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[kingfey]

Subscription services reportedly account for 4% of North American and European game markets | VGC

Xbox Game Pass commands a 60% share of the subscription market…

www.videogameschronicle.com

Gaming subscriptions account for 4% of total revenue generated by the North American and European game markets, it has been claimed.

Ampere Analysis research director Piers Harding-Rolls believes subscription services like Xbox Game Pass, PlayStation Plus and Nintendo Switch Online generate $3.7 billion annually.

That compares to almost $81 billion generated from other spending on games, Axios reports.

Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass service, which charges up to $15 / £11 monthly and has attracted 25 million members since launching in June 2017, commands about a 60% share of the subscription market, according to Harding-Rolls.

While the subscription market is clearly not insignificant and is growing, it appears there may be a misconception among some people about the current scale of it.

Xbox boss Phil Spencer said this month that he’s frequently asked by developers whether their titles have to be on Game Pass to stand a chance of being successful on the company’s consoles.

“I also want to make clear to people that are out there that for us at Xbox, there’s not one business model that we think is going to win,” he said. “I often get asked by developers, ‘if I’m not in the subscription am I just not viable on Xbox anymore?’ and it’s absolutely not true.

“Like we look at retail of people selling games, buying games, it’s an important part of our P&L [profit and loss statement], you know that. And it’s something that we invest resources in to enable our developers to do great work there.”

On Tuesday, Sony Interactive Entertainment announced its expanded PlayStation Plus service, which includes a library of legacy and classic games, among other features.

In a GamesIndustry.biz interview accompanying the announcement, PlayStation boss Jim Ryan said he doesn’t think gaming subscription models will ever dominate like Spotify and Netflix do in music and film.

 

[DeepEnigma]

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

bUt itS tHe FutUrE!!

Now seriously...when i mentioned the bubble videogame forums live in, this was what i meant.

 

[Belthazar]

4%.... Considering PS Plus and Nintendo Online are most certainly bigger in number of subscribers it leaves like, what? 1~2% for Gamepass?

 

[StealthGoblin]

I find it odd that they say GamePass has 60%. PlayStation Plus is a subscription service with more members. Why don’t people include that as a subscription?

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

 

[iHaunter]

Been effing SAYING IT! I only use my Sub for GP when I want to play a few games in one go for a month. I got PS+ for $29 at one point so I stocked up for 4 years.

But I generally buy most of the games I want.

 

[SlimeGooGoo]

.

 

[reksveks]

4%.... Considering PS Plus and Nintendo Online are most certainly bigger in number of subscribers it leaves like, what? 1~2% for Gamepass?

Nintendo arpu on Nintendo Online will be peanuts, its like 35 quid for a year.

 

[Plantoid]

Electric cars were also a minimal % of total car sales just 2 years ago.


People who deny that subscriptions are the future are delusional

It's the physical vs digital all over again

 

[Swift_Star]

So much for Gamepass being the future.

 

[Fuz]

Way too much.

 

[Swift_Star]

Electric cars were also a minimal % of total car sales just 2 years ago.


People who deny that subscriptions are the future are delusional

It's the physical vs digital all over again

But here's what you don't get: subscriptions are THE PRESENT. They've been here since the PS3 days. It's nothing new. And they haven't taken the world by a storm.

 

[Negotiator101]

I find it odd that they say GamePass has 60%. PlayStation Plus is a subscription service with more members. Why don’t people include that as a subscription?

Revenue.

 

[Plantoid]

But here's what you don't get: subscriptions are THE PRESENT. They've been here since the PS3 days. It's nothing new. And they haven't taken the world by a storm.

They always sucked that's why, never had day1 releases and big titles to support it

We had electric cars before too, look at Nissan leaf for instance, it's just that the offer was bad at the time and that's why it did not make Any success

 

[Swift_Star]

They always sucked that's why, never had day1 releases and big titles to support it

We had electric cars before too, look at Nissan leaf for instance, it's just that the offer was bad at the time and that's why it did not make Any success

bla bla bla. Too much talk, too little action. Gamepass is flopping on PC where users rather buy the games.

 

[jshackles]

 

[DeepEnigma]

Electric cars were also a minimal % of total car sales just 2 years ago.


People who deny that subscriptions are the future are delusional

It's the physical vs digital all over again

Unless EPA and federal mandates push for climatic service sub changes, this is a silly analogy.

