Business aspects of Subscription Game Libraries [Xbox GamePass, PSNow]

[BRiT]

But ... It's an option. It's not forced. How is that a change to the status quo? You can still buy the games individually and ignore the subscription service.

Or do you mean a change in perhaps how the content is generated, such as how much time they have to generate it, so only 2-3 years instead of 4 to 5?

 

[mrcorbo]

But ... It's an option. It's not forced. How is that a change to the status quo? You can still buy the games individually and ignore the subscription service.

Or do you mean a change in perhaps how the content is generated, such as how much time they have to generate it, so only 2-3 years instead of 4 to 5?

For now.

 

[BRiT]

For now.

First hit's free. Right?

 

[dobwal]

Subscription don't have to appeal to everybody. Just enough to warrant the investment and become a reliable and profitable revenue stream. Netflix, iPhone or any other popular sub based service or device aren't around because everyone sees values in those offerings.

You may find the service lacks value but are there enough of you to hinder wide adoption of the service? Xbox Gold faced the same issues as not everyone was on board with paying for multiplayer on consoles but paying for multiplayer or online play is standard on mainstream consoles now.

 

[Rangers]

Sony going to PC with more of their games is already happening. I like that trend, there's no reason for anyone to be against that. Only patriots, ofcourse.

I think it's really helped the ecosystem of games like Sea of Thieves and Master Chief Collection. Those both sell really big on Steam. You need to reach as many customers as possible to make a sustainable ecosystem and it's hard on one platform. Plus, PC is where all the twitch influencers are at home platform.

Something like fortnight, they unabashedly want to be on every platform possible.

 

[goonergaz]

I don't, actually. It's most appealing to those people, undoubtedly, but I'm really struggling to find a situation where it wouldn't end up saving almost anyone some amount of money at some point, which is 100% the appeal for me. The only thing keeping it from being more popular is lack of content, IMHO, hence the shopping spree of studio acquisitions MS went on.

Now, if you are going to primarily play 3 games in a year and two of them are Sony 1st party I can see why GamePass may not be your thing.

The current sub figures will include quite a few people on the ‘good as free’ side. Be interesting to see what happens when these options dry up...because I am only a subbed because I did the stack thing. I got 3 years ultimate for something like £30. There is no way on earth game pass offers me VFM, I have a very limited time to play so only play the games I want to. i can understand that I may be in a minority though.

Now imagine Sony had their own Sony Cinematic GamePass with their first Party titles and ability to stream the to PC and Android devices. Would consumers hate that as much and proclaim they don't want a part of that future?

Well why would anyone complain if it included all the first party games? I mean, I assume this year in the Cinematic pass I would have had (at least) LoU2 and GoT right? Prior to that we have big hitters like GoW and Spider-Man.

Each depends on the games you like...quality is better than quantity in my book but I can totally get people who think the other way.

 

[Deleted member 11852]

I don't, actually. It's most appealing to those people, undoubtedly, but I'm really struggling to find a situation where it wouldn't end up saving almost anyone some amount of money at some point, which is 100% the appeal for me. The only thing keeping it from being more popular is lack of content, IMHO, hence the shopping spree of studio acquisitions MS went on. Now, if you are going to primarily play 3 games in a year and two of them are Sony 1st party I can see why GamePass may not be your thing.

The individuals that present the vast majority of the 200m (Sony, Xbox, Nintendo) owning public are not playing games every day or even every week. I've posed before that people like us in these forums, who not only play games but are interested in it enough to register an account and spend time discussing games and the industry on a forum, are a tiny, tiny outlier of the greater gaming market. The vast majority of commercially successful games typically sell to around 5-10% of that combined gaming audience.

When you are not playing games a lot, of which data suggests is a lot of people, GamePass isn't worth it. This is probably why, at best, only 1 in 5 Xbox owners has a subscription.

addendum: on the "I'm really struggling to find a situation where it wouldn't end up saving almost anyone some amount of money at some point", if you play few games it's not cost economical, likewise if the games you want to play are not in GamePass (and you don't know if there will be headed there) then you have to buy those on top of your GamePass subscription. I wonder how many GamePass subscribers bought Red Dead Redemption 2 because there was no guarantee that was going to the service.

