I'm glad someone did. Now I got an infraction from it for no good reason.
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2 years into Gamepass, plus 2.5 years additional paidfor. Still thinking whats the catch
- Thread starter Phonzo
- Start date
I'm glad someone did. Now I got an infraction from it for no good reason.
Because you pay the price of Gamepass once, but save on any game you buy during the subscription period.
$10 1 month of gamepass
$60 1 new game
-$12 Gamepass member discount
$58 bucks. You own the game plus you yet to try out hundreds of others with your sub.
This compared to just paying $60 for the game
That math only works assuming you pay for a single month of GamePass or buy a full priced game every month while being subbed. Which the vast majority of people is not going to do.
That is a YOU problem. I've finished several games on Game Pass. Even at $10 it's easily worth it to me. New games are added all the time and I can try out games without spending any extra money. Contrast that with paying $60 and then hating a game. Especially for someone like you, who does not play a lot of games. Game Pass should be perfect for someone like you.
MS rewards will definitely be dialed back once more people are subscribed.
It definitely does not lack in quality and variety lol. In fact, some of your favourite games this gen are or have been on Game Pass.
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No. The math always works assuming you only pay for the service in months that it has $10 or more worth of games you want to rent. In months where this is true, you've more than extracted the value. If it's ever not true, you've lost nothing by unsubscribing.
The service having a game you'd like to own is added benefit
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I haven't payed $60 for a game I hated in a long time. Luckily I know myself well enough at this point and there's enough resources out there to know what games are like before you buy them.
My son signed up for GP on one of the $1 deals. He had issues accessing the account to cancel, put in 3 tickets with MS, never got a response and ended up having to put a stop payment on his checking account after paying them for 2 months that he didn't want.
People like him are "the catch", unfortunately.
People like him are "the catch", unfortunately.
Haha that's me as well :D
My 4 year old was devastated when Lego Worlds left Game Pass, so of course I bought it.
Same for Outer Wilds which I discovered through GP, before it became one of my favorite games ever - I just had to support Annapurna and Moebius.
Same for the Walking Dead games by Telltale, a large majority of them were (still are?) on GP, after completing them all my wife wanted to buy the one or two games that were not on the service.
So yeah, that's the catch 🤷🏼♂️ but it's still the best deal out there, and more importantly what made me enjoy gaming again for the first time in years (no hyperbole).
100% this I love my PlayStation but I don't know the fact that I am making a tiny bit of money having fun that goes back into my hobby brings a smile to my face.
Don't forget too that it's 10 million subscribers.. plus whatever sales they get from people still buying their games.
That's the camp I'm in. I think Game Pass is incredible value, but buying the games I really want to play is still king for me. I increasingly buy fewer games but try to spend more time with them, often over years or via re-visiting them, so I'd rather just have them on Steam.
Microsoft will have all the metrics available to them to determine how valuable the service is to them, even on a game by game basis, in terms of how much they are making via GP vs who is still buying what.
I actually agree that there's too many Game Pass threads. But by the same token, I could do with fewer threads that boil down to some variation of "So guys, why do YOU think Sony is the bestest ever?"
It wasn't possible to just cancel on the Microsoft website? :/
It really is effing amazing.
And I also kinda concur with this? To an extent, at least? If we're going to allow those Sony threads — and I'm generally OK with them — I don't mind all the Game Pass threads, either.
I'm obviously just one moderator among many, but until threads get out-of-hand with console warring and silly accusations and the like, we tend to feel similarly on the issue. I want fans of each console manufacturer to be able to engage with other fans about how much they love their chosen ecosystems. That's not negativity; it's just good chattin'.
And I also kinda concur with this? To an extent, at least? If we're going to allow those Sony threads — and I'm generally OK with them — I don't mind all the Game Pass threads, either.
I'm obviously just one moderator among many, but until threads get out-of-hand with console warring and silly accusations and the like, we tend to feel similarly on the issue. I want fans of each console manufacturer to be able to engage with other fans about how much they love their chosen ecosystems. That's not negativity; it's just good chattin'.
