Support NeoGAF

[Zacfoldor]

Why do you assume people will buy new games every month? The allure of Game Pass was the access to many games for a low price. If the price isn't low anymore, the attraction is gone and people will go back to buying games. But I suspect most of the Game Pass audience weren't buying a new full priced game every month before Game Pass arrived and they won't start doing that if they stop using Game Pass again.

Let's make an Xbox Console Gamepass user Persona.

1. Male
2. 35 years old
3. Halo, CoD, Overwatch, Fortnite, or anything free
4. Stacks months of gamepass in advance
5. Can afford 30 dollars a month for gamepass but refuse to pay it
6. Before gamepass, "weren't buying a new full priced game every month before Game Pass arrived and they won't start doing that if they stop using Game Pass again."
7. Madden, FIFA, "the boys," voice chat
8. Hate's soulslike, too difficult but loves multiplayer(?)
9. Chad in college, has a wife, plays on the side, "this guy fucks"
10. Degenerate fucking gambler, lost all his money to online gaming, wife found out, left him, wife's family knows, hates him, he opened a new gambling account tonight

Now are you telling me that this persona is gonna buy Absolum at full price?

 

[adamsapple]

Let's make an Xbox Console Gamepass user Persona.

1. Male
2. 35 years old
3. Halo, CoD, Overwatch, Fortnite, or anything free
4. Stacks months of gamepass in advance
5. Can afford 30 dollars a month for gamepass but refuse to pay it
6. Before gamepass, "weren't buying a new full priced game every month before Game Pass arrived and they won't start doing that if they stop using Game Pass again."
7. Madden, FIFA, "the boys," voice chat
8. Hate's soulslike, too difficult but loves multiplayer(?)
9. Chad in college, has a wife, plays on the side, "this guy fucks"
10. Degenerate fucking gambler, lost all his money to online gaming, wife found out, left him, wife's family knows, hates him, he opened a new gambling account tonight

Now are you telling me that this persona is gonna buy Absolum at full price?

 

[LavitzSlambert]

This is a pretty common refrain for indie devs and a lot of mid-tier studios at this point - I've talked to so many that don't want to bother with the Xbox. If they aren't getting a Game Pass deal, it literally isn't worth the effort due to terrible sales for these types of titles. Xbox absolutely squandered every opportunity around this market that they used to dominate.

I remember Xbox Live Arcade and all of the indie games that broke into the public consciousness. Shadow Complex, Castle Crashers, Geometry Wars. Seeing Microsoft lose their crown for being the platform for indie games to Nintendo is just sad.

 

[Tobimacoss]

You suggesting they buy the much weaker $800 Xbox Series X, not pay $160 yearly for PS+ Premium, instead pay $360 yearly for GamePass and still buy all the games that don't release on GP at full price, assuming those games release on Xbox at all?

No, I'm suggesting they keep the console they already have, downgrade to Premium for $15 month or do the Essential to Ultimate conversion to secure Ultimate for $15 month for 15 months. That's $180 yearly.

And buy whatever games they want. Get a used PS5 too if they can for the couple Sony exclusives.

 

[Danny Dudekisser]

You have to be in the ID@Xbox program for indies to secure Gamepass deals. If a game isn't in development pipeline or published on Xbox, why would Xbox give them a deal? So it's a flawed logic.

You don't. That might be the case if you want your game to get scooped up by them organically, but being in ID@XBox isn't a requirement.

 

[Mr Hyde]

Let's make an Xbox Console Gamepass user Persona.

1. Male
2. 35 years old
3. Halo, CoD, Overwatch, Fortnite, or anything free
4. Stacks months of gamepass in advance
5. Can afford 30 dollars a month for gamepass but refuse to pay it
6. Before gamepass, "weren't buying a new full priced game every month before Game Pass arrived and they won't start doing that if they stop using Game Pass again."
7. Madden, FIFA, "the boys," voice chat
8. Hate's soulslike, too difficult but loves multiplayer(?)
9. Chad in college, has a wife, plays on the side, "this guy fucks"
10. Degenerate fucking gambler, lost all his money to online gaming, wife found out, left him, wife's family knows, hates him, he opened a new gambling account tonight

Now are you telling me that this persona is gonna buy Absolum at full price?

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

 

[Evil Calvin]

Unless Microsoft is paying them, there is no reason to port this to the Game Pass Machine.

You can still sell it on there and not be on GP. There are still over 40 million Xbox owners out there (at least). So if they can sell it on PS4 there is no reason to not sell it on Xbox.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

You can still sell it on there and not be on GP. There are still over 40 million Xbox owners out there (at least). So if they can sell it on PS4 there is no reason to not sell it on Xbox.

