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[adamsapple]

No, it's quite different.

One, games leave gamepass. Two, if you follow the game industry closer than you do the tv industry, as many of us do, you will likely find games not on gamepass you're interested in. Three, if you really like a game - like lets say Age of Empires 2 - it's actually way way cheaper over time to buy it than stay subbed just to play it. You're not going to watch Silo continuously for months or years.

Keeping a recurring sub just to play one or two games is a fools errand, I don't believe that's how most people generally utilize them here, at least.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Keeping a recurring sub just to play one or two games is a fools errand, I don't believe that's how most people generally utilize them here, at least.

Exactly.

It would be like comparing the cost/value equation for Netflix or Spotify if someone only watched one TV series or listened to one singer.

As I said above too, the sub value for a gamer deciding on a higher tier for the most games also depends on if they even play MP games to begin with. If someone does and has been subbing to Xbox Gold or PS Essentials for ages, it's really only the additional cost of higher tiers that matters.

But for someone who hates MP games and never subs to begin with, paying for the higher tier plans is a much bigger pill to swallow since the base tiers have MP and hardly any games. So they are jumping from $0 to tier 2 or 3.

 

[nkarafo]

I don't mind renting to play a lot of random games but the ones i like in the end i want to own them forever.

 

[vodka-bull]

In the near future, you'll own nothing and you'll be happy.

No seriously, owning with all the mandatory day 1 patches is pointless. Everything that was released before mandatory updates is great. Don't spend your money on physical games that end up being digital anyway (Switch 2 for example, but also countless other games which demand an internet connection).

 

[Edellus]

Personally, I'm fine with not owning (licensing more like). For me, games are about the experiences and the time I spend on them rather than the assets themselves. I very rarely play a game more than once (in which case I will probably buy it if it's not available in the sub anymore) so I don't have much of a need of perpetual access to them.

 

[viveks86]

Why not use the best of both worlds? Own the games you always want to get back to and use a subscription for the rest. I rarely ever replay games as there are just too many new ones to experience, so my game ownership is tiny in comparison to the value I get out of PS+ Extra. I'm sure the same would apply for me with GP, if I had an Xbox.

TBH, I'm done accumulating possessions. So for me, it's about function rather than sentiment or pride. If owning doesn't serve an actual function that I'm interested in (such as saving money in the long run, autonomy to make changes, stability etc.), then that ownership is of no value to me. Game service subscriptions actually save me money, given the sheer volume I consume. I don't want or need to modify them and I rarely ever revisit them. So the incentives for ownership aren't there for me for most games, except the ones that I'm hyped to play day 1 and are not available on subscription yet.

 

[Fess]

This is why I said that gamepass is good for a certain type of person. I didn't say that gamepass was awful or useless. One who wants to play a lot of games and is fine being, basically, told what they are going to play.

Most of the games you mentioned are not interesting to me at all and I wouldn't have played them on gamepass or paid for them. I dont klnow why people need to defend this service especially to someone who acknowledged its strength.

Yeah sorry about the tone, I just didn't like that "told what they are going to play" phrase. I never feel like I'm told to play something, I don't have to jump onto the latest thing, it's just that I can do it if I feel like it.

As with Spotify and Netflix etc, for me it's about having access to a larger library without having to pay for anything individually. Extremely similar in how I think about it.


That said, I'm still stacking. So going from stacking to a regular subscription is a transition I haven't had to do yet. That'll be the real test how I think about the service. The price increase for Ultimate is roughly 4x!
And Spotify and Netflix has been mentioned, there I have several thousands of titles. Gamepass have maybe 200 titles... It's a big difference.

But I think PC Gamepass is nearly half the price so that might be a way forward.
One pizza per month!

 

[dorkimoe]

if its good enough and i think ill play it again ill buy it, otherwise i dont really play games twice so game pass is perfect for me

 

[StereoVsn]

I am a lot more time poor vs cash poor, so for me GamePass and sub services in general are not a great proposition. I want to play the game I want to play and not accept only what GamePass has.

Plus at any particular time I may want to play an older game, replay a game, play a game on say a Switch or SteamDeck and so on. Even GamePass at say $120 a year isn't a good proposition for me, not to mention $240/year.

The only thing I use GamePass for is to demo certain games before I buy them. I can always grab a cheap month of it at the time.

Edit: Funny enough I have been considering doing away with music sub (Apple Music) and going back to buying music again as I find most modern music kind of crap.

