Game Pass was always good. Now, it’s finally consistent

I'm sure gamepass offers great value to those who have paid for it. That doesn't mean it's been the money maker or business proposition Microsoft wanted it to be. They forecast 100 millions subs, got a third of that and have killed their console business. And of the subscriptions they did get I'm sure an insignificant number of them were the $1 upgrade they ran for years. No matter how much value consumers perceive to get from it, it's a failure from a business standpoint.

One random data point that may not mean anything. When MLB forced SDS to put MLB the show on Xbox it was also on gamepass. It is no longer on gamepass. I suspect it is no longer on gamepass because the data tells Sony it isn't profitable and they'd make more money getting the handful of Xbox sales they get on Xbox versus gamepass revenue.
 
Dance Hamster GIF by Dedoles
 
If things stayed on there permanently or for like 10 years I would agree. But Octopath 1 and 2 and others come off January 2026, and we see major titles leave almost every month. All you can rely on are price increases at least once a year, new tiers that shave games off the catalogue, and constant losing of content other than first-party Microsoft games
 
Years ago - like xbox 360 gen - there was so little information about games - paid bias from reviewers - I found myself buying a ton of full priced games only to get a few hours out of the ones I only sort of liked.

I slowly was converted to a steam mentality - gradually buying and growing a huge library of games when they were on deep sale.

Game pass (and Game pass PC) really changed how I played games - personally I like owning titles - I'd try them out and then buy them if I liked them

Now I will pulse my subscription to try out games and then pick up the ones I know I'll get enjoyment from - I'd argue Game pass saves me a ton of money as the full games I would have bought day one become trials.


saying all of that - I can understand the point of view that games (new releases) have been devalued, but with the way I enjoy games I don't understand the need to maintain a constant game pass subscription and for me it creates a ton of value.

currently I do not have a game pass sub but have been very tempted to pick up a month to try out Indy, Avowed, and Atomfall - all games I would have previously bought day one.

The polygon article seems to suggest that there is reason to maintain a Game Pass all of the time -that recent consistency predicts future consistency - I'd argue that Microsoft has created the perfect system to filter out games I don't want to buy.
 
64gigabyteram said:
man writing these must be the easiest way to make money. gawk gawk microsoft for half a dozen paragraphs or so and you walk away with 50k in the bank
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They don't have to write it themselves even. ChatGPT or Google Gemini will do it for them for $20/month. 😉

I need to find myself a freelancing gig as a side hustle! 😅. Now even image creation is a snap. It's kind of scary.
 
QuantumThermos said:
Years ago - like xbox 360 gen - there was so little information about games - paid bias from reviewers - I found myself buying a ton of full priced games only to get a few hours out of the ones I only sort of liked.

I slowly was converted to a steam mentality - gradually buying and growing a huge library of games when they were on deep sale.

Game pass (and Game pass PC) really changed how I played games - personally I like owning titles - I'd try them out and then buy them if I liked them

Now I will pulse my subscription to try out games and then pick up the ones I know I'll get enjoyment from - I'd argue Game pass saves me a ton of money as the full games I would have bought day one become trials.


saying all of that - I can understand the point of view that games (new releases) have been devalued, but with the way I enjoy games I don't understand the need to maintain a constant game pass subscription and for me it creates a ton of value.

currently I do not have a game pass sub but have been very tempted to pick up a month to try out Indy, Avowed, and Atomfall - all games I would have previously bought day one.

The polygon article seems to suggest that there is reason to maintain a Game Pass all of the time -that recent consistency predicts future consistency - I'd argue that Microsoft has created the perfect system to filter out games I don't want to buy.
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Yea I get a similar thing out of ps+. Try a bunch of games I wanted to try but wasn't sure about.
 
The problem I have with gamepass is it's keeping from playing my backlog.


