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[rofif]

what kind of a guess is that?!
5 or 10 mil ?! That's a big difference.

 

[Lognor]

Great price if true! I imagine with more competition in this space from Sony, the prices to lock games to your subscription service will go up.

I'm really enjoying the game and I hope Microsoft continues to open their wallets to these AAA titles. It certainly helps when a game like GotG does not perform well initially. That gives Microsoft a ton of leverage to get it on Game Pass for a cheap price.

 

[kingfey]

I was just messing with you.

Imagine MS sales pitch to publishers. Guys, put your games on Gamepass . We wont pay you for it because its a privilege to put your games on Gamepass, since it will increase your game sales so the honer is all yours. You can thank us later.

That sounds absurd yes? because most of y'all fell for it when MS said Gamepass increases games sales.

That is stupid example.

Devs will get money from MS. Then they also get money from the people who buys this game.

100k at $20 is 2m. If 300k people bought the game, Square will get $6m plus the money pays them to put it on their store.

That is just from gamepass. Not counting other xbox users who don't have gamepass, will also buy those games.

 

[Leyasu]

Good point. It prevents many games of being made but what you say it's true. In fact, very likely the game will be avaible during a few months on Gamepass and after that will be removed from there.

It's a digital license, with a fixed duration that has an unknown length at this point

I was just messing with you.

Imagine MS sales pitch to publishers. Guys, put your games on Gamepass . We wont pay you for it because its a privilege to put your games on Gamepass, since it will increase your game sales so the honer is all yours. You can thank us later.

That sounds absurd yes? because most of y'all fell for it when MS said Gamepass increases games sales.

More likely the sales pitch is, "see your game that is no longer selling, we'll give you a fee to put it on gamepass, and as the data shows the likelyhood is that you will also gets some sales from it"

Meaning, not only does the publisher get some extra revenue from Microsoft from going on GP, they will more than likely get a some sales from it too.

But I could well be wrong, just like you with your take..

 

[mckmas8808]

Although they probably got it a little cheaper due to the underwhelming sales, it does show that MS are probably paying much lower than people think to get these games on Gamepass (especially games with MTX).
All those 'its costing MS 50-100mil for these games lol' posts were always way off the ,mark. The EPIC leaks already showed us that the deals for these games are way lower than people think.

My assumption was people were saying it would cost $100 million to have it on Gamepass day one "AND" exclusive to Xbox and PC.

 

[Zeroing]

I though it would be free because gamepass is so amazing and generates free publicly!
Square is lucky to have their game showcased on gamepass!

 

[Leyasu]

My assumption was people were saying it would cost $100 million to have it on Gamepass day one "AND" exclusive to Xbox and PC.

The majority of that 100M would be the moneyhat to keep it off of playstation though. Not put it on GP

 

[Fox Mulder]

This is already like in every sale for $30 and probably flopped directly because Avengers was such dogshit.

 

[elliot5]

I was just messing with you.

Imagine MS sales pitch to publishers. Guys, put your games on Gamepass . We wont pay you for it because its a privilege to put your games on Gamepass, since it will increase your game sales so the honer is all yours. You can thank us later.

That sounds absurd yes? because most of y'all fell for it when MS said Gamepass increases games sales.

I don’t think the claim has EVER been being on Game Pass increases the sales of the same game. It likely gets some boost, especially when it’s about to leave because of the inherent discount, but that statistic afaik has been more people subbed to gp spend more money on games than average.

 

[Esppiral]

Microsoft ‘paid $5-10 million’ to get Guardians of the Galaxy on Game Pass, analyst claims | VGC

Microsoft allegedly paid between $5 - $10 million for Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy to be on Xbox Game Pass according to an industry analyst.

www.videogameschronicle.com

Microsoft likely paid between $5-10 million to get Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy on Xbox Game Pass, according to an industry analyst.

David Gibson, who is a senior analyst at MST financial, has estimated that Square Enix was paid around $5-10 million for its superhero adventure to join the on-demand subscription service.

Although this figure has neve been officially confirmed, Gibson says it’s an estimate based on “discussions with Square Enix and others”. Gibson has been covering Square Enix as an analyst for 15 years.

Microsoft typically keeps the terms of Xbox Game Pass deals confidential, so Gibson’s estimate – if accurate – could shed some light on the upper end of the scale.

