What's your stance on videogame subscription services?

[Majukun]

We are now in the age of subsriptoion services.
Little teenager me would have never thought of a future where for a small monthly fee I could potentially play dozens of games "freely".

As a teenager, with way more free time, i would have loved the service, especially since i've never been a guy that plays games at day one, so having the chance to play old-ish games for like 5 bucks a month would have been an heavenly alternative of going digging on gamestop's bin for good offers.

As an adult though, I end up downloading a lot of games and never actually play them, or play them for a couple hours and then switch to another game due to so much choice ...and i guess lower attention span.

what's your experience withe various game pass, ea access, humble monthly and the like?
Would you like for the business model to be expanded to other companies (of course without actually buying games being gone), or you wish it was never a thing to begin with?

 

[oni-link]

I don't mind the model, but it's not for me

Something like Gamepass, where you can still download games and play them locally, is a million times more interesting to me than streaming games and dealing with the downsides of streaming

 

[skeezx]

as a working adult it's pretty much burning money. though YMMV some can totally sit down with one game and have it platted by the weekend

 

[Much]

I'd rather own the games I buy, forever.

 

[Unkindled]

Saved me 58$ so it has it's uses but I prefer to buy and keep my games.

 

[cooldawn]

Don't care for them. I don't like the fact my library could be switched off at any point in time.

 

[Lant_War]

Streaming only is a big no

I'd rather pay for something like Humble Choice than other subscription services.

 

[NHarmonic.]

With such a huge selection it makes it easier to actually never finish a game.

Not for me, tbh.

And for things like Gamepass, i really can't figure out how can that be affordable for Microsoft or the devs in the long run...

 

[SuikerBrood]

Love it. I never cared about owning games. Most games I play once and never touch again.

Benefit is that I'm discovering more games I'd otherwise never play. Negative is the complete lack of time.

 

[ShapeDePapa]

Game Pass is absolutely amazing.

 

[bane833]

Don't like the concept of renting my games at all and also think this is going to negatively influence the quality in the long run. It's also going to push additional monetization to offset the lack of upfront revenue.

 

[Zombine]

Stream until the game is dirt cheap and then buy it.

 

[Keikaku]

Okay with deals, otherwise I'm good with buying cheap games that I want.

 

[Deleted member 5491]

For me it devalues the games and would lead everything to consume more. Just play without taking your time, without thinking about it, because you have more games for a cheaper price on your disposal. And it will lead to worse games or to less variety.
How can you break even with such a service, if it is already hard enough to find a game that justs costs 60$ without some preorder, season pass stuff in it? And if a dev is getting paid based on the percentage of the overall playtime, then guess what where this will lead us. Exactly, more "Liveservice" games that demand more and more of your time and less shorter, finite and experimental games.
I would rather pay 60$ (or 20-40$ on an indie game) and take my time with that investement and own this copy.

 

[Dogui]

It's pretty great to get 1/2/3 months, play everything that interests me, and get out.

It's something hard to subscribe continuously for me because i always feel bad playing/purchasing stuff outside the gp when i have a subscription, and i always want to play specific games in specific moments. Game pass has so many games, but never that one game that you really need to play at the time.

 

[ThroughtheVoid]

Just let me pay for a game and have it forever, thank you.

 

[Deleted member 46493]

Mixed. I don't buy enough new games to justify them - I'll buy 4-6 on sale in a week and then nothing for the rest of the year. Also, I'd rather have less games that I focus on than an infinite amount I can jump to and from.

On the other hand, I realized most games I finish are "done" when I finish them. I have no desire to "own" or replay most games I finish, so I have no problem with the "renting, not owning" idea. I might subscribe to Switch online (is that the name?) and go through some SNES games, for example.

 

[JudgmentJay]

Don't need it don't want it. I'll always buy my games.

 

[Deleted member 8196]

Yes i used various subs models; Origin Premiere for SW Jedi Fallen Order and Gamepass for The Outer Worlds (due to EGS exclusivity).

 

[MrCibb]

I like them and happily use them. I'd prefer to own a game, but it's not something I put a premium price tag on. An entire year of Game Pass for PC, not accounting for any deals, is about the price of 2 and a half full-priced games. And I buy waaaaaaay more than that in a single year. So would I want to own them? Sure. Would I pay literally hundreds of pounds to own them instead of just a few quid a month to play them? Hell fucking no. So that's all it comes down to for me. Value.

 

[Sanctuary]

None of the options fit for me. I don't have any problem with it, and I've been renting games since the mid 80s. To me, the more modern subscription services are just another iteration of Gamefly or Redbox. I just activate one of them when there's a new game I'm on the fence on, and there might be at least one or two more games within that service that I want to play. Then I just cancel at the end of the month. Not going to just keep it active at all times throughout the year. Not enough games on the current services that I want to play anyway.

Also, owning the game is a non issue. If I like it enough after having rented it, I'll just eventually get it again later on when it's on sale.

Don't like the concept of renting my games at all and also think this is going to negatively influence the quality in the long run. It's also going to push additional monetization to offset the lack of upfront revenue.

Click to shrink...

Renting games is not new. The only thing I can see happening with the current models is they become unsustainable.

 

[Deleted member 8852]

Not my thing.

 

[GlitchyDegree]

While I prefer to own my game outright I do like subscription services. As someone with limited income, paying a small fee to have access to a bunch of games, some even new is great. Without Gamepass I flat out wouldn't be able play games like Gears 5 or The Outer Worlds without waiting for a price drop..

 

[elenarie]

Love it both as a player and a a dev.