I bought tales of arise plus it's DLC because I was 40 hours in before it came off gamepass. Told mysef I was gonna come back to it….. started playing hollow knight, just in case it leaves, anytime soon. It's funny how people say GPU makes you NOT want to buy games but if a game is good enough and is leaving the service you will end up buying it to keep playing it. That's happened a lot with me. It's only the MS and EA games I don't really buy anymore because their games on on the service forever. But you end up buying 3rd party games you like. I recently bought lies if P and no more heroes 3 before they left the service while they were on a discount, picked up the marvel ca capcom collection at the same time, really looking forward to that next collection with the capcom vs SNK games.


I want to start playing cyber punk and system shock remastered but there's always something to try out on GPU. I think they says how good the service is. It's actually got games on it that are good enough to make me postpone playing my backlog ( l which is full of gems on Xbox and steam)


Dunno what the future hold for them as a company but right now is a good time as an owner of an xbox. I'm not short of games whether it's my backlog or gamepass to play and there's a lot to look forward to down the road.
 
RickMasters said:
The problem I have with gamepass is it's keeping from playing my backlog.


I bought tales of arise plus it's DLC because I was 40 hours in before it came off gamepass. Told mysef I was gonna come back to it….. started playing hollow knight, just in case it leaves, anytime soon. It's funny how people say GPU makes you NOT want to buy games but if a game is good enough and is leaving the service you will end up buying it to keep playing it. That's happened a lot with me. It's only the MS and EA games I don't really buy anymore because their games on on the service forever. But you end up buying 3rd party games you like. I recently bought lies if P and no more heroes 3 before they left the service while they were on a discount, picked up the marvel ca capcom collection at the same time, really looking forward to that next collection with the capcom vs SNK games.


I want to start playing cyber punk and system shock remastered but there's always something to try out on GPU. I think they says how good the service is. It's actually got games on it that are good enough to make me postpone playing my backlog ( l which is full of gems on Xbox and steam)


Dunno what the future hold for them as a company but right now is a good time as an owner of an xbox. I'm not short of games whether it's my backlog or gamepass to play and there's a lot to look forward to down the road.
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Around 30% of games I own have been due to playing them first on gamepass then going back to them after they had left.
 
San Dan Glokta said:
Around 30% of games I own have been due to playing them first on gamepass then going back to them after they had left.
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People say this like it should sell you on the system.

You pay to rent a game for however long. It leaves the service. You pay for the game AGAIN because your rental ended. Meanwhile, you continue to pay for a rental service you aren't using because you're playing a game you own.
 
Reading this thread makes me think either a lot of GAF nowadays is very young, or don't know about modern business practices.

The average consumer purchases 1-2 games a year, (likely) less. Subscriptions are the gold standard in business because it offers recurring revenue.

This is why Microsoft moved to this model, why Spotify, Apple Music and Netflix exists. The consumer thinks they're getting a good deal, but they're spending more than they did before subscription model era.
 
Sooner said:
People say this like it should sell you on the system.

You pay to rent a game for however long. It leaves the service. You pay for the game AGAIN because your rental ended. Meanwhile, you continue to pay for a rental service you aren't using because you're playing a game you own.
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I never said that Gamepass alone is what should sell you on the Xbox. I'm the first in line to say that M$ has been fucking up with piss poor management of their studios and they should work on churning out good first party games. Take a page from Nintendo (and Sony to a lesser extent). I've said it before and I'll say it again: Xbox should cut out the PC portion completely and become a closed 1st party powerhouse. Want to play Call of Duty? Buy an Xbox. This will hurt them in the short term but in 5 years they'll grow back a healthy chuck of the market share.

That being said: Gamepass is still an excellent service to play 100s of games and trying them out with no strings attached; so its worth its price even as a rental service. Because of the overall value I get from the service and the discounts even when there are times of the month I'm not actively playing a game from gamepass it makes up for its self over the long-term.
 
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San Dan Glokta said:
That being said: Gamepass is still an excellent service to play 100s of games and trying them out with no strings attached; so its worth its price even as a rental service. Because of the overall value I get from the service and the discounts even when their are times of the month I'm not actively playing a game from gamepass it makes up for its self over the long-term.
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The perception of "value" is up to the person. Someone said earlier that they only played 2 games in the entire year that were on GP, ok sure, but someone else might play more, or might discover and play games on the service they would not even try otherwise (eg Tunic for me).

