PC Game Pass, now includes EA Play! [PCGP, XGP:PC]

[Cyan]

the Evil Within also improved on gamepass PC compared to the Steam version.

https://gamingbolt.com/the-evil-wit...seems-to-be-an-improved-port-with-new-options

A speedrunner for the game, Jigsaw_Killer, posted on his YouTube that the version of the game now available on Xbox Game Pass PC is not the same as the previous Steam PC version. In fact, it seems to have improved a lot. Not only do they say it runs much smoother, it also has several new options, such as a first person mode, FOV slider, new icons for sneaking and using torches Low/Medium options for Camera Bob and stamina functionality has been tweaked.

There has been nothing official said about this, so it’s unclear if this is going to be exclusive to the Xbox Game Pass PC version or will eventually this version will be ported over to the Steam version or consoles.

 

[Deleted member 7537]

Mmmm.... is there any reason why The New Collosus is not available on GP?

 

[Zaphod]

Mmmm.... is there any reason why The New Collosus is not available on GP?

Because it's only 10 months since it left the first time? Or to focus on the sequels as not to crowd out the space too much by dumping everything in at the same time? Doom (2016), Fallout 3, Rage (and probably more) aren't in there either.

While MS has talked a lot about first party day one on games pass, I don't think they have promised first party games being available in perpetuity. Personally I think they'll put many/most first party games on some kind of rotation to keep things fresh and avoid player fatigue by most of the library growing stale over time. Make old things new again. Perhaps with the exception of some MS stalwarts with strong staying power.

 

[Silent_Buddha]

There's also a chance that if any of those games are available on another platform/storefront/streaming service that there are contractual obligations that prevent them from being made available on Game Pass until those obligations expire.

Perhaps Doom 2016 is limited by obligations to Stadia, for example.

Regards,
SB

 

[Pete]

Apparently the beta Xbox Game Streaming app for Windows 10 PCs has been leaked for a few months. It lets you use something other than an Android device to try Xbox cloud gaming. A couple hitches: you're only getting the Xbox One S experience, and it may require you to have been invited to the beta previously.

Anyway, you download the app via a website that parses MS Store links (RG-Adguard) to give you the direct link to the required installer (~218MB .appxbundle, near the bottom). Just ctrl-F RG-Adguard in the Ars piece for the instructional paragraph with the links. Install the app, click the menu icon on the upper left, select Project xCloud, enter XGPUBeta when prompted for the offering ID, and you're in. You need a Game Pass Ultimate subscription, of course, but I think that's still just a $1 hurdle. Or you can stream locally from your own Xbox.

TL;DR:

1) goto RG-Adguard
2) paste this URL a public URL for the app's Spanish version and hit enter
3) run it through virustotal.com and discover you're not the first
4) install it
5) click the drop down menu on the top left for xCloud
6) enter XGPUBeta as the offering ID
7) fullscreen it and scroll through an impressive list of essentially instant (albeit potentially laggy) plays

I gave xCloud a quick test over a 5GHz ac connection and it's kind of amazing to start a game without a 50GB download and install. Will try to A/B a direct ethernet conxn with a game I have locally, but it won't learn anything Digital Foundry's Stadia reviews haven't touched on already except how much input lag I can tolerate. Cool that you can play some games not available on PC, like at least some of the Rare Replay collection and Outer Wilds.

Edit: Input lag heinous on my shaky conxn.[/S]

 

[Cyan]

Very happy with gamepass PC as of now. I purchased a few games on the service, they added EA Play -sports games was a weak point before- recently, some excellent games like Nier Automata and Autopath Traveller, etc... Things are getting better by the day.

 

[orangpelupa]

yeah, finally the "taste" of the games on Gamepass starting to fit my taste lol. Btw really glad they didn't encrypt niear automata save file. I injected a 100% save from someone on steam forum hahaha. no way I'm replaying everything again. I now can jump directly into the 2-094u3284y3294y98 (spelling?) DLC

 

[see colon]

I had a free 3 month trial and some games would not install (rage 2, wolfenstein youngblood) and the error message was just "there has been an unexpected error"
plus Microsoft "Do not deny me access to my own hard drive"!!!!

So I fought with this for a while, it would either tell me there was an unexpected error or that I wasn't connected to the internet. I tried a bunch of stuff and most of it didn't work, but I found using a VPN with shadowsocks as the protocol let me install games. But then I have to disconnect from it to play them. It's pretty goofy. It didn't happen with every game, but Youngblood was one of them, along with The Medium and Call of the Sea.

Also, and I don't know if this affected anything gamepass wise, but there is an xbox networking status checker in the windows 10 settings, and I had a "Teredo is unable to qualify" error under NAT Type, which I fixed by disabling ipv6. I don't know if that actually fixes anything but it's there.

 

[Cyan]

Thank you EGS? It's starting to work -> https://www.polygon.com/22409511/microsoft-store-pc-revenue-share-steam-epic-games

Microsoft reducing its cut of PC sales to match Epic Games Store

 

[Silent_Buddha]

Until such time as the EGS or Microsoft store can match the functionality and ease of use of Steam, I don't think they're going to make a material dent in sales on the Steam storefront.