I can't find the official Game Pass thread (if there is one) so I'm just coming here to praise UnderMine. I don't even play these types of games. I'm getting back into RDR2's online and I just bought FF7 Remake, and all I can do is "one more run" in this game. It's cute and addictive as hell, and I wouldn't have ever even heard of it if it wasn't on this service. I got it for my kid, as I have little time in the day for games in general and this one is stealing it all.
You better enjoy it because it caused me to get a warning lmao
I've been playing a lot of different stuff too. I know folks say it a bit, it it really a fine value.
That aside, the game pass thread is as follows:
Xbox Game Pass |OT| Game Pass and Chill OT
Just played through the first chapter of Yakuza Kiwami 2 and throughout the whole thing there was a blue buffering type circle in the bottom right corner. Every time I went to save the game during the chapter a box popped saying "Just a moment. Waiting for connection" (or something like that)...
www.resetera.com
Just sharing it since I know some others were chatting about undermine there.
Ah, thanks.I've been playing a lot of different stuff too. I know folks say it a bit, it it really a fine value.
That aside, the game pass thread is as follows:
Xbox Game Pass |OT| Game Pass and Chill OT
Just played through the first chapter of Yakuza Kiwami 2 and throughout the whole thing there was a blue buffering type circle in the bottom right corner. Every time I went to save the game during the chapter a box popped saying "Just a moment. Waiting for connection" (or something like that)...
Just sharing it since I know some others were chatting about undermine there.
Maybe! Hasn't happened in the like... 8 years I've been with it so.
My guess is the catch is to get most xbox gamers on the service. When they feel they have enough they will most likely not release any more hardware after this up coming generation. I reckon we will still get a ps6 but I dont see a new xbox. Then you will have no option (if you want to play their games) you will have to sub to their service which will give them all the freedom to charge you more. Also you will never own an xbox game. You wont be able to lend a game to a friend or be able to trade the game in towards another game or credit. If thats what xbox gamers want not to own a game ever again then I guess thats fine but dont be fooled that the price will stay the same.
I went 95% digital on my ps4 and I have regreted it now when I think back to this generation. The games are far too dear to buy day one and even when they go on sale you dont save much. Its far far cheaper finding deals online for physical copies of games or buy second hand dirt cheap. Plus I miss looking at my collection of games :(. The day games go all digital I believe we will be fucked by the publishers. They will be able to price their games high. When that happens I think that might be time I hang up the contoller and say goodbye to gaming.
I went 95% digital on my ps4 and I have regreted it now when I think back to this generation. The games are far too dear to buy day one and even when they go on sale you dont save much. Its far far cheaper finding deals online for physical copies of games or buy second hand dirt cheap. Plus I miss looking at my collection of games :(. The day games go all digital I believe we will be fucked by the publishers. They will be able to price their games high. When that happens I think that might be time I hang up the contoller and say goodbye to gaming.
So just a simple anecdotal story on my impressions of gamepass and how it's worked out for me.
Signed up for gamepass last year and saw that Forza Horizon 4 was there. I never bothered playing any of the horizon games ( i remember playing the original Forza Motorsport way back in the day) prior to this so went and ahead and downloaded it. Heard nightmare stories indicating issues with it running from the MS Store and it the potential for it not to run properly on a Windows machine.
After downloading it and playing it for a few hours I was absolutely enthralled at the game ( love arcade racers btw). So i continued to play the game for quite a while. I saw a sale on the Microsoft store for forza 4 ultimate edition and didn't even hesitate to purchase it cause i knew beforehand it ran well and i wanted all the expansion ans such. Couple of months later Forza Horizon 3 goes on sale. Hearing many positive stories about it just went ahead and purchased it. Loved it. Now I have both 3 and 4 and they run like a dream for me.
Age of empires II Definitive edition was the same way. I had played the original at released so its been a long while since i touched them at all. Downloaded from GamePass and had a blast. Saw a sale on steam for both I and II and purchased them.