From Jan to May, there have/will be at least one or more new games launching on it day 1 each month that have my interest. Sniper Elite, Avowed, NG2 Black, Atomfall, South of Midnight, Clair Obscure, Doom etc. So, it's been well worth it for me.
 
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Subbed for a coupe of years, realised this model just isn't for me. I just don't have the time to play that many games unfortunately. The decent ones that do interest me I've found I'm just better off buying.

Back in the day i'd have been all over it though.
 
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adamsapple said:
The perception of "value" is up to the person. Someone said earlier that they only played 2 games in the entire year that were on GP, ok sure, but someone else might play more, or might discover and play games on the service they would not even try otherwise (eg Tunic for me).

From Jan to May, there have/will be at least one or more new games launching on it day 1 each month that have my interest. Sniper Elite, Avowed, NG2 Black, Atomfall, South of Midnight, Clair Obscure, Doom etc. So, it's been well worth it for me.
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thanks you
so hyped for doom!
 
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rofif said:
gp is destroying the industry by devaluing it and games.
Nothing good about paying and not owning anything.
it only raises the expectancy for cheap and free shit.
I don't want to play whats free there. I want to play what I want.
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I don't think much about it tbh. It's like Spotify for me. And I don't want to go back to buying music CDs, it just meant that I missed a ton of good music.

I have no problem paying full price for a game I know I'll enjoy. Problem is, that's like 2 games per year. So far this year I wouldn't have played anything.
 
SkylineRKR said:
It might sound strange but the value of GP might increase once their games hit PS5 day one.

I mean, you have the choice of signing up to GP and play those games, or pay 70-80 eurodollars to play one game on PS5. This will be more evident once those games consistently pop up on both systems simultanously.
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PS4/5 console exclusive fans are probably already paying for PS+ because they need it for online play. Good luck getting them to double dip on subscriptions if they only own a Sony console. Besides. MS/XB are probably counting on additional sales more than subs at this point. I have noticed a lot less Game Pass advertising and a lot more Everything is an Xbox lately.
 
Fess said:
I don't think much about it tbh. It's like Spotify for me. And I don't want to go back to buying music CDs, it just meant that I missed a ton of good music.

I have no problem paying full price for a game I know I'll enjoy. Problem is, that's like 2 games per year. So far this year I wouldn't have played anything.
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I don't use spotify either...
I am mp3 guy. Have like 3 thousand mp3s on my iphone and my car plays it wirelessly :P
 
Maybe I'm stuck in semantics here…but I'd think if one is claiming something was "always" good; but is just now becoming "consistent" I'd have to argue that it wasn't "always" good…that word would - and this just my assessment- indicate consistency. Always is a measurement of time, no? I'm also fat and retarded so what do I know
 
WellSheet said:
Maybe I'm stuck in semantics here…but I'd think if one is claiming something was "always" good; but is just now becoming "consistent" I'd have to argue that it wasn't "always" good…that word would - and this just my assessment- indicate consistency. Always is a measurement of time, no? I'm also fat and retarded so what do I know
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No, you're not wrong. I also thought about this when I read the the title.
 
The people have spoken, they don't want subscription shit. By the start of next gen there won't be any game pass, at any price unless it's an utterly ridiculous one.
 
rofif said:
I don't use spotify either...
I am mp3 guy. Have like 3 thousand mp3s on my iphone and my car plays it wirelessly :p
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I used to have my whole CD library ripped to ALAC. Then my NAS died. Not doing that ripping process again on a couple hundred CDs… So Spotify it is. I don't think I've bought a CD in 10 years, using Spotify is so much more convenient, and good enough qualitywise for the usual everyday listening.

Gamepass is similar. Good enough for everyday gaming. I don't disagree that the general quality on the games are below the biggest top tier games, I just know that getting access to games cheap without paying more means that I play more games that I would otherwise skip, and some of those I genuinely enjoy.

