Has Xbox taken the spot as the defacto casual console recommendation?

[Deleted member 22750]

The default price of Game Pass Ultimate is $14.99 a month, and three month cards retail at $44.99. There are, as you say, frequent sales. I'm not that inclined to include them in this calcultaion though because they are time limited deals that will not last. It would be irresponsible to tell a friend that you can get Game Pass Ultimate for a year for $60 if that deal disappeared a year later. It's worth mentioning, absolutely, but it's not the long term scenario. The problem with all the "Game Pass is cheaper than X games" stuff, is that it doesn't matter if you actually want to play those X games. If FIFA and Call of Duty are what you are into, you are very unlikely to forgo that for however many games offered via Game Pass or PlayStation Plus.

Obviously it would be wrong of me not to also mention the Xbox Series S + Xbox Live Gold option, which might suit a lot of more casual gamers. But I think the PS5 Digital + PlayStation Plus is the better option.



$399 + $60/year vs $299 + $180/year. For a significantly stronger machine with significantly more storage. I also don't think one can ignore that PS5 + PlayStation Plus is also a good value for money offering, especially for someone who doesn't necessarily play that many games. It offers great value for money at $60/y and Game Pass Ultimate offers great value for money at $180/y. The idea that one of these things is a 'better' deal is a fallacy, and that's all I'm trying to say in this thread. It is hugely dependent on the gamer in question. All three options are going to suit different people. Casual gamers are as varied as hardcore gamers. There are other issues at play. Digital consoles are expensive long term. Not all casuals actually will be satisfied with a less powerful console. Just because they play fewer games doesn't mean they don't have a great TV and want their eyes to melt.



You're making a lot of assumptions about this casual gamer at that point. As I said in the other reply, casual gamers are as varied as hardcore gamers. I'm extremely sceptical of the people in this thread trying to argue that any of these consoles is way ahead of the others. All clearly have a massive amount to offer to gamers right across the gamut. If a casual gamer asks my recommendation I'm not going to tell them to buy an Xbox, I'm going to ask them what they're interested in playing.

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For the sake of argument.....

Your scenario: gamepass sales go away and the gold transfer is stopped.

it's still worth full price. But the gold transfer and sales do exist.

 

[Deleted member 23046]

The poll is reflecting the exact opposite of the market landscape.

 

[Rodelero]

For the sake of argument

gamepass sales go away and the gold transfer is stopped

it's still worth full price.

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Nothing is 'worth full price' in general. Worth is in the eye of the beholder. I'm subscribed to GPU and I've barely turned my Xbox on for a month. I certainly didn't get £11.99 worth out of it in the last month. GPU is very good value for money, that doesn't mean it is inherently worth subscribing to for any given person.

If you listen to many in this thread the suggestion seems to be that casual gamers don't care about buying the games that are renowned for having massive casual audiences and that casual gamers don't care about visuals, which begs the question why I am employed as a graphics programmer for a company that makes games for a casual audience. This is a pretty obvious case of people designing a casual gamer to fit their pre-conceived conclusion.

I'd love to live in a world where the average gamer was interested in playing the huge variety of quality games that Game Pass offers rather spending a fortune on FIFA and Call of Duty each year. We just don't. Not yet.

 

[Lemony1984]

it depends who is asking really but I have noticed parents etc I work with recommending Xbox+ gamepass to each other for their kids etc.

 

[cowbanana]

I know that the thread specifically states "console", but my casual kids and all their casual friends are not really into consoles that much, they want to be social and stream games to each other over Discord while playing Roblox or the latest craze on Steam. They haven't once asked for a PS5 or an Xbox. Might be a Scandinavian thing, but most kids seem to be doing stuff on PC where they can also dabble in digital art, video, music etc. all within immediate reach on the same hardware/screen.

 

[Deleted member 679]

Without a doubt. Anyone who would rather buy a PS5 even with all of the advantages the Xbox consoles currently have wouldn't be asking for recommendations anyway.

If seeing Fimbulwinter in God of War is by itself more important to you than Game Pass, you're not asking me which console is better.

The reason why I still have my PS4 is so I can replay Bloodborne, The Last Guardian and eventually get to play games like 13 Sentinels, Sakura Wars and Catherine Full Body, all games not a single person I know in real life has even heard of. And I tried to get people to play Bloodborne, but nobody gave a shit. I struggle to think of a single reason why they'd benefit from a more expensive console without Game Pass.

 

[Alek]

The ERA bubble strikes again.

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This.

I don't think any casual players I know are even considering an XBOX. They don't look at platforms in terms of value like people seem to imagine everyone does on ERA.