 

[Deleted member 11852]

Gamepass was released late this generation which means a lot had already a lot content Gamepass offers, especially some key MS titles. That changes again with new content rolling with XSX. If you have Gamepass you might also change your purchase strategies because waiting for certain play-once titles like Tomb Raider makes far more sense financially.

GamePass launched in June 2017 which was three-a-half years from Xbox One's launch and a little over-three-years ago today so it launched in the middle of this generation. It's had a fair shot I think.

 

[function]

GamePass launched in June 2017 which was three-a-half years from Xbox One's launch and a little over-three-years ago today so it launched in the middle of this generation. It's had a fair shot I think.

I think we've soon a good amount about how people have responded to Gamepass, at least on the Xbox console (and PC beta) side of things. But Gamepass is also about the streaming future where the number of potential customers is not limited only to people with compatible hardware and not limited to playing only when you're directly infront of your primary device.

On consoles and PC I think there will be continued but slow growth in the proportion of users subscribed to Gamepass, but how streaming takes off is a bit of an unknown IMO. I know lots of people who inexplicably watch something on Netflix on their tablet, when they've got a bloody big tv in their front room. I don't get it! If MS could bribe Nintendo to let the streaming app on the Swtich that could be interesting. Great device to play games on due to the screen and the controls.

I don't think Gamepass is something people factor into console purchase decisions - it's something they consider afterwards as far as I can gather.

 

[Deleted member 11852]

On consoles and PC I think there will be continued but slow growth in the proportion of users subscribed to Gamepass, but how streaming takes off is a bit of an unknown IMO.

Microsoft are late to streaming games, unless they're doing something Sony, Google or Nvidia aren't, I have no reason to believe they'll have any more success. I think it's an important part of Microsoft's service package and there will be people for whom streaming solves problems. And of course, as technology marches on streaming will only get better.

 

[Silent_Buddha]

addendum: on the "I'm really struggling to find a situation where it wouldn't end up saving almost anyone some amount of money at some point", if you play few games it's not cost economical, likewise if the games you want to play are not in GamePass (and you don't know if there will be headed there) then you have to buy those on top of your GamePass subscription. I wonder how many GamePass subscribers bought Red Dead Redemption 2 because there was no guarantee that was going to the service.

I guess that all depends. At 4.99 USD per month for Gamepass PC, that's the cost of 1 AAA game a year. At 9.99 USD a year that's 2 AAA games a year.

Whether a game leaves the service or not and whether that figures into someone's calculations depends on whether they play that game as a service. Meaning, if it's primarily a single player game, how many people are like me that like to replay a game 10 years or 20 years later?

If you are even remotely interested in MS first party games the service is a bit of a no-brainer. Likewise for a Family with children (especially teens) it's great value.

The value becomes questionable if you are the type who has to have 3rd party games on the day of launch as the big AAA 3rd party games are unlikely to come to Gamepass on the games launch date. AND if you aren't at all interested in playing any of the MS Game Studios games.

But even then if you are disciplined like I am with most subscription services, you can sub for just 1 month or 2 months out of the year for a single player AAA game you may be interested in. At that point the cost savings is virtually unbeatable outside of borrowing a physical disk from a friend. Granted this isn't exactly the type of consumer that MS wants, but the service is geared towards allowing this sort of behavior if a consumer is so inclined.

Regards,
SB

 

[Deleted member 11852]

I guess that all depends. At 4.99 USD per month for Gamepass PC, that's the cost of 1 AAA game a year. At 9.99 USD a year that's 2 AAA games a year.

I'd like to know how many GamePass subscribers are on the PC-only tariff. I assume the lower cost is because it represents lower value and it's got to complete with crazy Steam Sales, cheap online key sales and Epic just giving away new games every two weeks.

