Why would they do that? It's just throwing away money. I see no business sense behind that.
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PC Gamer: Game Pass can't stay this good a deal forever
- Thread starter Fiery Phoenix
- Start date
Why would they do that? It's just throwing away money. I see no business sense behind that.
As always these articles ignore the massive differences between these services, Gamepass helps lock consumers into Microsoft's systems, if you do alot of gaming on xbox due to GP, you're likely to do many of your other gaming purchases there granting access to the 30% revenue stream, Netflix and Moviepass have nothing comparable since they are not a storefront for other content.
Not to mention gaming offers many additional revenue streams on these games via DLC and Microtransactions...sure they are all subscription services, but the business model is entirely different.
Not to mention gaming offers many additional revenue streams on these games via DLC and Microtransactions...sure they are all subscription services, but the business model is entirely different.
Maybe just enjoy it? Play your cheap games. Even if what it is today vanished into thin air tomorrow I still enjoyed it up until then. Can't imagine spending one iota of energy worrying about how a multi trillion dollar corporation is going to pay for this.
And gosh do the Netflix comparisons get tiresome. They still sell millions of games on their platform, including tons of their own games (especially when you factor in Steam).
Of course not. But knowing people and how lazy and/or indifferent they tend to be, I'd say the overwhelming majority just input their credit card and forget about it like every other subscription they have. The average person isn't going to farm MS rewards points or buy 3 years of gold up front with the intention of converting it. If most people did do that, such loopholes would already be closed. But when only a fraction of your most "hardcore" users take advantage, they basically become the "game pass shill" meme and influence the overall opinion of the service.
hard-drive.net
And gosh do the Netflix comparisons get tiresome. They still sell millions of games on their platform, including tons of their own games (especially when you factor in Steam).
Of course not. But knowing people and how lazy and/or indifferent they tend to be, I'd say the overwhelming majority just input their credit card and forget about it like every other subscription they have. The average person isn't going to farm MS rewards points or buy 3 years of gold up front with the intention of converting it. If most people did do that, such loopholes would already be closed. But when only a fraction of your most "hardcore" users take advantage, they basically become the "game pass shill" meme and influence the overall opinion of the service.
Game Pass Subscriber Trying His Absolute Best Not to Sound Like Microsoft Shill
BLOOMSBURG, Pa. — Satisfied Game Pass subscriber Sergio DePalma is reportedly struggling not to sound like a total shill while discussing Microsoft’s service with friends.…
hard-drive.net
You could buy them. They weren't exclusive to a subscription. Nothing is, there's no 'kinda sorta not true' about it.
If your problem is that you don't like the Xbox store full stop then that's a wider issue and not related to Xbox potentially raising the price of Game Pass.
As long as Sony remains competitive and a danger to Xbox then they will pump money into gamepass as it is arguably the main thing that is pulling buyers away from Sony and towards MS. As soon as Sony starts competing with gamepass (if they ever do) then MS will have to pump money into the service to stop Sony gaining a foothold. I'm other words, there is not much incentive for MS to change things.
It will rise eventually just like everything really. Except Arizona Iced Tea lol.
MS are still very much on growth mode for Gamepass though. Once they get a large enough player base, they will rise the price. By then though you're looking at even more games being available with the promise of even larger ones being available day 1. Call of Duty for instance. I think they're banking on subscribers thinking they were going to get CoD anyway and stay subbed even at 20 a month.
MS are still very much on growth mode for Gamepass though. Once they get a large enough player base, they will rise the price. By then though you're looking at even more games being available with the promise of even larger ones being available day 1. Call of Duty for instance. I think they're banking on subscribers thinking they were going to get CoD anyway and stay subbed even at 20 a month.
It's obvious they will increase the price eventually but I don't think we are even close.
They literally decreased the price in my country just a few months ago.
They literally decreased the price in my country just a few months ago.
In terms of content it's literally going to get way, way better before it possibly starts to decline. We're still waiting for the vast bulk of MS' absurdly gigantic first party slate to release, and all of it is going to be on Game Pass day one. They've barely even started yet.
In terms of price, of course it'll rise, but only when they know they can get away with it because the content is compelling enough, so in a sense the value remains the same.
Personally, I live in the now, not the future. So I'm really not too worried where GP will be in 5 years.
In terms of price, of course it'll rise, but only when they know they can get away with it because the content is compelling enough, so in a sense the value remains the same.
Personally, I live in the now, not the future. So I'm really not too worried where GP will be in 5 years.
The key similarity between Netflix and Gamepass is the price of third-party content.
As more streaming video services got in the game, they bid up the price of third-party streaming video content, which meant that Netflix was no longer able to provide such a wide catalog at such a low price.
Once there are competitors to Gamepass, the price of licensing third-party games will go up, and Gamepass will either have to raise prices or provide a narrower catalog.
This is different than the argument that MS is losing money on Gamepass right now - it isn't. But its very success means competitors are going to get into the field and costs of business are going up.