Most gaming advertisements leverage specific games to draw people in, and that's how a lot of casual consumers decide what platform to get. They see a game they want to play tied to a brand like PlayStation or XBOX and then they buy the related hardware as an means to play the game or games that caught their attention.

 

[TheGhost]

This.

I don't think any casual players I know are even considering an XBOX. They don't look at platforms in terms of value like people seem to imagine everyone does on ERA.

Most gaming advertisements leverage specific games to draw people in, and that's how a lot of casual consumers decide what platform to get. They see a game they want to play tied to a brand like PlayStation or XBOX and then they buy the related hardware as an means to play the game or games that caught their attention.

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You act like these people don't have friends that can tell them the difference in saving money.

 

[Spork4000]

It really depends on the person. If someone just wants something to play madden and cod, then sure gamepass, if they only play big budget single player fair, playstation, of they're looking for more family friendly stuff then Switch.

Also I'd only suggest gamepass to someone who was specifically wanted to play a lot of games. The attach rate for the PS4 was less than ten games per console, at that rate gamepass would be a waste of money most casuals. I tried to sell it to plenty of friends but they're reaction is always, "yeah, but I only want to play THESE games."

You act like these people don't have friends that can tell them the difference in saving money.

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If someone only wants to play *insert three games here* gamepass doesn't save them money.

 

[Simon-chan]

I wouldn't recommend a PS5 right now, that's for sure.

 

[Ambient]

No. The Switch is.

 

[TheGhost]

It really depends on the person. If someone just wants something to play madden and cod, then sure gamepass, if they only play big budget single player fair, playstation, of they're looking for more family friendly stuff then Switch.

Also I'd only suggest gamepass to someone who was specifically wanted to play a lot of games. The attach rate for the PS4 was less than ten games per console, at that rate gamepass would be a waste of money most casuals. I tried to sell it to plenty of friends but they're reaction is always, "yeah, but I only want to play THESE games."





If someone only wants to play *insert three games here* gamepass doesn't save them money.

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If someone is only playing those 3 games (COD, Fortnite, whatever) chances are they aren't buying a new system anyway

 

[johancruijff]

tbh casual gamers i know are all about mobile(and tablets) with some being curious about streaming

moreover, imo a customer that buys annualized franchises, be them sports or cod or whatever, and is subbed to gold/plus/Nonline it's not a casual

 

[Homura]

It's Switch, the casual gamer will buy Animal Crossing and Mario Kart 8 and be fine for years.
It will become PS5 when Fifa/COD/GTA will become next gen exclusive. These 3 series are the main reason why casual gamers buy new consoles.

Lmao at Xbox, the casual person has no idea wtf a GamePass is. Microsoft is doing great moves but until they actually market the console and services, nothing will change.

 

[Strittles]

This question is going to wildly vary from person to person no matter how casual or hardcore they are. I can't stand when people try to simplify what a 'casual gamer' would want or play.

 

[Malcolm9]

If someone is only playing those 3 games (COD, Fortnite, whatever) chances are they aren't buying a new system anyway

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They are if they want those games to look and run better, even more so if their family/friends have upgraded.

 

[Alek]

You act like these people don't have friends that can tell them the difference in saving money.

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The casual player is playing maybe 3 games a year, and they're focused on big titles like GTA, COD, Sports games and viral free to play. They aren't saving money by signing up to game pass to gain access to many more games than they'd ever have the will to play.

You have it the wrong way around, game pass saves money for more dedicated gaming hobbyists that want to play everything for less.

 

[Spork4000]

If someone is only playing those 3 games (COD, Fortnite, whatever) chances are they aren't buying a new system anyway

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They most definitely could be, that's the point of this thread, consoles for "casuals." I know a girl who is specifically buying a console for lego games and a guy who only wants a console for souls games. People are weird dude, and not everyone wants a huge instant game library. I suggested it to a few and they specifically were against it for A. Not thinking they'd get a lot out of it and B. Not wanting another subscription service.

 

[random88]

I would definitely recommend Series S to my "exclusively playing FIFA and NBA" friends.

 

[Vanillalite]

No for the Xbox being default despite me getting a Series S and gamepass so far this gen.

What has happened though is Sony is no longer the default console recommendation like it was with the PS4.

 

[Spork4000]

The casual player is playing maybe 3 games a year, and they're focused on big titles like GTA, COD, Sports games and viral free to play. They aren't saving money by signing up to game pass to gain access to many more games than they'd ever have the will to play.

You have it the wrong way around, game pass saves money for more dedicated gaming hobbyists that want to play everything for less.