If you are even remotely interested in MS first party games the service is a bit of a no-brainer. Likewise for a Family with children (especially teens) it's great value.

I feel like a broken record here, but the vast majority of people gaming are not gaming so regularly as to make GamePass universally appealing. We know this from how game sales are spread, you get a big sale around launch but then for most AA/AAA games you get more sales over the next 12-24 months as more people pick up games more casually, maybe a treat for themselves or a birthday or Christmas present.

Us folks on these forums aren't representative of the greater gaming market. This is why GamePass has 10m subscribers out of an estimated 50m Xbox sales (and PC owners). It actually is not that good value for the vast majority of people. If it were, you'd see significantly more subscribers. QED.

The value becomes questionable if you are the type who has to have 3rd party games on the day of launch as the big AAA 3rd party games are unlikely to come to Gamepass on the games launch date. AND if you aren't at all interested in playing any of the MS Game Studios games.

But even then if you are disciplined like I am with most subscription services, you can sub for just 1 month or 2 months out of the year for a single player AAA game you may be interested in. At that point the cost savings is virtually unbeatable outside of borrowing a physical disk from a friend. Granted this isn't exactly the type of consumer that MS wants, but the service is geared towards allowing this sort of behavior if a consumer is so inclined.

And this is what I'll do and this is not good for Microsoft. I'll be playing Halo Infinite in the fall using the £1 introductory GamePass subscription. Other games I'll opt into GamePass and play it for a month, then cancel the subscription. Microsoft are losing full price game sales here.

 

[Nisaaru]

GamePass launched in June 2017 which was three-a-half years from Xbox One's launch and a little over-three-years ago today so it launched in the middle of this generation. It's had a fair shot I think.

Well, in my case most of my game purchases have been front loaded. Halo5 was released before and Forza+Horizon are games I only care at discount if at all. Never got into Gears. So there was no real MS game I was into.

Besides the yearly Destiny releases I've only got AC Origin/Odyssey, Division2, Shadow of Tomb Raider and Red Dead 2 at release since 2017 and filled up some missing titles at fire sales like some older AC titles.

So in hindsight with Gamepass I could have avoided paying full price for Shadow.

With Halo6, Flight Simulator and a few other interesting games the situation looks a lot different to me.

 

[Silenti]

Something to consider re: GamePass.

Normally, I am one of those players who only buys a few, very specific games per year. Then I play the hell out of it. Sometimes as few as 1 or 2 steam sale games and that is it. I generally prefer to know what I am getting because getting burned on a $60+ game hurts.

In the first 3 pages of listed games, I found 15 titles I would like to play. A few were oldie-but-goody/ nostalgia trips. Most were new games I have not purchased. Under normal circumstances, these are games I would likely never get to try. Why? I am unwilling to shell out for something that I label such a high-risk. I won't generally pay for them until they are under $10 on a Steam sale, years and years later.

With GamePass, I can pay my monthly fee and get to try them when they are relatively new and my interest remains. Let us say that there is nothing out right now to sink my time into. (Not hard to imagine with the PS4 busted, or I would be playing Ghosts.) For the price of $15 I get to play anything on that list. PC or Xbox, even XCloud in the future. That is basically what RedBox used to charge to rent a single game for 5 or 7 days (I forget the exact numbers).

And for now, it is only $15. Because, outside of the upgrade for a $1 that is now gone I believe, there is no bonus for paying for larger time frames in advance. Thus, no pressure to commit to a year at a time. I can sort through tons of titles in a short period of time and if there is nothing I care for or a time sink shows up (looking at you CyberPunk 2077) I just don't renew for the next month. Until more games come to GamePass and I am done with the time sink. Hell, if my connection is good enough (it should be) I wouldn't even need to download those games. I could try them on XCloud and see if I like them before downloading them.

This will change gaming for me. I will be trying games left and right that I would never have touched prior to this.