Electric has been getting ideological, financial (WEC) and political help.

 

[Hobbygaming]

 

[reinking]

Electric cars were also a minimal % of total car sales just 2 years ago.


People who deny that subscriptions are the future are delusional

It's the physical vs digital all over again

What is the percent now? I honestly don't know.

 

[Plantoid]

bla bla bla. Too much talk, too little action. Gamepass is flopping on PC where users rather buy the games.

It's flopping because gamepass PC is like the Nissan leaf, now you get me...

 

[elliot5]

The blistering hot takes in this thread are embarrassing lmao. No shit sub service revenue pales in comparison to total gaming industry revenue in these regions which accounts for stuff like mtx and mobile. A single game like Warzone and Fortnite make as much money as the total game pass revenue right now based on that number.

 

[kyliethicc]

yeesh

 

[reksveks]

The blistering hot takes in this thread are embarrassing lmao. No shit sub service revenue pales in comparison to total gaming industry revenue in these regions which accounts for stuff like mtx and mobile. A single game like Warzone and Fortnite make as much money as the total game pass revenue right now based on that number.

Hmm, Fortnite makes about 1.4x PS+ revenue

 

[DeepEnigma]

The blistering hot takes in this thread are embarrassing lmao. No shit sub service revenue pales in comparison to total gaming industry revenue in these regions which accounts for stuff like mtx and mobile. A single game like Warzone and Fortnite make as much money as the total game pass revenue right now based on that number.

I think most people know this.

But how people evangelically speak about their purchasing (or lack there of) habits, one would think otherwise.

Marketing is a hell of a thing. Sometimes, it's all it is in a grand scope of reality.

 

[onQ123]

It's a danger to the industry as we know it but at some point it's how it's going to be.

 

[ParaSeoul]

 

[Belthazar]

What is the percent now? I honestly don't know.

Less than 1% in the US lol

The long road to electric cars in the U.S.

How long it could take to transition to electric vehicles and the challenges ahead

graphics.reuters.com

 

[Shrap]

If online multiplayer wasn't locked behind these subscription services I wouldn't have a problem with them. But because it is I'm not paying for that shit.

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

It's flopping because gamepass PC is like the Nissan leaf, now you get me...

Gamepass needed almost half a decade to surpass 20M subscribers...after god knows how many 1 dollar promos and multiple ways for you to subscribe without needing to pay full price for it...plus 2 platforms, including the one everyone has: PC. All of this after MS spending god knows how many billions for it.

Let's stop talking about Gamepass as if it JUST came out recently cause 2017 was a long time ago. There's a reason why even MS was expecting those numbers to be above what they are but Gamepass was missing their target numbers predicted for late last year.

Not saying it's flopping or its bad...but clearly people on PC aren't leaving Steam any day soon...and seems like console wise people are okay with paying for the product. Nintendo doesn't give a shit about subscriptions and is the one that has the most profits. (not revenue)
Sony doesn't have day one games on any subscription and is the one that has the most revenue.

My point is subscriptions aren't the future when they have been here for a decade. They are just another way to consume games...but it's not the main way of doing so.

 

[DeepEnigma]

Less than 1% in the US lol

The long road to electric cars in the U.S.

How long it could take to transition to electric vehicles and the challenges ahead

graphics.reuters.com

Marketing is a hell of a thing. Sometimes, it's all it is in a grand scope of reality.

 

[IntentionalPun]

People who deny that subscriptions are the future are delusional

It's the physical vs digital all over again

Most people seem to think this because "Well look at movies/tv/music!"

Personally think people who can't fathom that video game market is different than music/movies are not really seeing the full picture. (you can consider that analogous to delusional but not trying to be insulting)

Hugely different markets, different products and how they are consumed, etc.

There's a huge chunk of gamers for instance that play nothing but 1, MAYBE 2 games. Like that is incredibly common, probably more common than gamers who play a lot of variety. That right there is a big differentiator between the markets and how/who is consuming. Those people are being funneled into playing GAAS games and GAAS has been successful partly BECAUSE it's not a "subscription service" but essentially gets similar recurring revenue w/o people having to take that leap to "subscribe."

Games are individual products meant to be used for weeks, months, or years at a time.. most people don't need or even really "want" a rotating catalog of games that may not be there a few months later when they are done playing their "current game."