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Now this guy gets it. I've been saying this stuff for months and people keep shouting me down over it.

 

[Deleted member 8752]

I don't really think there is a "de facto" recommendation anymore. All three console ecosystems are pretty much equal now.

 

[Wislizeni]

I think it's definitely the Switch, and will continue to be so as long as Nintendo updates the hardware periodically. Publishers are having less and less reason not to put their games on Switch, aside from hardware power, which can be amended by the aforementioned revisions. Gamepass definitely has my eye, though. It just really depends on how much that service expands its genre diversity (not to say it doesn't have genre diversity atm, btw).

 

[TaterTots]

To an actual casual gamer? Like some of my friends that just play sports games and COD? I would recommend the Series S and Game Pass. It's the cheapest entry to next gen.

 

[Guymelef]

The poll is reflecting the exact opposite of the market landscape.

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The Era bubble.

 

[CarpetSalesman]

It exists, I wanted one, but like the majority had to spend $100 more because Sony seems to be prioritizing physical despite the fact i don't buy physical.

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Sorry, it was a jokey post, but it seems to me that it loses Sony so much money that they can't really afford to produce it in significant quantities so effectively it's never available anywhere. I'd be interested to know how many of each sku they make, it wouldn't surprise me if it was less than 10:1.

 

[Deleted member 22750]

Nothing is 'worth full price' in general. Worth is in the eye of the beholder. I'm subscribed to GPU and I've barely turned my Xbox on for a month. I certainly didn't get £11.99 worth out of it in the last month. GPU is very good value for money, that doesn't mean it is inherently worth subscribing to for any given person.

If you listen to many in this thread the suggestion seems to be that casual gamers don't care about buying the games that are renowned for having massive casual audiences and that casual gamers don't care about visuals, which begs the question why I am employed as a graphics programmer for a company that makes games for a casual audience. This is a pretty obvious case of people designing a casual gamer to fit their pre-conceived conclusion.

I'd love to live in a world where the average gamer was interested in playing the huge variety of quality games that Game Pass offers rather spending a fortune on FIFA and Call of Duty each year. We just don't. Not yet.

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Series S is the one that's super appealing because tons still don't have 4k and tons don't care about graphics

as far as gamepass being worth admission? All you gotta do is ask yourself if you like playing video games and want to broaden your horizons. You play games you would have never looked at.

When average gamers see that the can get an S and gamepass for an affordable price they will start to see value where value is.

when casuals started seeing headlines that say mlb the show is on gamepass maybe they look up gamepass

 

[hydrophilic attack]

final fantasy is one of the most popular ip among more casual players here. would be a very bad recommendation to tell them to get a platform where you'd have to wait over a year to play the latest final fantasy games

 

[vixolus]

The casual player is playing maybe 3 games a year, and they're focused on big titles like GTA, COD, Sports games and viral free to play. They aren't saving money by signing up to game pass to gain access to many more games than they'd ever have the will to play.

You have it the wrong way around, game pass saves money for more dedicated gaming hobbyists that want to play everything for less.

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Not sure that's the case any more with almost every sports game being on Game Pass currently. If they only play one sports title like FIFA and the yearly COD then yeah it doesn't, but odds are those people will end up trying Halo out or Forza because they're on the Xbox platform at that point. Even just two full price titles gets you a year's worth of Game Pass.

 

[Pheonix]

Casuals play on where their friends play on.

 

[kc44135]

To me, yes. If I'm recommending someone a Console at this point it's going to be Xbox. Their focus on backwards compatibility, continued access to your purchases, and accessibility to classic games for new generations of gamers makes their ecosystem far and away the best of the three in my mind. The other two feel very anti-consumer by comparison at this point. Gamepass is also a phenomenal value at this point that neither Sony or Nintendo are really trying to compete with, and it's even giving people new games day one with a sub (I know Sony has PS NOW, but it's just not the same, especially with the focus on new games on Game pass). They also have Xbox Play Anywhere for access to your games on Xcloud and/or PC (although this does vary game by game to be fair). It's a great ecosystem and by far the best value of the three, especially with the Series S.

 

[Bxrz]

How/Why do people say Switch when they don't get the yearly CODs or have GTA5 and thats what casuals play (outside of sports games that the Switch is also missing).

When I think of a casual I think of them playing/buying 3 games a year and its usually between Madden, 2K, GTA5, COD and Fifa

 

[SgtCobra]

No, people will buy either a Switch for a night of Mario Kart with their friends on the couch, or even a PS5 because everyone and their morther seems to go crazy about that thing.