From my person experience paying 5 bucks a month currently to play games and then waiting for a sale seems like it works for me. I've tried sea of thieves several times but it just hasn't clicked ( and may never will) but i appreciate the ability to try every so often. If a game is on GamePass and i don't see a reason to purchase ( Streets of Rage IV comes to mind) then I'll just play it there until it goes away or maybe it's dirt cheap somewhere and i decide to purchase then.
I have downloaded about a dozen or so games from GamePass and i enjoy the ability to see if some of those games grab me enough to justify a purchase. A game can be the greatest thing since sliced bread but having the ability to see whether you can really enjoy it with a small rental cost seems to make it more cost effective for me.
However, the second it no longer feels like I am getting more out of it than I am paying for i simply cancel. I do the same thing with other subscriptions such as Spotify and some of the tv subscriptions as well. It has not changed how i still buy games from Steam and other stores. I think it has provided another avenue to see if I will like a game. And that works for me.
If this is what they were going for then I have no problem subsidizing the service. And now that I'm older ( been gaming since the late 70's) I don't care if I can't finish every game i play. Those that i do care about i will make it a point to make sure I have the ability to play them when I have the time. I have a ton of games and even more in my backlog to last me 3 lifetimes so there is always that.
I simply don't have a horse here in the way a business sells a product. If it works for me then great. If not then I have other options. If Gamepass goes up in price I'll decide if it's still worth it. If it can't sustain itself and ends up failing well that's ok too. I will just see the plethora of options and continue to play the games I want.
So a tldr; - As long as the service works for my needs I'll use it. Once it no longer meets those needs then I simply cancel as I've done with other services.
Hey I love CrossFit, lol.
Thanks for reading!
Signed up for gamepass last year and saw that Forza Horizon 4 was there. I never bothered playing any of the horizon games ( i remember playing the original Forza Motorsport way back in the day) prior to this so went and ahead and downloaded it. Heard nightmare stories indicating issues with it running from the MS Store and it the potential for it not to run properly on a Windows machine.
After downloading it and playing it for a few hours I was absolutely enthralled at the game ( love arcade racers btw). So i continued to play the game for quite a while. I saw a sale on the Microsoft store for forza 4 ultimate edition and didn't even hesitate to purchase it cause i knew beforehand it ran well and i wanted all the expansion ans such. Couple of months later Forza Horizon 3 goes on sale. Hearing many positive stories about it just went ahead and purchased it. Loved it. Now I have both 3 and 4 and they run like a dream for me.
Age of empires II Definitive edition was the same way. I had played the original at released so its been a long while since i touched them at all. Downloaded from GamePass and had a blast. Saw a sale on steam for both I and II and purchased them.
From my person experience paying 5 bucks a month currently to play games and then waiting for a sale seems like it works for me. I've tried sea of thieves several times but it just hasn't clicked ( and may never will) but i appreciate the ability to try every so often. If a game is on GamePass and i don't see a reason to purchase ( Streets of Rage IV comes to mind) then I'll just play it there until it goes away or maybe it's dirt cheap somewhere and i decide to purchase then.
I have downloaded about a dozen or so games from GamePass and i enjoy the ability to see if some of those games grab me enough to justify a purchase. A game can be the greatest thing since sliced bread but having the ability to see whether you can really enjoy it with a small rental cost seems to make it more cost effective for me.
However, the second it no longer feels like I am getting more out of it than I am paying for i simply cancel. I do the same thing with other subscriptions such as Spotify and some of the tv subscriptions as well. It has not changed how i still buy games from Steam and other stores. I think it has provided another avenue to see if I will like a game. And that works for me.
If this is what they were going for then I have no problem subsidizing the service. And now that I'm older ( been gaming since the late 70's) I don't care if I can't finish every game i play. Those that i do care about i will make it a point to make sure I have the ability to play them when I have the time. I have a ton of games and even more in my backlog to last me 3 lifetimes so there is always that.