And with them taking less of a share, that means it's unlikely they'll invest nearly as much into their storefront as Steam does on theirs which means they'll always be behind in the user experience and thus they'll never be able to challenge the Steam Storefront.

I'd love to see either one of them prove me wrong, however, and actually make their storefront something I'd want to willingly use. I have games on EGS that I will never play because I can't stand using their piece of crap storefront (uninstalled it last year). The only reason I bother with the MS storefront is that it's part of Game Pass. But the Microsoft Store and Game Pass client could use a LOT of work just like EGS.

Regards,
SB

 

[see colon]

The big thing holding me back with EGS games is friends. I have a bunch of friends that are EGS resistant, for obvious reasons, but they do have exclusives. So I had a group of us playing World War Z on there, and it's a great game if you are into those Left 4 Dead style games, but most of my L4D friends just weren't there to play it with. So if the 2 other guys who bought it to play with me aren't playing, I'm playing with randos and, just like L4D, you get some guys running off and getting killed ruining the whole experience for everyone.

Microsoft has the advantage of using my Xbox friends list. Pretty much everyone has that already, even if they hate it.

 

[eastmen]

Until such time as the EGS or Microsoft store can match the functionality and ease of use of Steam, I don't think they're going to make a material dent in sales on the Steam storefront.

And with them taking less of a share, that means it's unlikely they'll invest nearly as much into their storefront as Steam does on theirs which means they'll always be behind in the user experience and thus they'll never be able to challenge the Steam Storefront.

I'd love to see either one of them prove me wrong, however, and actually make their storefront something I'd want to willingly use. I have games on EGS that I will never play because I can't stand using their piece of crap storefront (uninstalled it last year). The only reason I bother with the MS storefront is that it's part of Game Pass. But the Microsoft Store and Game Pass client could use a LOT of work just like EGS.

Regards,
SB

You need to think of it in terms of gamepass. This just increases the pot for a developer or publisher.

It used to be well steam and MS both take a 30% cut or whatver but Steam has many more users who spend a lot more than MS.

Now its MS has game pass where we get paid and then we can also sell on the windows store (or xbox app) to maximize profits.

Because of game pass i've been playing a lot more on the xbox beta app and its really good imo. I don't ever have to jump into the windows store for games and like @see colon says all your xbox friends are available and with discord and steam i can chat to any of my friends .

 

[Svensk Viking]

I think Gamepass is the only one so far that actually might be able to take on Steam, since you get access to a load of games at once when subscribing.

Otherwise I don't think Steam ever will be seriously challenged. They have too much of an advantage in having 15+ years faithful customers that have their libraries locked to their store and want all to be in the same place. The lockdown to clients is horrible. Back in the days, trailers used to say "Available for Windows", now they often say "Available on Steam".

 

[Silent_Buddha]

IMO, I think you can mount a serious challenge to Steam, but it isn't going to be by giving away free games or buying exclusivity. You also need to provide a reason for people to want to use your store for something other than free games or exclusive games. People aren't using Steam because they're forced to use it. They're using it because the platform offers a lot of reasons to use it over and above just buying games.

Competitors have a roadmap on what they need to do to challenge Steam. Just look at what works on Steam and why people want to use Steam and implements and improve on those things for your storefront. Without a reason to use a competing storefront, then there's no reason to use it for anything other than freebies and exclusives.

Game Pass does change things and certainly hurts Steam far more than anything else in terms of revenue. But it doesn't change that when it comes time to purchase games, players will still prefer to buy those games on Steam because of the user experience combined with the features (local co-op over the internet, Streaming any game you own to any device you own, user reviews, developer's being able to update their game pages, community forums, and a whole host of other things).

The fact that a storefront like EGS deliberately doesn't include something as essential as user reviews already makes it a non-starter for many gamers. Instead of tailoring their storefront to something consumers want to use, EGS is trying to force people to use a storefront that Epic thinks is best. And that's just not going to pull many people away from a platform focused on giving consumers what they want and giving consumers tools and information to improve their experience.

I've been rooting for GoG for quite a while now. Especially in the past couple years as they've worked to improve their store client to provided additional functionality and user friendliness. Unfortunately, doing that is also expensive and until it's finished it can't mount a serious challenge to Steam. But because it's expensive, they've had cash flow problems and have had to cut some consumer facing PR (like Twitch streamer sponsorships) which makes it more difficult for them to attract consumers. Just as one example, CohhCarnage used to direct a lot of business their way with their sponsorship with him. That was great as Cohh also really liked GoG. Unfortunately, they had to drop that sponsorship and now EGS sponsors him and he has to push consumers to a storefront that he personally doesn't like. Bleh.