 

[Unrivaledx88]

When Sony actually goes into a Gamepass type business thats when itll take off. Its when Sony is ready. Like with everything gaming. Sony makes it better when the time is right

 

[The_Mike]

4%.... Considering PS Plus and Nintendo Online are most certainly bigger in number of subscribers it leaves like, what? 1~2% for Gamepass?

Give it some time, spartacus I gonna add a lot to that service number.

 

[Pagusas]

everything starts out at 0% and has to grow. Lets look at how Netflix streaming share of the home movie market started out in its first few years. 4% already seems giant to me.

 

[DeepEnigma]

My point is subscriptions aren't the future when they have been here for a decade. They are just another way to consume games...but it's not the main way of doing so.

Yep, yep. Even Phil Spencer said this last week. So even they're now coming to terms (admitting what has been said this whole time by many people) with reality versus the marketing narrative that was at play.

 

[Haggard]

Gee who`d have thought that a subscription service is just some option to play a game here and there for cheap and unsubscribe afterwards for most people, and not the end all inevitable "future" that some people here make it out to be. MS and the other competing services have a looooong way to go to actually be desirable for more than just short periods here and there.

 

[Plantoid]

Less than 1% in the US lol

The long road to electric cars in the U.S.

How long it could take to transition to electric vehicles and the challenges ahead

graphics.reuters.com

65% in Norway by 2021

See, i can cherrypick statistics too, and look at your own link, look at their predictions

 

[Kikorin]

I subscribed to Gamepass for 3 months years ago thanks to an offer of 1€ or something similar. Then I never renewed and the other week MS sent me an email with 3 months of free PC Gamepass to redeem.

Right now I guess is priced too low for what it offers and seems too good to be true, but still I prefer to wait for deals and buy my games for few €. I need to grow my infinite backlog of games that I'll never play knowing that their will be in my library forever.

 

[Lognor]

bUt itS tHe FutUrE!!

Now seriously...when i mentioned the bubble videogame forums live in, this was what i meant.

This is the present, not the future. What are you on about?

 

[Belthazar]

65% in Norway by 2021

See, i can cherrypick statistics too, and look at your own link, look at their predictions

Norway has less than 1% the number of cars in the US. I didn't cherrypick anything, I posted data on one of the more relevant markets for the car industry.... You cherrypicked a tiny country that has the highest HDI in the planet.

Analysts also predicted subscriptions would've taken the gaming industry by storm by now... Which clearly isn't the case.

 

[IntentionalPun]

They are using a number that includes all spending on all games, including MTX, across any platform..

Then dividing in spending on MS/Sony/Nintendo sub services.

The number still isn't massive, but that's not really a great analysis lol Particularly since games are put on these services partly to generate MTX/DLC sales as they often don't include those.

Anyways, I don't believe they are or will be the "main" way games are consumed, but they'll continue to grow as a bigger and bigger portion of the pie.

 

[yurinka]

Gaming subscriptions account for 4% of total revenue generated by the North American and European game markets, it has been claimed.

And according to Michael Patcher PlayStation will cease to exist by 2026 due to Gamepass, when Sony makes way more money than MS even with game subs. Jimbo must be afraid and crying. 'Desperate' as Patcher said. #SureJan

everything starts out at 0% and has to grow. Lets look at how Netflix streaming share of the home movie market started out in its first few years. 4% already seems giant to me.

We have to remember PS+ started offering games in 2010 and PS Now cloud gaming in 2014. And there were some game subs in PC before them.

Most of the subbers are fans of Xbox and PlayStation and a big portion of their fanbase doesn't seem interested on subs even if slowly more are accepting them. Add a few extra ones from PC an mobile maybe.

Game subs like PS Plus and Gamepass, and in a smaller amount others like Luna and will continue growing the following years until maybe what, the double of what they are right now being generous? So game subs / revenue can become what, 10% of the market maybe? 15% if being specially generous if GP and Plus triplify their current subs/revenue?

Gamepass needed almost half a decade to surpass 20M subscribers...after god knows how many 1 dollar promos and multiple ways for you to subscribe without needing to pay full price for it...plus 2 platforms, including the one everyone has: PC. All of this after MS spending god knows how many billions for it.

Let's stop talking about Gamepass as if it JUST came out recently cause 2017 was a long time ago. There's a reason why even MS was expecting those numbers to be above what they are but Gamepass was missing their target numbers predicted for late last year.