I simply don't have a horse here in the way a business sells a product. If it works for me then great. If not then I have other options. If Gamepass goes up in price I'll decide if it's still worth it. If it can't sustain itself and ends up failing well that's ok too. I will just see the plethora of options and continue to play the games I want.
So a tldr; - As long as the service works for my needs I'll use it. Once it no longer meets those needs then I simply cancel as I've done with other services.
Hey I love CrossFit, lol.
Thanks for reading!
I feel like this is one of those copypasta things.
That's the only explanation for a take so lacking in sound business theory.
The catch is say good bye to anything that has an expensive high budget in a couple years ala last of us, horizon if people aren't willing to pay they are not gonna invest tons of money into an expensive game development
Gears 5 went on it yes but that was in dev a couple years already plus they will start out like that to grab the subs as soon as they have enough expect more of that F2P crap like the app stores on mobiles
Gears 5 went on it yes but that was in dev a couple years already plus they will start out like that to grab the subs as soon as they have enough expect more of that F2P crap like the app stores on mobiles
Chances are that as we move into the next generation of games and we start to see the first wave of titles coming from Xbox Game Studios, we'll know for sure if there is a catch or not. For now, it is a service that benefits both consumers and developers.
After all, it does seem "Too good to be true" to play several games that recently came out and the only asking price is about $10-$15. If there's a catch, we probably won't see it anytime soon (or at least not until we get to the launch of the Xbox Series X if one were to pop up, but seems doubtful).
After all, it does seem "Too good to be true" to play several games that recently came out and the only asking price is about $10-$15. If there's a catch, we probably won't see it anytime soon (or at least not until we get to the launch of the Xbox Series X if one were to pop up, but seems doubtful).
The good news is, every game they make is released for sale on multiple platforms. And when they are good, millions of people buy them, despite gamepass.
AAA games will bring revenue, whether that comes from more subscribers, more traditional sales, more DLC sales, more ad sales, whatever. Money is money and there is more than one way to make it
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You aren't even wrong either. It's obviously "the catch". It's no secret that the PS4 was far and away the market leader, so Microsoft did the smart thing by offering a service of incredible value to get people into xbox. I think even Microsoft would agree "The catch is you are playing xbox", but it's not a bad thing from either the consumer nor the companies perspective.
Average gamer spends $120 annually on games which is what basic gamepass costs.
Also thought it was funny, but hard to tell between satire and genuine console warrior rhetoric sometimes so not surprised mods warned ya. Sarcasm on the internet doesn't come across well.
Whoa that's scary. I think I will stay far away from game pass.
Statista typically, but apparently my number is a bit outdated and it was as high as $216.64 in 2018.
What would you call this then?
Developing for Xbox Game Pass: "I could never pitch these ideas to a publisher"
This is part of a series of features with Xbox Game Studios. Check out the teams discuss life as a Microsoft-owned comp…
www.gamesindustry.biz
It's a good service for sure, kind of hamstrung by the PC app being terrible (the selection of games is decent).
Butttt I can't see myself paying even $10 a month when Epic have been giving me free games every week.
I think I'll likely dip in for a month here and there when big games I want release.
Butttt I can't see myself paying even $10 a month when Epic have been giving me free games every week.
I think I'll likely dip in for a month here and there when big games I want release.
you know what, I really appreciate these posts. And yes, def gonna use a /s in the future.
and I played like 6 Xbox games in the past few weeks all because of GP.
edit: thank you mods for listening
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I dont expect there to be a hard "catch." I expect them to boil the frog.
For the first few years they'll be handing out great deals left and right while even maintaining a relatively low base price and wide amount of perks. Get a large population hooked on the service, let them grow accustomed to it. Make it so great that even the casual audience starts noticing and coming on board.
Then once the population is there, they'll increase the price a little. And a little bit more. And a little more. And there will be fewer deals available, except for once or twice a year to get the attention of those people on the edge.
And a few years later they'll have this constant stream of subscription revenue pouring in, untied from specific releases, making them an ongoing profit. They'll be making money regardless of release schedules. People will grumble about the price increases but each one will be small enough not to overtly offend. They might even introduce new tiers along the way.