I try out and play more varied games.
And I get to receive income over time without having to rely on the old "launch window is all that matters" mentality.

 

[Yuntu]

I don't mind them but don't really use them or care for them. I just buy what I want and don't lack games I wanna play that I need something to show me new ones for cheap.

 

[Governergrimm]

Love it, so long as it doesn't remove the ability to own games. Currently no subscription service precludes ownership.

 

[Nature's finest mango]

Entirely against it as long as I have capped interwebs plan.

If I can ever get some uncapped plan, then I'd probably bite, just for fun.

 

[EloKa]

Personally I prefer to buy games or use services like HumbleMonthly/Choice where I get to keep games forever.
But I can see the value the other subscription services provide even tho I really dislike their revenue models and think these models are unhealthy.

 

[Altair]

I love them for any single player story driven game since I usually only do one playthrough unless it's really good (aka The Witcher 3). If it's GaaS or MP (Destiny, Halo, etc.) then I'd prefer to own the game outright since I'll be playing it for quite a while. Either way, Gamepass is phenomenal and is pretty much the only subscription service I'll ever bother with.

 

[Sprat]

Not for me. I've used them occasionally (currently subscribed to ps now)

But I find I rarely play anything on it due to there being too much choice.

If it was a smaller selection of day 10-20 games that rotated every 3 months or so I would probably be way more into it.

 

[Mack]

Love Game Pass, which enables me to try new games I wouldn't normally buy.

 

[Richietto]

I enjoy Gamepass a good bit. I would really have loved it if we had all these cool services when I was a teen, though.

 

[capitalCORN]

I like the idea of depending on sub services for tentpole releases, and some replayable bite-sized indies on hand.

 

[Deleted member 1849]

Humble is the only subscription service I use, because I actually own the games.

 

[Castia]

It's amazing.

Ive been a long time subscriber of gamepass on both Xbox and pc and Ive easily got my monies worth, I've played through loads of top quality games.

I recently got a months sub to Origin access for £15 and completed the new Star Wars game.....again amazing value for money.

I live game subs. Thinking about it I've been a subscriber in WoW for over 12 years (on and off) and gotten thousands of hours of gameplay value too.

 

[Castia]

Entirely against it as long as I have capped interwebs plan.

If I can ever get some uncapped plan, then I'd probably bite, just for fun.

Click to shrink...

Absolutely crazy there's still internet caps. In the UK it's been uncalled for the best part of 15 years.

 

[Master Alucard]

i'm in the camp of don't need don't want.
the only service game i play is Final Fantasy XIV

 

[Deleted member 2254]

Game Pass is the best to happen to gaming for me. Paying a lot less than I would normally on games I get to play more quality games that I normally do, including nearly everything I would have bought day 1 or on sale, with only a few notable exceptions many of which are already covered by EA Access however, which at 25 Euros per year it's a no-brainer to get relatively quick access to all FIFA, Need For Speed, Battlefield, Mirror's Edge, Mass Effect, Plants VS Zombies, etc..

 

[Arukado]

Not for me.

I dont have time to play as i used to, so i'd rather focus on games i want to play instead of having "all the games" that i actually dont want to play available to me (as long as i keep paying monthly for them that is).

Then there is the ownership part, which i value greatly, so things like origin access and game pass are a no go.

On the topic of game pass, i am currently trying it on pc thanks to the 1€/1month offer and i'm having a mixed experience so far, with games that are broken (gears of war ultimate edition), games that perform worse or just lack of options available to configure the games due to them being UWP versions (like applying reshade to Hellbade, which i wasnt able to).

No thanks.

 

[jukeboxhero2396]

gamefly was the shit back then

 

[Bansai]

The only good subscription service currently is Gamepass in my opnion, the rest can burn for all I care.

 

[Son of Sparda]

I just want to buy a good game and own it forever.

 

[Lightning Count]

Game pass is incredible value for money, but I still prefer physical copies If I can get them cheap enough.

 

[Nature's finest mango]

Absolutely crazy there's still internet caps. In the UK it's been uncalled for the best part of 15 years.

Click to shrink...

Welcome to Worst Africa.
Never experienced caps until I got here. 200GB / months for $60.

 

[nded]

I like them if I get to keep the games.

 

[Tohsaka]

I don't use any of them.

 

[breakdancing duck]

I love Game Pass. If I really love a game, I'll buy it, but Game Pass allows me to try and possibly live a whole lot of games I wouldn't try otherwise.

 

[Deleted member 22002]

It's a echo of that moment when mobile gaming became a thing and 40-50$ DS games were compared to unbelievable 2$-5$ iphone/ipad games.

Everybody was happy, then the race to the bottom killed the market, and reality kicked in and now mobile is rightfully described as a joke.

It's an echo of that moment when PS plus was a thing, and suddenly effing amazing games were given for free to the point it almost felt risky to buy a high profile game, because in a few months it would hit PS plus.

Everybody was happy, then the race to the bottom killed the market, and reality kicked in, and now PS plus is mostly a dumpster fire.

I'd say: I'm going to enjoy the hell out of Gamepass, until reality kicks in and the market fixes this anomaly.

 

[zedox]

Love it. I never cared about owning games. Most games I play once and never touch again.

Benefit is that I'm discovering more games I'd otherwise never play. Negative is the complete lack of time.

Click to shrink...

/thread

 

[Prine]

I have Gamepass but still buy games I know will be special like Forza Horizon, Gears 5 and Halo. But for games I'm ok to play once like Outerworlds and Psychonaughts, Tomb Raider, its a blessing as I get to experience these games where I might have been content to look past them for the next big game.

So both options like we have currently.