As more streaming video services got in the game, they bid up the price of third-party streaming video content, which meant that Netflix was no longer able to provide such a wide catalog at such a low price.
Once there are competitors to Gamepass, the price of licensing third-party games will go up, and Gamepass will either have to raise prices or provide a narrower catalog.
This is different than the argument that MS is losing money on Gamepass right now - it isn't. But its very success means competitors are going to get into the field and costs of business are going up.
Comparing a platform-owned subscription service to Moviepass is a pretty dumb comparison and shows a misunderstanding of what a strange, broken thing Moviepass was.
This is exactly why Microsoft has expanded its first party so greatly, Microsoft won't be as reliant on third party content as Netflix was.
Yup. I always wonder if people who compare these services 1:1 also question why there's not a a Netflix / Moviepass console, controller, full price titles, downloadable content, online services, etc.
Like Gamepass could simply not exist and Xbox would still be around. Take away movie & tv streaming and Netflix has nothing.
I mean why aren't we comparing Gamepass to Taco Bell's taco subscription if we're just comparing subscriptions arbitrarily?
At the moment I'm locked in for three years at about £3 a month. The price would need to go up massively before it's not fucking great value tbh.
Also comparing GP to Moviepass is nonsense when only one of those has one of the richest companies on the planet backing it. Even if GP wasn't profitable I'm sure Microsoft would continue to fund it until it was.
Also comparing GP to Moviepass is nonsense when only one of those has one of the richest companies on the planet backing it. Even if GP wasn't profitable I'm sure Microsoft would continue to fund it until it was.
For sure but who knows when. They know what they're doing with the XBL gold upgrade too. Get ppl invested like Netflix did in 2010s so they never unsubscribe.
My guess is mid to late 2020s they raise prices and cut down on some features/bonuses. I know Microsoft doesn't need it to make a profit now but no company makes a product without a roadmap to major profits, even if that roadmap is 5-10 years
My guess is mid to late 2020s they raise prices and cut down on some features/bonuses. I know Microsoft doesn't need it to make a profit now but no company makes a product without a roadmap to major profits, even if that roadmap is 5-10 years
This seems like a real nothing of a feature article...
A whole lot of "here's what Gamepass is doing now" and then hypothesizing negative outcomes
Is it going to get a price raise? yeah, obviously, but this is just weird negative conjecture and apples to oranges comparisons for.... some reason?
A whole lot of "here's what Gamepass is doing now" and then hypothesizing negative outcomes
Is it going to get a price raise? yeah, obviously, but this is just weird negative conjecture and apples to oranges comparisons for.... some reason?
This pretty much.
I'm gonna stay subbed till it becomes a bad deal.
Of course the price is going to increase if it has good support. Keep good high quality games on the service and it'll be fine.
I mean, yeah! they will obviously raise prices in the future and just like other subscription services, if the value for how much ever you pay is value enough for you, then you'll keep subscribing and if not then you quit.
The Netflix comparison is not entirely accurate because Netflix doesn't allow you to purchase individual content off of their platform and the MoviePass comparison doesn't make much sense either considering MoviePass had no control over Theatre chains in order to stay sustainable or relevant long term.
The Netflix comparison is not entirely accurate because Netflix doesn't allow you to purchase individual content off of their platform and the MoviePass comparison doesn't make much sense either considering MoviePass had no control over Theatre chains in order to stay sustainable or relevant long term.
Its a great service and a ridiculous deal if you play a ton of games, but I really don't have the time personally. On the months ive been subscribed I pretty much just play the MS exclusives and am done with anything I'm interested in within a few weeks and just unsubscribe. Feels like I'm stealing tbh, kind of insane I get to play all their games for $1. The amount of quality content they'd need to keep me subscribed year-round seems impossible. If they increase price to $20 or whatever they're going to need a new high profile game every month, and idk how realistic that is with game development costs & dev time required.
I'd say these things are related, should they raise the price on a service that I'd argue is already not worth the money for the amount of technical headaches its given me, and still gives me today. PC Gamepass is tied to the Xbox app and the Windows Store, any issues they have are issues that Gamepass inextricably has, and unlike on console the version of any given game on Gamepass is fundamentally worse than the version that you would ideally want to buy, on Steam, GoG, or any other platform. All this works against PC Gamepass and makes the amount of retention the service would have should a price bump happen be much lower.
...I say all this as I realize they actually bumped up how many points you need to get PC Gamepass through their rewards program. Fuck.
Oh no, this fucking incredible deal I'm getting for this service might get worse one day.
Oh no.
Oh no.
Was MoviePass run by a platform holder with decades of business relationships? Was it run by a big studio producing its own films? No and no, unlike Game Pass.
MoviePass and Game Pass are/were on two totally different trajectories.
MoviePass and Game Pass are/were on two totally different trajectories.
PC gamer has taken a huge dive in quality and seems to only exist to push their BEST GAMING PERIPHERAL affiliate lists. A far cry from the magazine I read as a child.