Helldivers 2 didn't even chart

 

[Bernkastel]

You can still sell it on there and not be on GP. There are still over 40 million Xbox owners out there (at least). So if they can sell it on PS4 there is no reason to not sell it on Xbox.

40 million who would rather wait for a game to drop on Game Pass than buying it vs 117 million who would rather buy a game.

 

[Evil Calvin]

40 million who would rather wait for a game to drop on Game Pass than buying it vs 117 million who would rather buy a game.

BS. I buy games on there all the time and others do too. Quit pulling your PS fanboy crap.

 

[Darsxx82]

Helldivers 2 didn't even chart

If you'd been more informed, you'd know that the paper data the studio provided can be no accurate, as Mat Piscatella (Circana) himself pointed out as the reason for this situation.. Also, the list is based on dollars, not units, and that MGS and Mafia were on that list, which have consistently been lower on the XBOX best-seller list, where HD2 still remains as one of the tops.
And for more details... On the most-played XBOX list provided by Mat Piscatella himself, HD2 is in the top 5 even this past week. .

But hey!!

Unless Microsoft is paying them, there is no reason to port this to the Game Pass Machine.

LOL. Only 2+3% of the games coming to XBOX are or have been on GamePass... The joke is believing that 97-98% of the games coming to Xbox are because MS pays them or hoping that MS will notice them at some point as a lottery.

Then, about the OP.... There are a significant number of indie games that have announced an XBOX/PC version and not a PS5 version. But no threads are made about them.

The reality is that now the news is that some indie games aren't releasing an XBOX version... Imagine when in previous generations of XBOX the news was that big games and franchises (especially Asian and Japanese ones) weren't coming to XBOX... I think it's that evolution that's worth discussing.


PS. It's not that we haven't had as many threads like this with other games in the same situation and some creating their narrative, and suddenly the XBOX version was announced (and not on GamePass) and silence is what remained.

 

[Bernkastel]

BS. I buy games on there all the time and others do too. Quit pulling your PS fanboy crap.

LOL. Only 2+3% of the games coming to XBOX are or have been on GamePass... The joke is believing that 97-98% of the games coming to Xbox are because MS pays them.

Then, about the OP.... There are a significant number of indie games that have announced an XBOX/PC version and not a PS5 version. But no threads are made about them.

The reality is that now the news is that some indie games aren't releasing an XBOX version... Imagine when in previous generations of XBOX the news was that big games and franchises (especially Asian and Japanese ones) weren't coming to XBOX... I think it's that evolution that's worth discussing.


PS. It's not that we haven't had as many threads like this with other games in the same situation and some creating their narrative, and suddenly the XBOX version was announced (and not on GamePass) and silence is what remained.

Microsoft confirms Game Pass cannibalizes sales

The UK Competition and Markets Authority's provisional report on the Microsoft-Activision Blizzard acquisition includes…

www.gamesindustry.biz

Also read the comments in this thread


Actual Xbox users admitting that they don't buy games.

 

[Darsxx82]

Microsoft confirms Game Pass cannibalizes sales

The UK Competition and Markets Authority's provisional report on the Microsoft-Activision Blizzard acquisition includes…

www.gamesindustry.biz

Also read the comments in this thread


Actual Xbox users admitting that they don't buy games.

And you also have stories of people who buy a console just for COD, FIFA, or NBA...
The thing is, I don't know what you're trying to answer about the issue you were raising with those links... I repeat, the reality is that 97% of games coming to XBOX aren't or haven't been on GamePass. I mean, it's up to you to evaluate the reason why 97% of studios and publishers of all kinds release their games on Xbox (without being on GamePass) and why it's the Xbox generation where the greatest number of games of all origins, genres, and sizes come to XBOX...

Because whether or not the game in question is released on Xbox certainly won't be specifically tied to whether or not MS converts it to a GamePass game. And you have, as an example, each of the games that were once the subject of a similar thread with specific people wanting to pitch their narrative, and which, coincidentally, the vast majority were ultimately released on Xbox... and without being part of GamePass.

 

[Ar¢tos]

BS. I buy games on there all the time and others do too. Quit pulling your PS fanboy crap.

Obviously not enough "others" or this dev would port their game...

 

[Karim]

Yeah, but it's interesting that they released on PS4 but not on Xbox Series X | S

My wild guess? Gamepass. They know xbox users leaning more to Gamepass for such games and they think the digital sales number won't be worth it.