 

[smithg]

Us folks on these forums aren't representative of the greater gaming market. This is why GamePass has 10m subscribers out of an estimated 50m Xbox sales (and PC owners). It actually is not that good value for the vast majority of people. If it were, you'd see significantly more subscribers. QED.

Not a lot of normal people know about GamePass or exactly what it offers. Anecdotally, I find myself explaining the service to a lot people (especially other parents with an XBO). At the same time I think Microsoft is growing the service at a slow but steady pace, both in terms of content and users, and that’s honestly without a ton of marketing/advertising. It’s certainly growing faster than the XBO hardware sales, so I don’t think they’ve hit some kind of interest saturation point.

I think the service is poised to really take off though:

• xCloud is going to make sampling games much easier. Right now, just quickly trying a game takes a lengthy download and managing your storage. This is going to make it much more Netflix-like.
• Hopefully at some point in the next couple of years the studio acquisitions that MS has made recently will let them hit a release cadence of 4 - 6 games a year from their 15+ studios. These games will ultimately be the main selling point and they are only getting started here.
• I expect All-Access to be pushed pretty hard as the main entry point into owning a Series X, and this comes with two years of GamePass.

 

[Silent_Buddha]

At the same time I think Microsoft is growing the service at a slow but steady pace, both in terms of content and users, and that’s honestly without a ton of marketing/advertising.

One thing that I've been noticing is that more and more Twitch streamers are pushing Gamepass, even the ones that don't like Microsoft and hate the Microsoft Store. Just this week I saw one streamer subscribe to Gamepass because, to paraphrase him, "Everytime I tell my viewers where a game I play is available, almost always someone pipes in and yells at me that it's also available on Gamepass, so why am I not subscribed to Gamepass?"

That's from a streamer who primarily plays indie games with the occasional AAA game. So, it likely isn't an avenue of advertising that Microsoft planned for but I'm seeing growing momentum for Gamepass at least with regards to Streamer word of mouth on Twitch.

And while that doesn't have the reach of say TV advertising, it is almost entirely gamers that the message is reaching unlike say TV advertising.

Regards,
SB

 

[Deleted member 11852]

One thing that I've been noticing is that more and more Twitch streamers are pushing Gamepass, even the ones that don't like Microsoft and hate the Microsoft Store.

Microsoft need to do better here. Below is a video from ex-IGN Alanah Pearce following Microsoft's conference. It's not complaining about Halo's graphics or the number CGI trailers or lack of footage from Series X, it's just gushing that all of these games are coming to GamePass.

Microsoft need to start running adverts, just throwing micro-game trailer after micro-game trailer and blast on screen INCLUDED IN GAMEPASS, INCLUDED IN GAMEPASS. 60 Seconds of 3-5 second micro-trailers of the best games on GAMEPASS then cut to black with XBOX GAMEPASS - FOR ONLY $X A MONTH. They need to shove this down people's throats.

 

[AzBat]

Nice @DSoup Just discovered her last week when I started watching the new Xbox Kinda Funny X Cast podcast. I watch that video last night & I totally agree with her. Game Pass is the best value in gaming. Gary Witta on XCast takes it a step further & says it the best deal in Entertainment(over Netflix, Disney+, etc). Anyway, you can find Alanah everywhere on YouTube(her own channel Charalanahzard,, Inside Gaming, Funhaus & Kinda Funny Games).

BTW, the Game Pass Ultimate $1 deal is still good & the Gold to Game Pass Utimate conversion still works as long as you don't own Game Pass. Check the details here.

P.S. I bought RDR2 on launch day. There was no way I waiting for it on Game Pass even though I've had Game Pass for awhile.

Tommy McClain

 

[Xbat]

The only problem I have with game pass is that it means the end of one and done big AAA games from Microsoft.

 

[cheapchips]

The only problem I have with game pass is that it means the end of one and done big AAA games from Microsoft.

I think that's the best think about Gamepass. One and done AAA titles kill risk and innovation.