Xbox Game Pass - PC And Ultimate - News, Stuff And Recommendations
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Wasn't planning on renewing my sub once my free trial was over, I'm still going to cancel it but it will be worth subscribing again once they get a first party game out that I actually want to play. I am already mad at myself for buying Gears of war Bore because that came out on the service not long after the One X launched, bought Halo wars 2 as well and now that's there, luckily both were on sale when I bought them but I wish I had waited now as I couldn't get into gears at all and HW2 isn't as good as the first one. For fans of MS's current 1st party offerings it seems like a no brainer to sign up now though, it may cost more in the long run but you can always cancel after one month.
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Thanks for your usual insight Jinca, which is "kind of say something good about MS, but always end it saying something negative about Xbox".
Good news for:
- MS. Game Pass looks more attractive and will get more gamers interested in it
- Gamers. For people who care about a disc and don't mind playing a digital version (which seems the growing trend), then you get lots of games and now MS launch games
- Devs still squeaking out revenue from old games. With more Game Pass people who will join, they might buy that game at discount so they have it permanently, or buy some DLC. Maybe they won't, but if gamers didn't see it and try it on Game Pass in the first place, they'd never buy it anyway. Also, MS surely funds devs. So the more gamers who sign up, the more rev they should get.... even if it's like 10 cents per person
Not good news for:
- Retailers. Any Game Pass subber won't bother buying the disc
- Sony and Nintendo. Makes them look like cheapskates not offering good subscription plans
Undetermined effect:
- EA Access. With Game Pass now getting extra value, will gamers who already do EA Access want another sub? Or will they ditch EA Access for Game Pass? Or no effect as gamers won't mind double subscriptions as it's two sets of totally different games?
- MS. Game Pass looks more attractive and will get more gamers interested in it
- Gamers. For people who care about a disc and don't mind playing a digital version (which seems the growing trend), then you get lots of games and now MS launch games
- Devs still squeaking out revenue from old games. With more Game Pass people who will join, they might buy that game at discount so they have it permanently, or buy some DLC. Maybe they won't, but if gamers didn't see it and try it on Game Pass in the first place, they'd never buy it anyway. Also, MS surely funds devs. So the more gamers who sign up, the more rev they should get.... even if it's like 10 cents per person
Not good news for:
- Retailers. Any Game Pass subber won't bother buying the disc
- Sony and Nintendo. Makes them look like cheapskates not offering good subscription plans
Undetermined effect:
- EA Access. With Game Pass now getting extra value, will gamers who already do EA Access want another sub? Or will they ditch EA Access for Game Pass? Or no effect as gamers won't mind double subscriptions as it's two sets of totally different games?
He did a pretty good job sandwiching the insults with compliments I thought. A straight shooter with management potential written all over him.
This is Netflix for games....screw Gamefly yo...this is cheaper and no limits!...at least if you are primarily an Xbox gamer that is 
.
I think retailers will feel a slight hit but realistically, what % of the base do you think will sub to this? 10%, 25%? Hard to say. Microsoft published games NPD sales are sure to be way skewed because of this (with this news, I don't plan to buy any MS published games directly) but they obviously are taking the Netflix route where the subs are what matter and hopefully this will allow them to take some more risks with new IP/most requested sequels and reboots.
.Well as for EA Access:
- EA games aren't on XGP so nowhere else to get them
- The service comes out to $2.50/mo which is cheap. Not as many games but some fairly big ones (I only buy EA games on disc that I can trade in as I know they'll eventually come to EA Access).
I think retailers will feel a slight hit but realistically, what % of the base do you think will sub to this? 10%, 25%? Hard to say. Microsoft published games NPD sales are sure to be way skewed because of this (with this news, I don't plan to buy any MS published games directly) but they obviously are taking the Netflix route where the subs are what matter and hopefully this will allow them to take some more risks with new IP/most requested sequels and reboots.
As a safety tip, beware of skimming other gaming forums out there about Game Pass.
You may run into gamers telling you Game Pass is bad because it cuts into MS' profits as games like SoT and Crackdown 3 are part of the deal.
LOL.
You may run into gamers telling you Game Pass is bad because it cuts into MS' profits as games like SoT and Crackdown 3 are part of the deal.
LOL.
This is Netflix for games....screw Gamefly yo...this is cheaper and no limits!...at least if you are primarily an Xbox gamer that is
Well as for EA Access:
While standard joe probably doesn't know, you could get Xbox Live free and XGP free using Microsoft Rewards as well. There are games that I do want to support so I'll probably buy them on disc instead of waiting for them to hit a service but always on disc. With these 2 services, I'll be saving $$$.
