MS bringing Gamepass to The Switch? (and perhaps other consoles?)

Andy said:
My comment about the cut of GP is just an add-on, a minor point. The main point was in what preceded that -- that it would kill the Xbox hardware business. Not a smart move.

If you're saying that any approach to Sony is many years away, I agree with that.
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Obviously we don't know how this will work but If they have game pass on Switch and it has their games day 1 you have already hurt Xbox consoles. Nintendo becomes an even more legitimate alternative. I wouldn't buy an Xbox if that happened. So once you have started in that direction you have to believe they are willing to put it on every platform they can.

I think any real discussion is years off and that is because Sony is not going to be serious about it. There is reason for them to be hesitant. If Microsoft is willing to do it in the future they are probably willing to do it now.
 
yankeessuck said:
Obviously we don't know how this will work but If they have game pass on Switch and it has their games day 1 you have already hurt Xbox consoles. Nintendo becomes an even more legitimate alternative. I wouldn't buy an Xbox if that happened. So once you have started in that direction you have to believe they are willing to put it on every platform they can.
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I think Nintendo is a very different animal than Sony, and you can't assume that MS's thought process regarding one will necessarily translate to the other. Come next gen, the main competition (in terms of hardware sales) will be Sony. Nintendo will be in the console business, of course, but they sell to a different sort of crowd -- Nintendo fans, casuals, people who like handhelds, etc. I'm not saying there's no overlap with hardcore gamers, obviously there is, but there are also big differences. Those differences will be magnified in the early years of nex generation, because that's when people have to fork over big money for the latest and greatest hardware (not a race Nintendo typically bothers to enter). So you've got to take those differences into account.

I think any real discussion is years off and that is because Sony is not going to be serious about it. There is reason for them to be hesitant. If Microsoft is willing to do it in the future they are probably willing to do it now.
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Well, as I said, I think it would be a good deal for Sony. They'd kill MS's ability to get out of the starting gate with any sort of footing? The only downside I see is that GP could draw revenue away from PS Now.
 
Andy said:
I don't see any reason for Sony to hesitate, unless it's something network-related. I think they'd jump at the chance. Kill the competitor's ability to get out of the starting gate with any sort of footing? The only downside is that GP might draw some sales away from their own first-party titles, but given that Sony is doubling down on quality exclusives that come out less frequently, I don't think that's much of a factor. It would essentially be a way of swallowing up the competition, taking the home console field for themselves, and taking a piece of the GP pie to boot. Talk about "no downsides"... (although there are probably some which I'm not seeing).
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Well it has to be about the future too. They are all thinking of what gaming looks like 5-10 years down the road. If they consider PS Now to be important they would be throwing it out the window. If streaming is the future and if Amazon and Google try to get in their as well how do you not compete there? They would be handing Microsoft the streaming service crown.
 
yankeessuck said:
Well it has to be about the future too. They are all thinking of what gaming looks like 5-10 years down the road. If they consider PS Now to be important they would be throwing it out the window. If streaming is the future and if Amazon and Google try to get in their as well how do you not compete there? They would be handing Microsoft the streaming service crown.
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Not necessarily. Depends on the terms of the contract, price point, and other factors (e.g., it's not either/or; people could buy into both services or alternate). Even if PS Now takes a hit, it would be worth the tradeoff for Sony. It would badly damage MS's hardware sales and leave Sony the uncontested king of next gen hardware. Huge install base, crippled competitor. That would be too tempting to pass up. They could always kick MS off the platform later, once they are dead in the water in terms of hardware install base. (I would make a good sociopathic CEO.)

That's why I say it's not going to happen any time soon. Maybe a few years from now, but not now. Doing it now would be suicide. They're going with Nintendo, because there's not the same risk. Yeah, there's some damage to Xbox sales (I mentioned that in my first post, saying this was a downside overlooked by the article), but it's a substandard product -- lower visual quality/performance -- on a platform that isn't in direct competition with next-gen Xbox hardware sales in the same way PS5 will be.
 
karmakid said:
We could all be wrong and MS could add stipulations/quid-pro-quo’s to bringing GP to Switch.
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Yeah, lots of speculation at this point, without much real data. It'll be interesting to see what the actual product and performance look like.

I'm sure Nintendo is eager for the deal. This would really help with the perception that they lack third party software.
 
