: RubesSpecial Guest: Phil Spencer (26:31 - 1:01)We wrap up 2019 and the decade!And more….

majornelson.com

 

[DavidGzz]

Game Pass is the best thing to happen this gen so of course, the buzz will keep going. I like how people downplay it by calling people shills. It's essentially the best rental service ever and Xcloud will make it even better.

 

[Reallink]

PS+ is the defacto XboxGold.
If and when Sony feels the need to take over that area too it just will.
Their IP is so much ahead of MSFT's offer of mediocre games.

The problem with that is Sony's piece meal and inconsistent improvements to PSNow have been largely unsuccessful and gone mostly unnoticed. Even among hardcore gamers most don't know it allows local downloads or has added a few semi-recent titles. Gamepass clearly commands an overwhelming majority of brand awareness in subscription based gaming. The danger Sony faces in being a reactive follower is that is gives MS an opportunity to build insurmountable momentum and mindshare. Certainly their haphazard attempts at bringing PSNow kind of up to par isn't "taking over" Gamepass anytime soon, nor will adding day and date first party titles if they do so 1 - 2 years and 10's of millions of subscribers behind MS.

 

[CyberPanda]

I agree OP

 

[nuttyevans]

I like Game Pass because I paid them £1 and ended up with like 2 years of it lol. I'll stick with it as long as I get good deals on it but once they start asking me for £9.99 per month I'm out. I'm sure I'm not alone.

 

[Hendrick's]

Game Pass is the best thing to come to gaming this generation. I expect it to continue to grow and dominate the subscription space in the next. I practically don't even buy games anymore and have more quality and current games than I could ever find time to play.

 

[Stilton Disco]

I like Game Pass because I paid them £1 and ended up with like 2 years of it lol. I'll stick with it as long as I get good deals on it but once they start asking me for £9.99 per month I'm out. I'm sure I'm not alone.

This is probably the biggest factor for it's apparent success despite being tied to the least popular hardware and first party software this gen (WiiU aside, but even Nintendo don't really count it).

At the moment it's in the 'take a massive loss to corner the market' stage. Down the road, when the mounting costs of licensing and maintaining servers can no longer be justified by user growth, expect rapid price increases and generally less and less benefits.

 

[12Dannu123]

This is probably the biggest factor for it's apparent success despite being tied to the least popular hardware and first party software this gen (WiiU aside, but even Nintendo don't really count it).

At the moment it's in the 'take a massive loss to corner the market' stage. Down the road, when the mounting costs of licensing and maintaining servers can no longer be justified by user growth, expect rapid price increases and generally less and less benefits.

It's probably why Game Pass numbers are under NDA to not give publishers leverage on negotiations. It's also a way for Sony to not know how the service is doing. TBH Sony shouldn't have released their user base numbers as it gives Publishers more leverage to demand more.

 

[DanielsM]

All these mountains of game pass threads have to be astroturfing. All game pass and Ps now are is game rental services....like saying what is better...Blockbuster or Family Video. As far as game rentals there really isn't much money in it... Further they can't seem to find customers without giving it away.

 

[DanielsM]

It's probably why Game Pass numbers are under NDA to not give publishers leverage on negotiations. It's also a way for Sony to not know how the service is doing. TBH Sony shouldn't have released their user base numbers as it gives Publishers more leverage to demand more.

wtf is this? Metrics about game usage has to be given to the publishers or how would they get paid. MS is hiding overall numbers because they really don't have paying customers...ie it's being given away. There really isn't even a viable business here.

 

[Deleted member 740922]

All these mountains of game pass threads have to be astroturfing.

I felt the same about all the Death Stranding threads recently too.

 

[12Dannu123]

The model will disrupt any chance of them going all in on AAA’s like Sony does. But maybe they can create their own market out of it like how Nintendo does.

Doesn't seem like the case. Hellsblade 2 seems like a AAA title and The Initiative is working on AAA content. So I don't think Game Pass will impact anything. AAA is simply being used as a way to get people onto Game Pass.