- EA games aren't on XGP so nowhere else to get them
- The service comes out to $2.50/mo which is cheap. Not as many games but some fairly big ones (I only buy EA games on disc that I can trade in as I know they'll eventually come to EA Access).
I think retailers will feel a slight hit but realistically, what % of the base do you think will sub to this? 10%, 25%? Hard to say. Microsoft published games NPD sales are sure to be way skewed because of this (with this news, I don't plan to buy any MS published games directly) but they obviously are taking the Netflix route where the subs are what matter and hopefully this will allow them to take some more risks with new IP/most requested sequels and reboots.
I think we will see a 10% impact on 'sales' this year with a growth of 10% every successive year. Itunes and spotify co-exist. I dont doubt purchases will ever go away, but hey those 360 games released 12 years ago are in part driving this so they just keep on giving.
Someone needs to shop Phil in
This is Netflix for games....screw Gamefly yo...this is cheaper and no limits!...at least if you are primarily an Xbox gamer that is
Gamefly would still be better for any new game not made by MS. Its too slow for my tastes though.
I think it has its positives and negatives. Could be more negatives in the long run.
What's the opportunity cost between a physical and digital copy of a game? Why would MS gladly have an exclusive title ready at launch for essentially a $5-10 rental? Does this mean moneyhatting is a thing of the past too?
Unstandably, depending the gamer, it's either you buy everything up or pick and choose which exclusive you want to directly support.
What's the opportunity cost between a physical and digital copy of a game? Why would MS gladly have an exclusive title ready at launch for essentially a $5-10 rental? Does this mean moneyhatting is a thing of the past too?
Unstandably, depending the gamer, it's either you buy everything up or pick and choose which exclusive you want to directly support.
LOL...as if MS doesn't know what it's doing. They understand the ramifications of moving to a subscription model and it's actually pro consumer. I can buy the game or rent it for as long as I want. These are probably the same kids that beat off to NPD numbers every month. Hey, better tell Netflix not to make any more exclusive shows/movies as it cuts into their profit!
As a guy who has a (free 3 month trial) subscription to the service I can voice my educated opinion on it
Most of the games on it are games I couldn't care less to play, that's just me though. On the surface it's a great value, the more games that appeal directly to you the more attractive an option it becomes. Clearly MS is going to be pushing more for the services model in the future going by past comments by Spencer and others as well as the move of putting all 1st party games on the service day one. I do wonder how this will impact their investment in first party offerings in the future and how much pricing will change for the service as time goes on but for now I think any xbox owner who likes MS 1st party games (which is likely the majority of people who own their consoles) it's worth signing up.
Could be but obviously Microsoft has crunched the numbers on this over and over and this wasn't a knee-jerk decision. I imagine they have sub numbers that they need to hit with this new model at various times and if they don't hit them they may have an issue. However, outside of pointless hand wringing (we don't know the numbers) it's hard to criticize the move with the obvious consumer benefits.
Now if MS first party output stays flat/declines because of the move, that would be a huge negative. It would also be the opposite of what Phil and co. have been saying over the last year or so that more FP/game deals are coming. I don't think this changes anything with FP/exclusives direction and if MS thinks it can sit on it's hands, this will fail hard. The model is "increase subscriptions/add more content" and on and on. If this is a hit, it has the potential to greatly increase Microsoft's spend on gaming similar to how Netflix has gone crazy creating/acquiring exclusive content for it's platform.
Will definitely get game pass now sometime soon. I already have EA Access and like it. They just knocked it out the park with this announcement and will pull in a lot of people to their pass.
10-15% of initial sales vs a 500% increase in users.
It might be more benificial to have a much higher profile. Rocket League was born out of being a freebie.
It might be more benificial to have a much higher profile. Rocket League was born out of being a freebie.
$9.99 plus tax a month is 2 much for 2 little.
EA access cost me $25 for a whole year....
Much better value
EA access cost me $25 for a whole year....
Much better value
Value is subjective. While I think EA Access is great, I have not subscribed because I perceive the value is not there. Part of the reason is I felt games have generally lost their juice when the arrive. I feel the same about Game Pass until today. The fact AAA games will be there day 1 adds a ton more value to me. Now the additional catalogue is a nice perk.
Well I thought Netflix's whole purpose was to potentially stop paying the large network corporations for high priced/high quality TV shows. Now there's an overabundance of it to where if Netflix wanted to, they could just say f*** them and have a solely purely original Netflix streaming service, especially with how a lot of networks having their own streaming services as well.