In a recent blog post celebrating nine years of ID@Xbox, Microsoft’s Chris Charla revealed that the company has paid developers and publishers “hundreds of millions of dollars” in Game Pass licensing fees since the service launched.

He also revealed that after joining the service, the average member plays “30% more genres and plays 40% more games, with a majority of those games being outside of Game Pass”.

Guardians of the Galaxy joined Xbox Game Pass last month. Despite positive fan reception, Square Enix stated that sales of its Guardians of the Galaxy game “undershot initial expectations“.



In presentation slides following its results briefing held in February, the company’s president Yosuke Matsuda stated that the game hadn’t sold as well as hoped, even though it had reviewed well.

“Despite strong reviews, the game’s sales on launch undershot our initial expectations,” Matsuda said. “However, sales initiatives that we kicked off in November 2021 and continued into the new year have resulted in sales growth, and we intend to work to continue to expand sales to make up for the title’s slow start.”

That's like saying that MS paid between 0 and 5 million....

 

[mckmas8808]

The majority of that 100M would be the moneyhat to keep it off of playstation though. Not put it on GP

I agree. And the other "major" part of that 100M would be to do it on Day One. Which I don't think this game was on GamePass on day one.

 

[Leyasu]

I agree. And the other "major" part of that 100M would be to do it on Day One. Which I don't think this game was on GamePass on day one.

Yeah it would no doubt cost to have it day one. It would be interesting to know how much that would be. Although I would wager that it is nowhere near the price of keeping it off of Playstation for a 6mths to 1 year though.

 

[Urban]

I was surprised to see it on gamepass. I was one who bought the game. IMO square does a horrible job advertising games from their NAM studios. actually they do a crap job advertising any of their games imo.

No Xbox user will buy a SE game anymore. Just wait some months and you get it on GP

 

[adamsapple]

what kind of a guess is that?!
5 or 10 mil ?! That's a big difference.

It's probably an estimate, or guess.

I doubt either MS or Square will ever reveal the actual signed on amount.

This is already like in every sale for $30 and probably flopped directly because Avengers was such dogshit.

Exactly, people are over estimating this coming to GP this soon lol. The fact that it kinda bombed at the retail is exactly why it's able to come to GP this soon.

Expecting every Square Enix game to come to GP in similar windows is just gonna leave a lot of folks disappointed.*

* That being said, FF Chaos is also kinda bombing at retail so realistically it can also come to GP in a few months. Yes I know I just directly contradicted my earlier point lol.

 

[Lognor]

This is already like in every sale for $30 and probably flopped directly because Avengers was such dogshit.

So it actually benefits SE quite a bit that it's on Game Pass then! Not only do they get that $5-10M in revenue, but people are actually playing and talking about the game now! It should be able to sell some more units due to its GP inclusion. Good guy Microsoft helping out SE!

 

[RAIDEN1]

Haven't played it yet, but looking forward to eventually checking it out to an alternative to Mass Effect

 

[elliot5]

GOTG didn't chart at all last week in the UK physical lists but got placed at like 23 this past week likely due to additional buzz/attention + sales (like 30 pounds retail).

 

[Oddvintagechap]

This game bombed that hard?

 

[adamsapple]

Haven't played it yet, but looking forward to eventually checking it out to an alternative to Mass Effect

Well, it's not exactly similar to Mass Effect in any way if you're looking for a similar experience.

But it is a fantastic game regardless.

 

[Chukhopops]

Haven't played it yet, but looking forward to eventually checking it out to an alternative to Mass Effect

It’s not like Mass Effect at all, it’s closer to Uncharted from a gameplay point of view (but the dialogue is quite good). You walk, you climb (a bit), you shoot stuff and do simple QTEs.

 

[kingfey]

This game bombed that hard?

Yup. Avengers disaster made this game "not for sale" for consumers.
Most games gets that type of death, because of 1 stupid mistake.

 

[kingfey]

I agree. And the other "major" part of that 100M would be to do it on Day One. Which I don't think this game was on GamePass on day one.

MS can pay day1 for games like these, or even AAA games for gamepass.

Its up to the publisher to see, whether the deal would be beneficial to them or not.

