It obviously has value for some, since it has many vocal evangelists. What I find most curious though is how many of those will go on and on about the
monetary value offered by the service--which for MS's FP alone is impressive - (the value, not MS FP)--but you rarely hear them talk about the amazing games they discovered on GP. Not the way you hear folks wax lyrical about am obscure movie or series they watched on Netflix that was cracked.
I think the service's main target demographic are those super casual gamers who buy a console, buy the latest Fifa/Madden/NBA game but just wanna be able to try out a bunch of other stuff they don't wanna have pay full price for.
More core gamers who buy play and beat most of the biggest games each year, won't have much use for a service that mostly contains games their either not interested in or already own.
While I agree there's a general main target/demographic for the XGPU service - I wouldn't necessarily or summarily dismiss the available value here for "core" gamers ...
For quite a while now (and as far as I know it's still available/active) - there's currently
significant value transitioning to XGPU if you're willing to spend a little money up front by taking advantage of the XBLG->XGPU 3 year sign up process (in my case - saved me nearly $400). EA Play (and possibly Ubisoft) extend/enhance the value...
That being said - I think that many "core" gamers will actively sign up and utilize the service based on their respective backlog and upcoming games they're interested in and make decisions based on timing/delivery of games with respect to the GaaS... this especially holds true for any "core" gamer that invests in and plays on multiple platform(s).
XGPU provides extensive flexibility with respect to how to target and play games moving forward - and - IMHO - certainly will become a factor moving forward.
Considering the fact that both the PS5 and XSX (or, alternatively, if you have PC) are all extremely close in graphical output to-date - It already has changed the way I will choose which platform and where play games moving forward.
Example (in my particular use case):
For PS5 -
- Obviously I'll continue to play non-timed console exclusive games (GoW, HD, GoT, etc.), as well as my current list of backlog PS4 games and/or new games being made available via PS+ for 2021.
For XSX -
- I'll play current/new games made available via XGPU (and EA Play) - (Control, Gears 5, Madden 20/21, SW:Squadrons, SWJ:FO)
- Depending on timing and where I'm at in my active backlog - I'll just adjust when I plan to play any upcoming non-timed (Halo:Infinite, Perfect Dark, etc.) and timed (Deathloop, Ghostwire) console exclusives provided via XGPU.
- If Ubisoft joins XGPU - this simply extends my backlog - based on what's actively in my queue.
- Add to this - there are ABSOLUTELY various games added to XGPU that I've never played before and I find myself going back to try out and play (Ori, etc.)
Add to this - though it's becoming increasingly rare - but for games that I'm still purchasing outright to play - I'll essentially purchase/swap via typical play and trade-in scenarios I've done before based on discounts/value.
- My most recent example - just traded in Spider-Man:MM for Cyberpunk on XSX because I was able to get it for cheaper on XSX ($17 - might as well give it a play through and check out the bugs... ).
As you can already see above - currently - the majority of games I (plan to) play are trending towards playing on XSX. That's not to say that I won't be playing games on PS5 - as there are many upcoming games I'm truly excited to play - however, there is an actual
investment perspective here that shouldn't be discounted.. Sony offering additional games on PS+ is a step in the right direction - but IMHO - Sony needs to quickly establish a longer term plan with respect to GaaS ..
I'm sure many will still go out and buy the latest release game at launch.. however, for many (including myself) - having XGPU available certainly changes the way I purchase and play games...
I fully expect by the time the "next" generation releases - GaaS will become the standard with respect to how games are distributed to the general market.