Regards,
SB

 

[see colon]

Epic is so far behind in terms of features. GOG has most of the features and insists on DRM free games, but they are a curated storefront. I don't know how many games they reject but there have been developers who have games on steam say they couldn't get on GOG, for whatever reason. Windows store is uncurated like Steam (I'm sure they reject some stuff, but not like GOG), and what they lack in features built into the store app, they have in Xbox. Plus, they have some games that you buy on Xbox and can play on PC, and vice verse. I would agree that Microsoft has the best shot at taking on Steam, but I don't know. Steam purists are insane. The open nature if the PC platform is what makes it great. I buy games everywhere, and it sucks having to check multiple places to see if I own something (Galaxy helps with this), but I would never tie myself down to one retailer. That would be like only buying canned corn from Walmart even if it's on sale at Target.

 

[Silent_Buddha]

That would be like only buying canned corn from Walmart even if it's on sale at Target.

Well, duh. You only do that with Kirkland (Costco) canned corn, because it's the best. I buy all my canned corn from Costco.

Regards,
SB

 

[Eolirin]

IMO, I think you can mount a serious challenge to Steam, but it isn't going to be by giving away free games or buying exclusivity. You also need to provide a reason for people to want to use your store for something other than free games or exclusive games. People aren't using Steam because they're forced to use it. They're using it because the platform offers a lot of reasons to use it over and above just buying games.

Competitors have a roadmap on what they need to do to challenge Steam. Just look at what works on Steam and why people want to use Steam and implements and improve on those things for your storefront. Without a reason to use a competing storefront, then there's no reason to use it for anything other than freebies and exclusives.

Game Pass does change things and certainly hurts Steam far more than anything else in terms of revenue. But it doesn't change that when it comes time to purchase games, players will still prefer to buy those games on Steam because of the user experience combined with the features (local co-op over the internet, Streaming any game you own to any device you own, user reviews, developer's being able to update their game pages, community forums, and a whole host of other things).

The fact that a storefront like EGS deliberately doesn't include something as essential as user reviews already makes it a non-starter for many gamers. Instead of tailoring their storefront to something consumers want to use, EGS is trying to force people to use a storefront that Epic thinks is best. And that's just not going to pull many people away from a platform focused on giving consumers what they want and giving consumers tools and information to improve their experience.

I've been rooting for GoG for quite a while now. Especially in the past couple years as they've worked to improve their store client to provided additional functionality and user friendliness. Unfortunately, doing that is also expensive and until it's finished it can't mount a serious challenge to Steam. But because it's expensive, they've had cash flow problems and have had to cut some consumer facing PR (like Twitch streamer sponsorships) which makes it more difficult for them to attract consumers. Just as one example, CohhCarnage used to direct a lot of business their way with their sponsorship with him. That was great as Cohh also really liked GoG. Unfortunately, they had to drop that sponsorship and now EGS sponsors him and he has to push consumers to a storefront that he personally doesn't like. Bleh.

Regards,
SB

Nah, Steam is actually kind of awful in a lot of ways, and a lot of its features are badly implemented and subject to bugs that often go unaddressed for years, and its UX is very awful in numerous ways. The most recent library overhaul actually made some of that worse even. Customer service is pretty much nonexistent. The review system has been prone to abuse for ages, there's a ton of garbage on the platform that makes it harder to find stuff that's actually good. And that's just the issues with the consumer facing side of things. Developers are also customers, and the issues on that side of things are numerous as well.

If someone wanted to put the money in, it really wouldn't be that hard to build a better storefront. Thing is, building a better storefront won't actually help.

Every single example of any product or service in pretty much the entire history of everything is that once there's an entrenched, dominant, player in a market, you cannot compete on just merit. You can't just make a mild to moderately better version of what the dominant player is making. The "cost" of changing entrenched consumer behavior is very high. So the product either needs to be dramatically better, consistently cheaper, or fundamentally disruptive (GamePass would count as that) in order to have a chance of displacement. Or you need to be willing to dramatically outspend on marketing and user acquisition for a very very long time in order to build share but even with that are unlikely to actually end up on top. (Which is what Epic is trying to do. Long term they'll probably have about as much success as Bing. Which is more than you'd think thanks to US numbers, but not that much better than Apple's share of the PC market)

 

[orangpelupa]

But none of steams customers are entrenched right? Unlike console customers

 

[Eolirin]

But none of steams customers are entrenched right? Unlike console customers

No they're very heavily entrenched. It's not synonymous with platform lock in. Though PC game storefronts do have some platform lock in, just with lower barriers to entry (and there's been some further weakening of that with limited cross license availability between storefronts, but that's still the exception right now)

 

[see colon]

Nah, Steam is actually kind of awful in a lot of ways, and a lot of its features are badly implemented and subject to bugs that often go unaddressed for years, and its UX is very awful in numerous ways. The most recent library overhaul actually made some of that worse even. Customer service is pretty much nonexistent. The review system has been prone to abuse for ages, there's a ton of garbage on the platform that makes it harder to find stuff that's actually good. And that's just the issues with the consumer facing side of things. Developers are also customers, and the issues on that side of things are numerous as well.

I agree, but I would add that nobody else really does it better. You could make the case for GOG Galaxy maybe, but they have plenty of issue also, and their built in overlay is behind by a bit as well.