 

[Harlock]

Boring game. But still way cheaper than pay for the entire game dev.

 

[Leyasu]

Boring game. But still way cheaper than pay for the entire game dev.

Indeed it is. People have been thinking that Microsoft pay exclusive moneyhat sums when it was obviously not the case.

It is no way comparable. Although, I think that the price will go up for Microsoft as sub numbers rise.

 

[Three]

That doesn't make sense. They surely want people sharing their media to advertise games. Even if some people buy those games in other platforms, that must be better than no advertising at all.

And leaving the door open to share via the phone app means they are not against that, although I don't understand the reasons myself

If xbox users share to places your users can easily see then you're still advertising to your potential customers. Sharing within the ecosystem I'm sure is encouraged. One drive over twitter for other platforms that support onedrive, Mixer when it was around and twitch was removed. You can push your platforms and advertise to your customers too. I'm sure once they have the exclusive games coming it will be back at some point.

 

[Ozriel]

Obviously to pay for dozens millions of copies of a pretty recent well reviewed AAA game, from a well known publisher and dev, that uses a Marvel (meaning that only a portion of the revenue of the game goes to the publisher), is worth way more money than a deal to promote a AAA game using the marketing channels of a 1st party, timed exclusivity for dlc and demos, exclusivity for console bundles, potentital future VR versions of the game if they ever want make it and to avoid having the game in game subscriptions of the competition during 14/15 months and getting preference to negotiate the inclusion on their game subscriptions

Imagine pretending not to know that Guardians of the Galaxy sold poorly, down to $20 just a few months after release.

A $5 - $10 million payment would be a solid bit of business for Square.

I'm actually completely nonplussed how you're arguing it could be higher than this range.

 

[mckmas8808]

Imagine pretending not to know that Guardians of the Galaxy sold poorly, down to $20 just a few months after release.

A $5 - $10 million payment would be a solid bit of business for Square.

I'm actually completely nonplussed how you're arguing it could be higher than this range.

How long was the game out before it came to GamePass?

 

[bushwookie]

They are not buying dozens of millions of copies, they are licensing it for rental for a fixed period.

You'd think all his "experience" with "top licenses", and "top IP's" would get that, but apparently that's not the case.

 

[bushwookie]

Imagine pretending not to know that Guardians of the Galaxy sold poorly, down to $20 just a few months after release.

A $5 - $10 million payment would be a solid bit of business for Square.

I'm actually completely nonplussed how you're arguing it could be higher than this range.

Because he will go to extraordinary lengths to place anything regarding Xbox in the absolute worst light possible.

 

[Iced Arcade]

what kind of a guess is that?!
5 or 10 mil ?! That's a big difference.

Was exactly my first thought.

$20 or $20,000, same thing

 

[Oddvintagechap]

Yup. Avengers disaster made this game "not for sale" for consumers.
Most games gets that type of death, because of 1 stupid mistake.

Damn Xbox made out like a bandit if that’s really what they paid.

I thought Sony was going to buy Capcom. Since they make western-friendly content. But they might have to save Square’s ass.

 

[amigastar]

Wow, thanks for reminding me this game is on game pass. Installing now.

 

[kingfey]

Damn Xbox made out like a bandit if that’s really what they paid.

I thought Sony was going to buy Capcom. Since they make western-friendly content. But they might have to save Square’s ass.

Sony is looking for talent. Square is losing their talent.

Its best for Sony to buy final fantasy IP from Square and be done with it.

That is the only thing that keeps Square relevant.

 

[adamsapple]

Sony is looking for talent. Square is losing their talent.

Its best for Sony to buy final fantasy IP from Square and be done with it.

That is the only thing that keeps Square relevant.

Why would Square sell the only thing that keeps them relevant. That'd be as good as a death-nail to the company.

Either wholesale sell, or not at all. Sony are already getting the next mainline FF game exclusively on the console anyway, no point in buying the company.

 

[kingfey]

Why would Square sell the only thing that keeps them relevant. That'd be as good as a death-nail to the company.

Either wholesale sell, or not at all. Sony are already getting the next mainline FF game exclusively on the console anyway, no point in buying the company.

Because fuck square.
They destroyed Deus Ex for that garbage trash Marvel game.