Currently playing Diablo 4, level 55 rogue, didn't think it was my type of game but it was there so I tried it and so far I've loved it. 👍
 
I just can't wrap my mind around paying a service just to rent these games. Sure, if they are digital only, then you have not many options, but I rather buy the games physical as far as possible.

These services are destroying and devaluing games, these morons already started to release physical editions with missing data.
 
Memati187 said:
These services are destroying and devaluing games, these morons already started to release physical editions with missing data.
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You can sign me up for some devaluing anytime. Shit's way too expensive.

What's hilarious though is seeing you complaining about the shortcomings of physical media, and trying to blame Gamepass for that. Bless your heart.
 
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Memati187 said:
I just can't wrap my mind around paying a service just to rent these games. Sure, if they are digital only, then you have not many options, but I rather buy the games physical as far as possible.

These services are destroying and devaluing games, these morons already started to release physical editions with missing data.
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Try wrapping your head around spending $10 for a single night with a game and it had to be back before lunchtime the next day..,
 
Sooner said:
The $240 every year is a helluva string if you ask me.

You're describing free demos which still exist.
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Then don't pay $240. I pay with MS Rewards point. If I didn't do that then I would do exactly what I'm doing with Ubisoft+. Rent for a month when the service has a game I want to play. Not really that different from when I buy a game on PS5 and then sell it on ebay when I'm done.
 
UltimaKilo said:
Reading this thread makes me think either a lot of GAF nowadays is very young, or don't know about modern business practices.

The average consumer purchases 1-2 games a year, (likely) less. Subscriptions are the gold standard in business because it offers recurring revenue.

This is why Microsoft moved to this model, why Spotify, Apple Music and Netflix exists. The consumer thinks they're getting a good deal, but they're spending more than they did before subscription model era.
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The main issue with Game Pass, unlike the other services you mentioned, is that it tried to answer a problem that didn't exist.

Netflix tried to compensate the slow down of DVD-Blu Ray sales, Spotify/Apple Music the slow down of CD/iTunes sales.

But Game Pass tried to compensate the global increase of spending in video games, and that's why it was never meant to be sucessful. And that's why even people at Microsoft thought it was a bad idea. Cause it was.

People aren't buying less games than before. 20 years ago a million seller was a hit, now it's super common, almost a flop. With the huge regular discounts on digital stores, gaming is more accessible than ever.
 
Baemono said:
The main issue with Game Pass, unlike the other services you mentioned, is that it tried to answer a problem that didn't exist.

Netflix tried to compensate the slow down of DVD-Blu Ray sales, Spotify/Apple Music the slow down of CD/iTunes sales.

But Game Pass tried to compensate the global increase of spending in video games, and that's why it was never meant to be sucessful. And that's why even people at Microsoft thought it was a bad idea. Cause it was.

People aren't buying less games than before. 20 years ago a million seller was a hit, now it's super common, almost a flop. With the huge regular discounts on digital stores, gaming is more accessible than ever.
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Like I mentioned, it's about recurring revenue. $20 a month is a sure thing and better than $60 once a year.
 
Unless you have a strictly control on your costs, GamePass is terrible thing for gamedevs. They would need a really good deal with MS or lower costs to sustain the fact that their games will be played for like 6 bucks or something (that goes to MS).
 
Why do people continue to spread this nonsense that GamePass killed the Xbox brand? What lead MS to moving more of their games to other consoles is their piss poor console sales and the almost $100,000,000,000 they had spent on acquisitions.

They were going down this route before GamePass. GamePass was a Hail Mary attempt to move more people into their ecosystem and sell more consoles, and it failed.

The mistake they made was waiting too long to address their studio issue, and the whole Xbone ordeal.
 
Grizzled Ghost said:
I'm glad you're enjoying it. Vanquish is possibly my favorite game of all time, but I'm not going to get up on my soapbox and tell everyone it's a masterpiece. (It is though, and I do, in fact, do that)

It's ok to love average games.
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the fuck? the game is a masterpiece.
 
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