Not saying it's flopping or its bad...but clearly people on PC aren't leaving Steam any day soon...and seems like console wise people are okay with paying for the product. Nintendo doesn't give a shit about subscriptions and is the one that has the most profits. (not revenue)
Sony doesn't have day one games on any subscription and is the one that has the most revenue.

My point is subscriptions aren't the future when they have been here for a decade. They are just another way to consume games...but it's not the main way of doing so.

Relatively recent stuff like including the day 1 games the tons of acquisitions specifically Zenimax or Activision Blizzard helped it to grow fast recently and will also help grow more once first they add the Activision Blizzard previous stuff and once all their teams they acquired in recent years start to pump a frequent pump of big game releases, something still doesn't happen.

I think it will help it grow to maybe 50M subs, if lucky let's say 75M in the next years. After that I think will stop growing fast until maybe they make other big acquisitions as would be EA, Take 2 or Epic. Something difficult to see because we'll see if they want to sell and specifically if they want to sell to MS.

 

[NickFire]

Games are individual products meant to be used for weeks, months, or years at a time.. most people don't need or even really "want" a rotating catalog of games that may not be there a few months later when they are done playing their "current game."

This is the forest within the trees that gets overlooked way too much. The catalogues are phenomenal value for those who want them, but it is small segment of people who consume games like the masses consume music / movies.

To be fair to MS though, they clearly recognize this issue and are trying to mitigate it by brute force now (hello COD). If they are willing to keep spending and shutting down access outside of their platforms, they could very well succeed with the masses.

 

[ethomaz]

I find it odd that they say GamePass has 60%. PlayStation Plus is a subscription service with more members. Why don’t people include that as a subscription?

It is about revenue... not number of members.

Gamepass is more expensive than PS+ so generate more revenue overall even with lower numbers. PS+ is mostly paid less than $5 per month (the yearly sub is $60).

Plus there is MTX that Indont know how they calculated.

For another angle Gamepass costs are probably way higher than PS+.

 

[IntentionalPun]

This is the forest within the trees that gets overlooked way too much. The catalogues are phenomenal value for those who want them, but it is small segment of people who consume games like the masses consume music / movies.

To be fair to MS though, they clearly recognize this issue and are trying to mitigate it by brute force now (hello COD). If they are willing to keep spending and shutting down access outside of their platforms, they could very well succeed with the masses.

Yeah whereas people yearned for "endless playlists of music" since forever. Using things like CD changers to try to replicate a large catalog available in one place. Unlimited streaming came along to meet that demand, and that demand was only met by the industry because of the forcing factor of piracy, which gaming particularly on consoles has far less of an issue with.

With film/tv most didn't want to actually buy any movie/TV show as most watch them once and are done.. but they also wanted that "on demand" ability to play what they want, rather than having to consume via TV/cable. Video rental was such a massive part of how people consumed movies because of the "I dont want to own this thing just watch it once" concept, and it still is big as video rental via Amazon/Cable providers/iTunes/etc. is still a big market.

Movies/TV also had/have a forcing factor of piracy as well. The market was moving towards stealing content before the companies could create something convenient / cheap enough to get people to slow down the whole piracy thing.

Just both markets that are so different w/ their revenue streams too. Music has always had live performances as a big part of the overall market/how people make money.. Film always had theaters obviously, and a massive rental market.

Whereas games have always for the most part, been bought.. outside of rental, which has only really ever worked w/ the "Gamefly" model of "keep it for as long as you want until you send it back and pay a monthly fee" concept.

Gamefly is the closest thing we have to an example of consumers in the past wanting a "large catalog they can switch in and out of for a monthly flat fee" way of consuming.. and while those services aren't necessarily niche, they are far form a large portion of how people consume games in the history of gaming.

 

[93xfan]

bUt itS tHe FutUrE!!

Now seriously...when i mentioned the bubble videogame forums live in, this was what i meant.

I assume this is including mobile? Because that makes a massive difference.

 

[JLB]

Lol, some people dont learn.
Go check those funny discussions some years ago about: "Digital distribution will never overpass physical because X Y and Z".
Here we go again.

 

[Hobbygaming]

Lol, some people dont learn.
Go check those funny discussions some years ago about: "Digital distribution will never overpass physical because X Y and Z".
Here we go again.

 

[Ozriel]

That overall number Includes mobile, Steam, MTX and retail.

Not unexpected that subscription services don’t command a huge part of that revenue.