But the end result will be the average person giving them more money than they would have otherwise for standalone releases. More serious gaming hobbyists may still come out on top, but they'll be squeezing way more passive dollars out of the casual audience who may not have necessarily bought enough games that year to justify their subscription. But most won't be sitting there running calculations, they won't think too hard about it. By now they're just used to enjoying the service.
For the first few years they'll be handing out great deals left and right while even maintaining a relatively low base price and wide amount of perks. Get a large population hooked on the service, let them grow accustomed to it. Make it so great that even the casual audience starts noticing and coming on board.
Then once the population is there, they'll increase the price a little. And a little bit more. And a little more. And there will be fewer deals available, except for once or twice a year to get the attention of those people on the edge.
And a few years later they'll have this constant stream of subscription revenue pouring in, untied from specific releases, making them an ongoing profit. They'll be making money regardless of release schedules. People will grumble about the price increases but each one will be small enough not to overtly offend. They might even introduce new tiers along the way.
But the end result will be the average person giving them more money than they would have otherwise for standalone releases. More serious gaming hobbyists may still come out on top, but they'll be squeezing way more passive dollars out of the casual audience who may not have necessarily bought enough games that year to justify their subscription. But most won't be sitting there running calculations, they won't think too hard about it. By now they're just used to enjoying the service.
There is no 'catch'. MS is subsidizing the service to entice people to try it out. That's an every day, normal business thing to do with these types of deals. I'm genuinely surprised when people don't understand this.
These slippery slope arguments always get me.
If they raise the price and people stick around, then it's because they feel they are still getting value out of the product. Remember, every game that comes to gamepass is available for sale the old fashioned way. So if it ever stops making financial sense for someone to subscribe, whether they are casual or enthusiast, the door is there.
As far as the average gamer spending more than they otherwise would have --- that's kinda the point. It was never about reducing the amount of money people spend (though it works out that way for some, especially those of us who spend a lot)... this is a business. The value of Gamepass to MS is that people who are more engaged will find more to buy. If some casual gamers become more enthusiastic thanks to GP, that's a plus for MS.
Standard Gamepass is $10 a month. $120 a year annually. It's no stretch at all to assume casuals spend $120 a year. $60 more if the play MP. So $180. That's 2 games per year plus xbox live. There's quite a few casuals who spent that much.
Microsoft also isnt getting paid for unused games. MS has prepaid for every customer to use all 100 of the games in that catalog, even though they may only touch 5. It's the developers of the other 95 who are getting paid for unused games. The games that arent touched have a 0% chance of bringing MS meaningful ROI. MS' only shot at a profit is if the few games a customer does end up playing motivate them to spend inside and outside of Gamepass. As such, ensuring that the service has a wide variety of games so that every customer will have at least a few that interest them, every month, is vital.
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It'll depend on the situation, but it often can be cheaper if you play at launch. Say you like Gears like me and want to play Gears 5 or Gears Tactics at launch, but also want to own the games at some point. Buy Game Pass for a month ($5-10 depending on whether you play on PC or Xbox), instead of paying $60, complete the campaign and then down the line buy the games in a deep discount sale.
My game spending has gone down drastically since getting Game Pass, though I suppose from Microsoft's perspective it's gone up, due to me spending more in their ecosystem, but significantly less in other ecosystems. And I still end up owning/buying roughly the same number of games while having access to their first parties at launch. And quite a few indies considering eight games in total launched directly on Game Pass last month (launched meaning available day one it's available on Xbox).
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For me Gamepass doesn't work that well. Time is the limiting factor for my hobby, not money.
So I will always prefer playing the best games (Sony and other high budget games) instead of AA games.
I think there's a lot of people like me. Our hobby is cheap, the question is what do you play in the time you have. That's why Sony is so successful.
So I will always prefer playing the best games (Sony and other high budget games) instead of AA games.
I think there's a lot of people like me. Our hobby is cheap, the question is what do you play in the time you have. That's why Sony is so successful.