Casuals won't really care about BC. However, Game Pass might sway some people who don't care about gaming with their friends (or don't have any who game on consoles at all) due to its great value.

How/Why do people say Switch when they don't get the yearly CODs or have GTA5 and thats what casuals play (outside of sports games that the Switch is also missing).

When I think of a casual I think of them playing/buying 3 games a year and its usually between Madden, 2K, GTA5, COD and Fifa

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Because not everyone who is a casual gamer plays AAA or sports games. You gotta remember that the casual audience is many times bigger than the core audience. What do you think people on their mobile tend to play when on commute? Or the children who whip out their Switch like once a week when they're bored? It's not Madden.

 

[Spork4000]

Not sure that's the case any more with almost every sports game being on Game Pass currently. If they only play one sports title like FIFA and the yearly COD then yeah it doesn't, but odds are those people will end up trying Halo out or Forza because they're on the Xbox platform at that point. Even just two full price titles gets you a year's worth of Game Pass.

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The only updated sports game on gamepass right now is Madden. Usually it takes totals a bit to show up on EA play, and if someone is willing to wait that long to play their sports games they can get them at steep discounts anyway. FIFA 2021 is already $20 at most major retailers but not on EA Play/gamepass yet.

How/Why do people say Switch when they don't get the yearly CODs or have GTA5 and thats what casuals play (outside of sports games that the Switch is also missing).

When I think of a casual I think of them playing/buying 3 games a year and its usually between Madden, 2K, GTA5, COD and Fifa

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Because that's not the only form of casual. My boss at work is a causal and his only game consoles are a Switch Lite and an Oculus Quest 2. He's super happy with those as is but only plays beatsaber, some Nintendo first part stuff and walking simulators.

 

[jman1954goat]

Is the Xbox controller significantly cheaper than Dualsense?

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Brand new they are similar in price.

Used you can find xbox controllers for 30 bucks and sales happen for 40 bucks new xbox controllers.

it's going to be a while before dual sense controllers are cheap to find.

 

[BriGuy]

The Xbox evangelism on this forum has gotten pretty nuts over the last 4-5 months. I'm glad you folks are enjoying what your console of choice offers, but every time I visit the gaming side, I feel like I'm being smacked in the face with same "Gamepass is awesome!" "Backwards compatibility is awesome!" "Are arrogant Sony/Nintendo in trouble?" threads on a weekly (or sometimes daily) basis. It's getting exhausting.

 

[King_Moc]

I don't know anyone that owns one, so I'm thinking no.

 

[Deleted member 9241]

I get this question from a lot of parents. The Xbox is easily the defacto answer. Buy the console and 6 months of Game Pass and your kids will have access to not only a staggering library of video games, but also all the new releases Day 1. Combined with Games With Gold every month, kids have something to look forward to almost constantly on the device. The best part is that the service is not all Halo and Gears of War. There is an extremely diverse catalogue available as soon as you plug the console in. I simply describe it as Netflix for video games but it also gets exclusives the day of release. With EA, Bethesda, first party, indies, and all the rest, the Game Pass war chest is untouchable (especially for a first time console buyer).

My kids each have their own Xbox, gaming laptop, Ipad Pro, and access to my Switch & PS5/PSVR. They can also use my gaming PC but since they have their own laptops they have no interest in my PC at all. Like anyone I know with everything available to them, they gravitate towards the best device for the best experience pretty much on a per game basis. By far, the Xbox engages them the most due to the sheer volume of content. They could play new games every other day and not get to half of what Game Pass offers. They casually download anything that has a passing surface appeal to them and dabble in all sorts of games they never would have had access to before. Game Pass has expanded their gaming palate and given them more than they could possible desire at ages 11 & 13. I remember when Battlefield 1 hit Game pass and we all DLed it and we were in a squad together killing fools. The only reason we left the game that evening was because Burnout Paradise finished DLing and we all raced against each other the rest of the night. As good of a deal as Game Pass is for one person, having it for 3 people is significantly better for any games that can be played together. Good lord it saves me so much money.

It is also nice when kids play with friends. "Do you have Game Pass?" means you know exactly every game you can play together.

 

[Redcrayon]

How/Why do people say Switch when they don't get the yearly CODs or have GTA5 and thats what casuals play (outside of sports games that the Switch is also missing).

When I think of a casual I think of them playing/buying 3 games a year and its usually between Madden, 2K, GTA5, COD and Fifa

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Probably because the OP said

"This is strictly about the casual audience, families, who are not playing every new AAA game. People who just want to dabble in games or want something for the kids or for mostly cod or sports games etc."