Andy said:
I disagree that there are "absolutely no downsides." That is rarely true, of any big decision -- there are always upsides and downsides, to just about everything. One obvious downside is that people would have one less reason to buy an Xbox. Another is that it dilutes the identity of the Xbox brand. A third is that it contributes to the perception that they don't have any exclusives. A fourth is that they may open themselves up to criticism and complaints because some games may run poorly on Switch or simply be unavailable.

If it were true that there were "absolutely no downsides," you'd see MS bringing Gamepass to PS4/5, too. They aren't going to do that, because it would kill their console business. After all, who's going to bother to buy an expensive next-gen Xbox console when they can get a 2 in 1 deal with a PS5? They're (rumored to be) doing this with Nintendo because Nintendo isn't a direct competitor the way Sony is. They're minimizing their risk.
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Not if you take a step back and look at what their doing. The Xbox brand wont be affected by this as there will be essentially two different agendas. The Xcloud/Gamepass "Netflix" service and, the traditional Xbox console. The more they explain it, the more clear it becomes. Gamepass will be the "Netflix" of gaming in the near future. (hell! they're half way there now...) That will be the service that can be played/streamed on any device including Switch -- kindah like Netflix is everywhere now. It will act almost autonomously from the Xbox console itself. Then you'll have the Xbox/GP home experience in correlation. It wont be any different than the Play Anywhere Agenda they have going on right now.

An Xbox exclusive is still an Xbox exclusive. If you access Gamepass on your Switch via XCloud, they exclusives are still exclusives because you wont gain access if you arent a subscriber. I have no idea if I'm making any sense. s***...Lol
 
We have to keep in mind this is just the beggining of the process. In 5 years (if not sooner), Sony will be an app on TVs too. They’ve hired people and are investing in that transition.

For people who are currently Xbox gamers, a traditional console will be the way to go for most people for a few years. It’ll change in time but this streaming thing won’t launch flawlessly. Porting native to Switch will result in compromises.

It’s just an option. An option that will be adopted in some foreign markets where Xbox currently has no presence. An option for those who’ll never buy Xbox hardware but will be willing to try out a less premium version of Halo Infinite on their Switch for $10.

In the US, where Microsoft has a presence and Internet is inconsistent garbage with garbage policies ISPs are currently allowed to get away with, mindshare will still be with the traditional console.
 
OneBadMutha said:
We have to keep in mind this is just the beggining of the process. In 5 years (if not sooner), Sony will be an app on TVs too. They’ve hired people and are investing in that transition.
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PS Now was already an app on TVs for a while, but they discontinued it. They may bring it back in the future, who knows.

Personally, I like Sony, because they aren't as gung-ho on the cloud-based/streaming/Netflix model of the future the way MS is. That stuff doesn't interest me. I like a traditional home console. I'm glad Sony is staying focused on that.
 
Mcmasters said:
Not if you take a step back and look at what their doing. The Xbox brand wont be affected by this as there will be essentially two different agendas. The Xcloud/Gamepass "Netflix" service and, the traditional Xbox console. The more they explain it, the more clear it becomes. Gamepass will be the "Netflix" of gaming in the near future. (hell! they're half way there now...) That will be the service that can be played/streamed on any device including Switch -- kindah like Netflix is everywhere now. It will act almost autonomously from the Xbox console itself. Then you'll have the Xbox/GP home experience in correlation. It wont be any different than the Play Anywhere Agenda they have going on right now.

An Xbox exclusive is still an Xbox exclusive. If you access Gamepass on your Switch via XCloud, they exclusives are still exclusives because you wont gain access if you arent a subscriber. I have no idea if I'm making any sense. s***...Lol
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I understand what you're saying and what MS is going for, but I still think there are downsides.

I think there is a tendency sometimes to want to paint everything MS does as an unmitigated win, an absolute positive. Life is rarely black and white like that. There are always downsides. I was just trying to introduce a little balance into the discussion.

I'm not saying it's a bad idea. I'm just saying it's not true that there are "absolutely no downsides." There are always downsides, and part of good decision-making is looking at them. I'm sure MS considered them and decided to go ahead anyway, because the upside outweighed the down.
 
To elaborate on my point before, Microsoft wouldn’t have signed off on tripling (maybe more) their game development employees for a chance to make nominal hardware increases. There’s no reason to think Sony will lose their base next gen. Even if Microsoft does everything right, the way these ecosystems hook into consumers is a hard thing to break and therefore very little chance of siphoning off much of Sony’s base. The question then isn’t whether Microsoft can get Sony gamers to switch primary platforms. Question is whether they can get people who own PlayStation’s and Switches to subscribe to Game Pass in addition. The yearly revenue of one full price Game Pass subscription is near equivalent what Microsoft gets from the average gamer in terms of Xbox Live subscriptions and 3rd party cuts combined. A Game Pass subscriber on a 3rd party platform who renews every month is likely more valuable than a traditional Xbox hardware owner who doesn’t have Game Pass.