 

[Bernkastel]

And you also have stories of people who buy a console just for COD, FIFA, or NBA...
The thing is, I don't know what you're trying to answer about the issue you were raising with those links... I repeat, the reality is that 97% of games coming to XBOX aren't or haven't been on GamePass. I mean, it's up to you to evaluate the reason why 97% of studios and publishers of all kinds release their games on Xbox (without being on GamePass) and why it's the Xbox generation where the greatest number of games of all origins, genres, and sizes come to XBOX...

Microsoft literally admitted Game Pass cannibalized sales.

 

[Js562]

Microsoft confirms Game Pass cannibalizes sales

The UK Competition and Markets Authority's provisional report on the Microsoft-Activision Blizzard acquisition includes…

www.gamesindustry.biz

Also read the comments in this thread


Actual Xbox users admitting that they don't buy games.

 

[Darsxx82]

Microsoft literally admitted Game Pass cannibalized sales.

...referring to their first-party games being available on GamePass on day one. But again, it's up to you to evaluate why 97% of studios and publishers release their games on Xbox knowing they won't be available on GamePass....

 

[Bernkastel]

...referring to their first-party games being available on GamePass on day one. But again, it's up to you to evaluate why 97% of studios and publishers release their games on Xbox knowing they won't be available on GamePass....

And most people on that reddit thread admitted that they would rather buy those 3% games then the other 97%.

 

[Tobimacoss]

Microsoft literally admitted Game Pass cannibalized sales.

For first party games yes. However, indies that launch Day 1 are usually fully compensated for their development, so they are broke even before release, and being allowed to sell everywhere for profits.

After the 12-18 month contract, those games leave Gamepass, then the only option is to buy them.

Third party AAA games don't even get added to Gamepass for 12-60 months.

 

[Darsxx82]

And most people on that reddit thread admitted that they would rather buy those 3% games then the other 97%.

OK and despite what those people admitted in that Reddit thread , 97% of studios and publishers release their games on Xbox without being part of GamePass and it is the generation where an XBox console has received (by far) the best support for games of all types, genres and origins. I certainly don't think they'd do that unless they had the foresight to capitalize on that release within the Xbox ecosystem.

 

[PlayStaytion]

I like good games, I don't care.

 

[GHG]

 

[MisterXDTV]

It's a dead console, why should it be a priority??

It's like saying: "Sega Saturn is not a priority and it's not coming later"

Nobody actually buys games for Xbox anymore, so it doesn't matter if they port it or not on that platform

Sales are all on Playstation, Steam, Nintendo

 

[Bernkastel]

For first party games yes. However, indies that launch Day 1 are usually fully compensated for their development, so they are broke even before release, and being allowed to sell everywhere for profits.

After the 12-18 month contract, those games leave Gamepass, then the only option is to buy them.

Third party AAA games don't even get added to Gamepass for 12-60 months.

So you are admitting that without Gamepass indies are not profitable on Xbox?

OK and despite what those people admitted in that Reddit thread , 97% of studios and publishers release their games on Xbox without being part of GamePass and it is the generation where an XBox console has received (by far) the best support for games of all types, genres and origins. I certainly don't think they'd do that unless they had the foresight to capitalize on that release within the Xbox ecosystem.

And most people on Xbox would rather play those 3% on Game Pass than buy those 97% on the store.

 

[Darsxx82]

And most people on Xbox would rather play those 3% on Game Pass than buy those 97% on the store.

The situation is that the vast majority of studio and publisher games (97%) come to XBOX without going through GamePass... It mean, your conclusion is irrelevant because a studio doesn't need their game to be part of GamePass to decide to release it on XBOX...

But hey!

 

[Bernkastel]

The situation is that the vast majority of studio and publisher games (97%) come to XBOX without going through GamePass... It mean, your conclusion is irrelevant because a studio doesn't need their game to be part of GamePass to decide to release it on XBOX...

But hey!

Clearly many publishers are avoiding Xbox.

 

[Darsxx82]

Clearly many publishers are avoiding Xbox.

Lol. False. Unless you consider "many" a number of indie or niche games (which mostly end up coming out later on XBOX but then nobody even remembers the name of the game)..... We already have many examples of that situation.

You are simply in the generation where an Xbox console has received and continues to receive (because even now it has better support than at the beginning of gen) the best game support from all kinds of Studios and publishers...... That we are here discussing the non-release of an indie game while there are others during the year that are released on Xbox / PC and not on PS5 when in other times it was discussed if Yakuza, Monster Hunter, Kingdom Heart, Final Fantasy etc, etc were not released on XBox...... makes the mere discussion of the subject look ridiculous. But hey!!

 

[poppabk]

I'm surprised they didn't get a gamepass deal - whoever the guy is who picks up indie titles has been knocking it out of the park picking up the break out hits - Pal World, Clair Obscur, Blue Prince, Manor Lords.