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People interested in a console for "Family; casual use" isn't the same as young adults buying 18-rated violent games to play themselves. Parents looking for a console for younger players too aren't looking for GTA and CoD, so it depends who is asking for the recommendation and why. Most of my friends have young kids rather than teenagers at the moment.

 

[nib95]

Casuals don't just play third party games. Sony's exclusives were some of the best selling games last gen (Spider-Man Uncharted 4, God of War, The Last of Us Part II etc), actually matching and in some cases besting the sales of some of the biggest third party games when looking at only PS4 platform sales. So on that basis, plus the fact that many or most casuals go where their friends are, and PlayStation being the most popular platform, I don't think Xbox could be regarded as the defacto casual console.

I think some people suddenly think value proposition automatically denotes preference or popularity, it doesn't. As the entirely of last gen proved, it's the big games that make the difference, not the value proposition. Remember, Game Pass has been around since 2017. Hell, Nintendo games barely go on sale, and they're still killing it among certain casual demographics, with Animal Crossing alone selling over 30m.

 

[tapedeck]

It's definitely still Switch IMO, my wife and her friends 'don't play videogames' but all own Switch lites mostly for animal crossing.

That said I personally would absolutely recommended a Series X to the casual consumer as it's very easy to use..MS has done a great job just 'making everything work' with little hassle, and of course..Gamepass. I wouldn't recommend the Series S because I think even a casual user would fill that SSD very quickly and then likely have to purchase a hard drive or 1TB card. Also I think being able to purchase physical media at brick and mortar stores still lends itself to the casual demographic's shopping habits.

 

[LanceX2]

Xbox plus gamepass is insane value

 

[Malcolm9]

The Xbox evangelism on this forum has gotten pretty nuts over the last 4-5 months. I'm glad you folks are enjoying what your console of choice offers, but every time I visit the gaming side, I feel like I'm being smacked in the face with same "Gamepass is awesome!" "Backwards compatibility is awesome!" "Are arrogant Sony/Nintendo in trouble?" threads on a weekly (or sometimes daily) basis. It's getting exhausting.

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It has gotten pretty cringey on here for sure, looking forward to a few eating crow down the line when the subscription dream increases in price and more companies bring out their own services pulling their games off GP.

It'll happen and we'll then get loads of threads in the future crying about how we let this happen (i.e Xbox Live paving the way for paying for online on consoles).

 

[PopcornMegaphone]

I think it should be the defacto console for core gamers

 

[jerf]

The ERA bubble strikes again.

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.
Cannot be stated enough

 

[steviestar3]

The Xbox evangelism on this forum has gotten pretty nuts over the last 4-5 months. I'm glad you folks are enjoying what your console of choice offers, but every time I visit the gaming side, I feel like I'm being smacked in the face with same "Gamepass is awesome!" "Backwards compatibility is awesome!" "Are arrogant Sony/Nintendo in trouble?" threads on a weekly (or sometimes daily) basis. It's getting exhausting.

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It's starting to feel like astroturfing TBH. It's creepy.

 

[Rzarekta]

LMAO is anyone else noticing the guerilla marketing campaign going on at Era for the past few months?? How many threads are there a day that legit seem to be marketing for Xbox? It's getting pretty insufferable.

And on topic, Xbox isn't even close to Nintendo or Sony in this regard yet. That's why they changed their whole strategy, to try to catch up.

 

[RPGam3r]

I recommended a Series X to a friend and his son. I told him about Game Pass. He snagged one at launch and he said they love it. Their only concern was baseball at the time, lol.

 

[Nexus2049]

The Xbox evangelism on this forum has gotten pretty nuts over the last 4-5 months. I'm glad you folks are enjoying what your console of choice offers, but every time I visit the gaming side, I feel like I'm being smacked in the face with same "Gamepass is awesome!" "Backwards compatibility is awesome!" "Are arrogant Sony/Nintendo in trouble?" threads on a weekly (or sometimes daily) basis. It's getting exhausting.

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Honestly I find each of the big 3 have very vocal supporters on this site. Not even specifically Xbox gamers. PlayStation and Switch users are just as annoying. And PC gamers. Gamers are annoying, I guess lol.

 

[M.Bluth]

I feel like I'm in 2006 with this whole casual gamers that don't know what they want and stuff...

Anyway, from my experience, adults who want a new console already know what they want, they usually ask if it's a good time to upgrade right now or wait a few months.

The ones who don't know have been dads wanting to figure out what to buy for their kids. I've recommended Game Pass for those people, though I would also tell them to ask the kid. Hilariously, almost without fail, every single time the kid wants either a Switch or a PS5.