But I agree, Game Pass and MS using big money to support losses made in GP is and will be hugely disruptive to the industry. The industry has never dealt with this type of economics before. Curious on how Sony and others will react to this.

 

[DanielsM]

I felt the same about all the Death Stranding threads recently too.

Yeah
, but those will soon start disappearing...and my guess is DS did more business on release day than the whole history of Game Pass since it was launched. It's simply Blockbuster without paying customers. Lol. The whole thing is bizarre unless it's another astroturfing campaign.

 

[PropellerEar]

Software sales and hardware sales have shown, that people are willing to pay to take part of PlayStation content.

Not so much for XBox...

Be it subs, PS Now will become the defacto if they need to take on subs fully. People want games Sony is delivering there is nothing exciting about Gamepass other than that it's almost free.

 

[PocoJoe]

Game pass excist because Microsoft cant sell their shit otherwise, not because they want to give out their stuff for almost free

It cant be viable busines in a long run, what does it cost? Like 5€/month?

Imagine sharing that 5€/month for hundreds of titles and launch games will lose hundreds of millions because of it

 

[DanielsM]

Doesn't seem like the case. Hellsblade 2 seems like a AAA title and The Initiative is working on AAA content. So I don't think Game Pass will impact anything. AAA is simply being used as a way to get people onto Game Pass.

But I agree, Game Pass and MS using big money to support losses made in GP is and will be hugely disruptive to the industry. The industry has never dealt with this type of economics before. Curious on how Sony and others will react to this.

None of these services are new, they have no real customers... Sony and the rest of the big publishers will continue to make there money off of game sales, and item sales.

Sure they have, it was Blockbuster. Lol

 

[Saruhashi]

Nah.

Even now you can see that EA etc are coming up with the idea of doing their own subscription services.

So basically the future is going to be a wide range of game passes for all the different publishers.

Same as it is going with movie subscriptions etc.

 

[12Dannu123]

Game pass excist because Microsoft cant sell their shit otherwise, not because they want to give out their stuff for almost free

It cant be viable busines in a long run, what does it cost? Like 5€/month?

Imagine sharing that 5€/month for hundreds of titles and launch games will lose hundreds of millions because of it

So what? The reason why Microsoft is willing to lose hundreds of Million is that they are wanting to corner the market and have Sub gaming becomes standard, they know that anybody that will try to compete directly will either have a shit product to avoid losses or be bankrupt or not have enough content. Do you think Sony will be able to sustain the massive losses made with making their AAA SP games for PS Now Day 1? IF Subscription gaming becomes the standard way of consuming games do you think Sony's AAA SP games will survive the transition to a subscription gaming service?

The only way I can see SP AAA games like Sony's surviving in Subscription is if the publisher is willing to loose hundreds of Millions.

 

[Saruhashi]

So what? The reason why Microsoft is willing to lose hundreds of Million is that they are wanting to corner the market, they know that anybody that will try to compete directly will either have a shit product to avoid losses or be bankrupt or not have enough content.

No chance.

Publishers like EA and Ubisoft alone have better products that Microsoft. If they wanted to have a subscription service of their own that contained their back catalog then MS would be unable to compete.

I think people are not aware of how much content is actually on Game Pass and how much of it is actually good?

 

[SleepDoctor]

I always said Microsoft should just stick to games and software. The one thing they have been successful at has nothing to do with the xbox itself. Their hardware is never anything special, they never have anything really compelling regarding exclusive games for said hardware, etc. They should just run game pass and publish/develop games for their game pass platform and other systems.

Sega quit hardware and their company only got better. Microsoft is essentially the new Sega in the console scene. They scream and yell about how awesome their hardware is meanwhile all their competition passes them up and they are left with nothing but software.

"Their (sic) hardware is never anything special"

Too bad the X is more powerful than the Pro.