Changing how? Shifting to game subscriptions? We have data showing that subscriptions in total account for just 4% of all console gaming revenue. Services like GamePass account for a smaller slice of that, and GamePass itself accounts for 60% of whatever that slice is...if we're going off publicly available data to the best of our knowledge, anyway.
The fact we never get GamePass revenue or profit figures from Microsoft is very telling IMO, considering companies like Sony had no issue giving revenue for the "failure" that was PS Now, and even Nintendo provide their services revenue on its own. Microsoft is the only one who bundles in all of their gaming segments into a total Xbox division revenue and nothing else. Companies that do this tend to do so for the benefit of obfuscation.
The reason why putting 1P AAA releases Day 1 on PC will cause severe problems for Sony (IMO) are as follow:
-Business: At least some portion of the audience who buy Sony's 1P games Day 1 on PlayStation consoles, also do the vast bulk of their 3P software purchases on PlayStation, likely pay for some tier of PS+ as well. If that audience size is significant, and these same 1P games come Day 1 on PC, those players will have multiple incentives to simply not buy a PlayStation and to buy the games on PC (via Steam) instead, causing the following:
-Less money for Sony (30% revenue cut goes to Valve, software price also lower on Steam, more 3P reseller options for cheap codes on Day 1 meaning even less revenue, piracy etc.)
-Less revenue from PS+ for Sony (online on PC is free, why pay for it on PS+?)
-Less 3P sales for Sony (most 3P PS games also release on PC Day 1, are often cheaper on PC vs. console, any online MP is free on PC, etc.)
That doesn't even bring in the other benefits of PC over PlayStation for such users, such as better resolution & framerates, more display option support, mod support, more controller and input I/O support. And contrary to popular belief, getting a game to run on PC isn't
that much more difficult than playing it on console. It's not 1992 anymore.
-Software: More platforms that need Day 1 optimizations means less resources for focused optimizations to go around, as it's now split among more platforms and SKUs simultaneously.
Spacing out ports by a few years not only allows for exhaustion of the sales model on one platform (instead of sales on that platform being cannibalized by simultaneous sales on another platform) before adding additional platforms for extended lifetime sales, but also allows more resources to be focused on a smaller range of hardware specs at any one time, providing a superior experience for each platform once the game is made available for it.
No, most won't. But if enough of the hardcore/core gamers do (especially those who also buy Sony 1P games in high frequency) do, that will have negative effects on total PlayStation revenue because now you're talking about a lot of "whales" moving almost all of their business to a different platform (PC).
I don't see that happening considering they aren't tracking that far ahead of 360 and even the XBO was tracking ahead of 360 for a period of time before "stuff" happened. Also IMO, the Xbox Series are still missing several key big things the 360 had in its favor early on.
But if MS does release a streaming-only Xbox Series device as rumored, and adds that in to total Series hardware, then it's possible they'll see their highest total of system sales ever. Just don't expect Series X to account for any more than 20% of total Series sales, though.
Well we've known for a while PS+ brings in much more money than GamePass because Sony have actually published its revenue figures multiple times, they've now added additional tiers at higher prices, and most likely have a higher ARPU than GamePass since avenues to get PS+ for super cheap or free like GamePass are not as plentiful, by design.