 

[SportsFan581]

I don’t think the claim has EVER been being on Game Pass increases the sales of the same game. It likely gets some boost, especially when it’s about to leave because of the inherent discount, but that statistic afaik has been more people subbed to gp spend more money on games than average.

I'd imagine there is some uplift in general sales too. Just because suddenly after seeing all their friends on Xbox are playing GoTG, a non-GP user might bite on it. Maybe even some PS and PC users since GP additions tend to get a bit of a boost on streaming platforms, etc. Probably nothing huge, but I'm sure appreciated given the age of the title (they generally say devs make most of their money in the first 6 months).

 

[Ozriel]

Because fuck square.
They destroyed Deus Ex for that garbage trash Marvel game.

“Square will sell their best asset, because I hate Square”

Your arguments get increasingly incoherent these days

 

[Kagey K]

I can't imagine how hard it must be for these publishers to figure out how to maximize revenue now.

Seemed easy enough when it was just Sony or MS offering timed exclusive money, but now there's clauses where they can't go on a service for at least a year after the deal ends.

So you have to start weighing at this point next year will you still make me 10 mil? Or am I better looking for a different deal.

A free 10 mil for a port a year after release sounds pretty fucking sweet.

2 years later you are going to get much less cash for the port.

 

[TaylorSwiftFan]

I think the reason it is so cheap is because the game flopped badly.

 

[Kagey K]

I think the reason it is so cheap is because the game flopped badly.

Or that's what they are worth after about week 3.

 

[ZehDon]

With games making the vast majority of their sales in the first few days of release, it kinda makes sense for Microsoft to buy up titles in this manner - especially for this price. I imagine it'll become akin to the movies that release in theatres, and then release onto streaming shortly afterwards.

The question to answer is: once Xbox users become accustomed to this, will the frugal gamers stop buying retail and play the 'Game Pass waiting game' instead? And if so, will that actually make a big enough difference in copies sold? If no one buys Xbox games, publishers may de-prioritise the platform?

 

[Jemm]

If the publisher signed the deal, they must be happy enough with it... It's not like MS threatened them at gunpoint or anything.

 

[Helghan]

The question to answer is: once Xbox users become accustomed to this, will the frugal gamers stop buying retail and play the 'Game Pass waiting game' instead? And if so, will that actually make a big enough difference in copies sold? If no one buys Xbox games, publishers may de-prioritise the platform?

I can already tell you that I'm doing this. The only game I bought in the past 2 years was Elden Ring.

But I don't think publishers will de-prioritise the platform. They'll just release their games on Game Pass sooner for a higher price. Then it's Microsoft's decision to pay it, or wait it out, but then their whole business model would fail if gamers have to wait too long for new games.

 

[Dr. Wilkinson]

I don't get his maths. Where the $2 comes from?

If it's 25M subs and they pay let's say $5-10M that would mean Square gets $0.2-0.4 per user. Let's say only half of the subs play it, 12.5M. That would be $0.4-0.8 for Square per user.

Regarding MS paying only $5-10M to put Guardians of the Galaxy on GP, I think this price is too low and that must be way higher. Because as I remember this is what Sony paid RE Village only for having a marketing deal and preference for game subs negotiations plus skipping game subs of the competition during 14 or 15 months startting to count from release. I think MS paid them way more than $5-10M.

If the number is real it would mean that the game absolutely tanked hard in sales and that Square are desperate to get some revenue from some place. Because if not, I don't get why Square would be ok getting $2 (or less) per copy instead of $29.

I would assume he has all the data... because this is what he does for a living, aaaand we don't? Just spit-ballin here!

 

[Team Andromeda]

Why do people care?

 

[Umbasaborne]

Why do people care?

You know why.

 

[solidus12]

I was pleasantly surprised with the game. Loved the banter between characters.

 

[geary]

I wonder how this thread was ressurected…an why…just cooking here some thoughts

 

[adamsapple]

Why do people care?

You know why.

 

[BeardSpike]

I was pleasantly surprised with the game. Loved the banter between characters.

Maybe because it was on Playstation Plus Extra... Or at least that's what I thought when going into this thread- but I was wrong.
Still I enjoyed the game on Extra though- was wondering if I should buy it or not so it lined up pretty nicely.