With that out of the way, I do think Xbox hardware will be devalued without true exclusives but ironically they could sell more than they did this gen despite that. People will buy Xbox’s for the same reason people buy Surface laptops or upgrade gaming PCs. If non Xbox gamers taste Game Pass and stick with it, they may eventually buy local Xbox hardware to get the more premium versions of those Game Pass games. If Xbox plays all PC games because it allows mouse and keyboard, more PC gamers may choose Xbox over PC upgrades as the cheaper alternative.

It’s a different paradigm. Microsoft’s hardware may be devalued but their platform and mindshare should gain significantly.

As Andy mentioned, Sony will likely lean harder towards a traditional gaming model to start next gen and they should. I think they own that market right now. If you were a hardcore 360 fan and didn’t want the industry to change much from that, PlayStation should be your primary brand today.

Me on the other hand...I get excited about change.
 
Andy said:
PS Now was already an app on TVs for a while, but they discontinued it. They may bring it back in the future, who knows.

Personally, I like Sony, because they aren't as gung-ho on the cloud-based/streaming/Netflix model of the future the way MS is. That stuff doesn't interest me. I like a traditional home console. I'm glad Sony is staying focused on that.
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And MS is focused on Xbox hardware. Phil even stated hardware is his preferred avenue for gaming.
 
Hedon said:
And MS is focused on Xbox hardware.
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Along with being focused on all kinds of other things. Sony has some focus on those other things, too, but not to the extent that MS does.

Phil even stated hardware is his preferred avenue for gaming.
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Sure, hardware is the best (almost only) way to get people to buy in to the service right now. The infrastructure doesn't currently exist to carry out the cloud-based, subscription-focused, Xbox-as-service model they're envisioning. But that's the direction they're headed. That's what they're constantly talking about.

I'm speculating, but I think eventually, the Xbox home console will become just another option, not the main focus. That's still many years away, though (10?).
 
Andy said:
Along with being focused on all kinds of other things. Sony has some focus on those other things, too, but not to the extent that MS does.



Sure, hardware is the best (almost only) way to get people to buy in to the service right now. The infrastructure doesn't currently exist to carry out the cloud-based, subscription-focused, Xbox-as-service model they're envisioning. But that's the direction they're headed. That's what they're constantly talking about.

I'm speculating, but I think eventually, the Xbox home console will become just another option, not the main focus. That's still many years away, though (10?).
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I think that will be true of all the consoles.
 
Either way, hardware or not, Microsoft will need great games to push both delivery methods.

Gamepass is great service. But it could be and probably will be even better in tbe future if the new studios deliver.
 
Hedon said:
I think that will be true of all the consoles.
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I don't. That's MS's vision, not Sony's (or Nintendo's).

I agree there will be a trend toward digital services/content delivery, but I think MS and Sony are heading in very different directions. Talking as if they're equivalent companies with equivalent strategies -- and as if the cloud-based/sub-based "Netflix of gaming" future that MS envisions is inevitable -- is just not accurate.

It's also rather sad. I like traditional home consoles, and I don't want them to be relegated to an afterthought.
 
Sony's approach in gaming ie consoles and services has made it the leader.

Playstation consoles>All other consoles

The approach on game services they also are leading in PSnow>Gamepass and PS+>XBL
 
I think people are just going overboard.

MS probably want to bring Game Pass to switch but not Xbox Game Pass rather a GP that focuses on the Switch software rather than a load of Xbox titles suddenly being on switch
 
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VaLLiancE said:
That makes no sense though.

And...Why would MS want to pay alllll of those companies to use there games on Gamepass?
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A lot of the games on GP are on switch anyways. MS would get all those extra subs from switch users and could even get some Nintendo games
 
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Andy said:
I don't. That's MS's vision, not Sony's (or Nintendo's).

I agree there will be a trend toward digital services/content delivery, but I think MS and Sony are heading in very different directions. Talking as if they're equivalent companies with equivalent strategies -- and as if the cloud-based/sub-based "Netflix of gaming" future that MS envisions is inevitable -- is just not accurate.

It's also rather sad. I like traditional home consoles, and I don't want them to be relegated to an afterthought.
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I guess we will agree to disagree.
 
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