I can see why they would want everyone in their subscription but they are far more open about meeting their customers where they are. That's kind of how MS operates right now. I see no reason to expect them make everything exclusive to Gamepass when they been moving to put their biggest titles on Steam. That makes no sense.
Value is dependent on the consumer. I pay full price for PC Game Pass, which comes out to $120 a year. So for the price of two $60 games per year I get access to hundreds of games, many I'd never play if they weren't on game pass.
If it goes to $20 a month, now that's the equivalent of 4 $60 games per year and it's still an insane deal. Sure a lot of people will drop the service if it increases that much, but I don't have as much time for gaming these days so just paying $20 a month to get access to a shitload of games is absolutely worth it. I'll also buy a few games not on Game Pass on deep discount and now you have a massive library of games for very little money.
If it goes to $20 a month, now that's the equivalent of 4 $60 games per year and it's still an insane deal. Sure a lot of people will drop the service if it increases that much, but I don't have as much time for gaming these days so just paying $20 a month to get access to a shitload of games is absolutely worth it. I'll also buy a few games not on Game Pass on deep discount and now you have a massive library of games for very little money.
Just based off the first party studios alone it's probably going to be a long, long time until Game Pass doesn't make financial sense for me.
the moviepass comparison is hilarious. microsoft has been hemorrhaging money on xbox before, during, and after moviepass's entire existence.
the price will probably increase, like every other service. users will then reassess the value it provides.
also isn't pcgamer blatantly pro-egs, and puts out similar dumb articles about steam being doomed?
the price will probably increase, like every other service. users will then reassess the value it provides.
also isn't pcgamer blatantly pro-egs, and puts out similar dumb articles about steam being doomed?
I feel like Ultimate is already at the upper limit of what I'm happy to pay, so when the price goes up I will likely cancel and just subscribe for 3 months a year instead of paying for it all year round
That is if it goes up too much, a few quid I will probably stomach
That is if it goes up too much, a few quid I will probably stomach
I think the family plan will be a small price increase but but in the end it will make harder for people to cancel the subscription.
To give an example of what I mean. Let's say that they can a GPU family for $25 a month that allows for 5 amily members. You get 3 people on the plan that were previously paying $15 a month. Combined price drop of $20 a month. Now three people are tied to one subscription, the likelihood of one person leaving is much higher than all three. Now for the subscription to lapse it affects more people so it's less likely to lapse.
The new PS+ is offering a similar value for money I think. I mean I do think Gamepass is better but PS++ much lower annual price without day one games vs Gamepass price with day one games….it's not like there's a gigantic gulf between them.
So if both Sony and MS have decided they think the model is profitable then I feel like that trumps PC Gamer.
So if both Sony and MS have decided they think the model is profitable then I feel like that trumps PC Gamer.
The writer completely undercuts the comparison to Netflix in the second to last paragraph:
Netflix had *unprecedented* growth in their service and became one of the dominant forces in the way people watch tv and movies. In 2014, referenced in the article because a regular sub was only $8.99, Netflix had 54 million subs. By 2017 they were up to 117 million subs. Game Pass, while still growing, has definitely slowed down in that growth rate. Precisely because they're such a small portion of the entire gaming industry. People simply have far too many other ways that they play games.
Will we see price increases? Of course. Microsoft is in the business of making money. But thinking there's direct comparisons to the Netflix model requires you to ignore the huge differences in the way Microsoft has to build their subscriber base and respond to competition.
Netflix had *unprecedented* growth in their service and became one of the dominant forces in the way people watch tv and movies. In 2014, referenced in the article because a regular sub was only $8.99, Netflix had 54 million subs. By 2017 they were up to 117 million subs. Game Pass, while still growing, has definitely slowed down in that growth rate. Precisely because they're such a small portion of the entire gaming industry. People simply have far too many other ways that they play games.
Will we see price increases? Of course. Microsoft is in the business of making money. But thinking there's direct comparisons to the Netflix model requires you to ignore the huge differences in the way Microsoft has to build their subscriber base and respond to competition.
Please no. $20 is a lot of money for us who are not living in US or EU.
If the price gets to a point where it just makes more sense to buy games out right, then I'll be buying games outright. Until then, I will continue to enjoy the value.
I find it odd that there seems to be a constant push to convince people that none of this will last and prices will go up eventually, like we're in some bizarro world where prices don't change for anything (despite game prices, and everything else clearly increasing). I'm signed up for the next 3 years while it's still cheap enough to justify it, if the price hits a point where I no longer think it's worth it I'll just stop subscribing.
Your last paragraph is exactly why I don't see gamepass changing significantly for some time. The service is a Trojan bourse to get people into the MS ecosystem. As long as they grow gamepass, they will get a 30% cut of all MTX purchased on Xboxes and windows store from those same people. That to them would be worth far more than forcing an extra $10/ month and lose subscribers.
In the future that's a fine line they'll have to walk, but I don't see them rocking the boat for the foreseeable future.