I have EA Access. Don't use it much, but have got my worth out of it.
EA Access is best used as an "Oh ok, lemme get around to that EA game that came out 10 months ago" model.
Half their games are sports too. You got every edition of Madden, NBA Live, hockey and even both UFC games. Rory Golf is there too. So if you love sports, but don't want to pay or care for the latest FIFA, EA Access gets you all of last year's sports games consistently about 8-9 months after launch.
If you're a shooter fan, EA's shooters hold up online communities well. But again, you got to be a gamer who isn't too competitive because by the time you play BF, every other guy in the game already is an expert in the game, while you are level 1. If you are a shooter fan who cares that much, you'll get BF at launch.
The library also has a slew of old 360 games and XBLA kinds of games. So a gamer who wants to dip and daddle with 10 year old casual games may get some worth out of it too.
There's 100+ games in Game Pass, not two titles.
EA Access is a hell of a deal though.
I bought a year subscription for it when I got my One X, I kind of regret it now because BF1 didn't get a One X update. It is nice to have Bad Company 2 on there if I want to go back and play it but I probably should have just bought that. So far both EA access and Games Pass are services I won't be re-upping when my current subs expire, that could change depending on what's added though. The value is there for sure if there are games you want to play.
Yeah, a good chunk of those are 360 games though so it kind of dilutes the value a bit when you realize a lot of them are several years old and made for older hardware. Doesn't mean that those are bad games but they seem more like filler really.
Problem I see with this... where's the incentive for a developer to take their time and make a stellar title if it's just going to get lumped in with 100 other titles?
And I can't see how this doesn't hurt the studios profits.
And I can't see how this doesn't hurt the studios profits.
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This could be industry changing.
- Netflix didn’t start with Superstar franchises. Game Pass has bigger names than Netflix had when it began. There’s a snowball effect once momentum of a few big IPs drive the service...which allows more opportunity to invest in new IP...which drives more Investment, etc.
- New IPs like Sea of Thieves have a much greater chance to become hits and sustain their community on a service like this.
- If Sunset Overdrive was exposed to millions of more gamers, there probably would’ve been a sequel. Again this gives new IPs a far greater chance to live.
- The average gamer isn’t buying more than 1 Microsoft IP a year. Average gamers usually buy COD, GTA and Madden. This could eventually drive more average gamers into the Xbox ecosystem if Microsoft finds their next new Halo.
- Microtransactions and DLC will still be paid for separately like they are now. When a stadium doesn’t sell out a sports game, they’ll sometimes give tickets away because you’ll pay for parking, a hot dog and beer.
- People who think this is bad for gaming don’t trust Microsoft. Every reason given for why this is bad revolves around that one issue. It’s just Netflix. You can still buy movies separately while having a Netflix sub. You can still buy the games separately if this service weirds you out.
Developers will still be selling their games separate. Even developers who put their games in Game Pass will sell separate. It’s just another option. One more way to gain exposure and potentially sell DLC, micro-transactions or their sequel to the new fan in addition to whatever they get paid for having their game on the service.
Right now developers are lumped in with 1000’s of other games.
I think it wiĺl cut into individual title sales huge and micro-transactions will go through the roof per title to compensate. This may be a money saver for the consumer but I think quality of games and the experience will be sacrificed. IMO.
I am experiencing #3 from your list right now, Sunset overdrive didn't appeal to me at all because of the way it was marketed and a lot of the art style, that being said I'm giving it a try on game pass right now. I can see why others like it so much, the personality and humor and little details like the many different spawning animations are great, that being said it's still not a game I'd buy but because it's part of a service I've already "paid for" I'm willing to give it a shot.
As far as not trusting MS I think that distrust has been earned, they have said they are moving to more service based content (well Spencer has anyway) and they haven't proven since the first half of last gen that they are really committed to new IP's. People will point out what Spencer said about them recently securing a few more but why did it take so long? I know he said "well do the hardware and then the software" but honestly that makes no sense, software has to run on the old hardware so why not start that first? Also the hardware group and game studios are different entities so again why trust him on this issue?
I get that MS has gotten burned by partnering with some studios that take too long to make games that don't connect with large audiences (Remedy) so I can see why they are a little gun shy but Gears, Halo and Forza were all new at some point as well and those all turned out pretty well for them. They just don't seem to have the patience to let something build slowly, I don't know if it's their corporate culture or what but something needs to change.
And it's nice for dumb asses like you too.
ya know, that was a long string of words for a cheesehead. Surprising
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