Basically Microsoft are desperate to get everyone on Gamepass so they decided to double Gold price to make everyone think Gamepass is better value than Gold. Instead there was a backlash.
Microsoft doesn't seem to get Gamepass is simply not for everyone. There are gamers out there that play half a dozen games a year. So having access to a ton of games don't really matter for them. There are gamers out there that only play COD, FIFA, Fortnite etc basically games that are not on Gamepass so they don't see the value of Gamepass. Games take a long damn time to play and people don't have the time to play that many games. A game like Monster Hunter I have put over 200 hours in, being subed to Gamepass if I'm only playing Monster Hunter is a waste if money. The Gamepass model isn't comparable to Netflix where you can binge shows, movies and documentaries and finish content in a weekend and make use of your sub where as games where we have a single game that takes 100 hours of your time.
Here are examples of people I know where Gamepass doesn't make sense to them.
Friend 1
He mainly plays FIFA, plays the occasional singleplayer game at most maybe 2 or 3 singleplayer games a year. For example I remember he played Uncharted Lost Legacy, God of War and FIFA multiplayer for a entire year.
Friend 2
He plays around 5 games a year which are usually games that are bought in sales. £5-£10. He never buys a game day 1 ever. Probably spends max £40 a year on games.
Nephew
This kid only plays Fortnite, luckily it's F2P so he doesn't even pay for PSN Plus.
Myself
I rarely buy games day 1, and the games I do buy day 1 are games that are not available on Gamepass day 1. For example I bought Monster Hunter World which was not available on Gamepass. Because I have a wife and kid, and a full time job it takes me a very long time to finish a game. I buy most games dirt cheap under £10 and play probably around 6 games a year and that's when I'm not playing a multiplayer game. For example when Monster Hunter World came out that year I probably bought 1 other game.
These are just a few examples but Gamepass can have 9000 games and it wouldn't make a difference for many people as they simply don't play that many games. This idea where Microsoft thinks everyone will want Gamepass is not going to happen and Microsofts desperation by upping the Gold price to incencitize people to Gamepass was a terrible idea and the backlash made them do a U turn. I'm sure Microsoft will try another way to try get Gamepass users up but I think it's not working as expected for them and Gamepass isn't going to be the Netflix of gaming as games media cannot be consumed at such a fast rate as watching movies and TV shows.
Microsoft doesn't seem to get Gamepass is simply not for everyone. There are gamers out there that play half a dozen games a year. So having access to a ton of games don't really matter for them. There are gamers out there that only play COD, FIFA, Fortnite etc basically games that are not on Gamepass so they don't see the value of Gamepass. Games take a long damn time to play and people don't have the time to play that many games. A game like Monster Hunter I have put over 200 hours in, being subed to Gamepass if I'm only playing Monster Hunter is a waste if money. The Gamepass model isn't comparable to Netflix where you can binge shows, movies and documentaries and finish content in a weekend and make use of your sub where as games where we have a single game that takes 100 hours of your time.
Here are examples of people I know where Gamepass doesn't make sense to them.
Friend 1
He mainly plays FIFA, plays the occasional singleplayer game at most maybe 2 or 3 singleplayer games a year. For example I remember he played Uncharted Lost Legacy, God of War and FIFA multiplayer for a entire year.
Friend 2
He plays around 5 games a year which are usually games that are bought in sales. £5-£10. He never buys a game day 1 ever. Probably spends max £40 a year on games.
Nephew
This kid only plays Fortnite, luckily it's F2P so he doesn't even pay for PSN Plus.
Myself
I rarely buy games day 1, and the games I do buy day 1 are games that are not available on Gamepass day 1. For example I bought Monster Hunter World which was not available on Gamepass. Because I have a wife and kid, and a full time job it takes me a very long time to finish a game. I buy most games dirt cheap under £10 and play probably around 6 games a year and that's when I'm not playing a multiplayer game. For example when Monster Hunter World came out that year I probably bought 1 other game.
These are just a few examples but Gamepass can have 9000 games and it wouldn't make a difference for many people as they simply don't play that many games. This idea where Microsoft thinks everyone will want Gamepass is not going to happen and Microsofts desperation by upping the Gold price to incencitize people to Gamepass was a terrible idea and the backlash made them do a U turn. I'm sure Microsoft will try another way to try get Gamepass users up but I think it's not working as expected for them and Gamepass isn't going to be the Netflix of gaming as games media cannot be consumed at such a fast rate as watching movies and TV shows.