Video streamers are a bit different as they have a lot of shows they are more difficult to collect, but I have been building up a library a bit of movies/series I actually like and supplementing that with Netflix, Peacock, Disney, etc.. for a month when the family wants to watch something in particular.

The only thing I can't give up is YouTube Premium which does also give me YouTube Music.

 

[ReBurn]

I don't need to own every game I play and I rarely play a game the day it releases. So if I only want to play it once and it's on a sub service chances are that's how I'm playing it. If I can buy it cheaper than it costs me for a month of a subscription then I'll buy it. If I play it on a sub service and it's something I'll play long term then I'll buy it. But I'm way past needing to own because I don't care about collecting anymore.

 

[EverydayBeast]

This game pass vs owning debate is tiring, it's nice having a collection but game pass is beautiful

 

[Grildon Tundy]

OP, you've been away from GAF for a while, right? I assure you it's not just you who has hesitations towards game sub services.

 

[S0ULZB0URNE]

I don't support such services.

 

[Gambit2483]

I dont care about owning games. I play them and i move on. The less i pay for playing them the better.

"I own nothing and am happy."

Don't be deceived by this way of thinking. This is why we can't have anything nice and why this industry becomes more and more anti-consumer

 

[Rivdoric]

Purchasing game ftw.

 

[SILKYSMOOTH30FPS]

Gamepass is good for titles i know i won't spend over a month on. Shit you beat, and be done with. Games that are massive and interesting to explore like ER, i would never get on a renting service. Games that i see myself playing for its multiplayer for months or years, is another kind of a title i would never even think of renting through GP.

 

[Conflict NZ]

Play on gamepass, add to wishlist and buy when cheap. It's really not that hard.

 

[Crayon]

I don't even play many games on ps+ and it has still cut my buying on both steam and psn. The sub catalog looks an awful lot like my steam wishlist sometimes so I have to check there now before I buy shit. Or conversely, having a feeling a game is going to end up on there and not buying it.

The games I play on it might come just a bit short of the sub price, but it seems to save me money by changing my spending habits like that? idk.

Either way, "owning" isn't what it used to be but feeling any pressure to play a game before it drops off the sub is fucking annoying.

 

[Knightime_X]

I just pretend it's like renting games back in the day.
Try before you buy.
And honestly, it's cheaper this way than it was to rent.
Back then it was $4-$5 a game for only 3 days.
Some places were only 2 days.

 

[duck_sauce]

"I own nothing and am happy."

Don't be deceived by this way of thinking. This is why we can't have anything nice and why this industry becomes more and more anti-consumer

What are you talking about? That is not what I said.
I said I don't care because I don't replay games. I just choose the cheapest way to play games. If you think you own anything in a world of day one patches, go be happy, but don't judge me.

 

[Itchy Tickles]

I have never liked subscription game models as they take away enjoyment for me. It is like having a chipped console and having access to any game you want for free, so you kinda lose that connection to the game as it didn't cost money or you didn't have to trade in games etc

I like buying my games (yes, we have little to no protection because fuck us) as it adds investment to it and makes it feel more personal. With films and music it is different for me as I have always been used to renting films from shops or listening to music on the radio.

Maybe it is a generational thing at this point. The next wave of people really only know microtransactions instead of game unlocks, a lot of "free to play" games that can quickly bleed you dry and have astronomical cost, and these gaming subscriptions being quite cheap for a rental service.

 

[Gambit2483]

What are you talking about? That is not what I said.
I said I don't care because I don't replay games. I just choose the cheapest way to play games. If you think you own anything in a world of day one patches, go be happy, but don't judge me.

You should care regardless. Preservation is THE most important issue in this Industry afaic.

I want my kid's kids to be able to play Super Mario 64 one day, should they want, the same way we can still listen to Mozart in 2025.

 

[Hero of Spielberg]

Like with movies. If there's a game a really love, I'll buy it. Otherwise happy to just play different games on subs and try them out.

 

[Laptop1991]

I prefer to own but the inflated prices are making me consider Gamepass for some titles like the Outer Worlds 2, trouble is i don't really like playing a game on a time limit and don't want to keep subbing more than a month so i might just wait for the game to become cheaper, which i don't think will take long.

 

[MacReady13]

Fuck subscriptions. Buy what you want when you want it. Simple as that. Stop renting and wasting money on something you'll NEVER own!