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[Elios83]

Too bad no one saw this coming.

CMA Says If Microsoft Acquires Activision, Game Pass Gets More Expensive - IGN

Along with the extensive examination of Microsoft's current business practices and plans, including its advantage in cloud computing, the CMA also raised concerns about how an increased library of video game content could potentially open the door for Microsoft to make things more costly for...

www.ign.com

No one.

Too bad CMA simply gave up on defending their position and due to political pressure they were forced to accept a compromise about the irrelevant cloud streaming issues just to save face.

Thanks to Activision Microsoft has accelerated their plans to become a multiplatform third party publisher and Gamepass prices are going up with day one games relegated to the Ultimate option. People who cheered for this acquisition surely got served well.

 

[Ozriel]

They didn’t put the acquired games on the service in that time either.

Diablo?

 

[anthony2690]

Has it been officially announced yet?

Also whilst a price increase absolutely sucks and I have no intention of defending it, every single subscription service has pretty much had a price increase this year, including Xbox's competitors, so I feel the FTC is reaching.

Even if they go for degradation off Xbox game pass standard... As Xbox game pass ultimate is still the same, albeit with a price increase.

(How much is the monthly price increase in the UK anyway?) Just debating whether to drop to the lowest tier with online play whilst I'm out enjoying the sun more, as I am only really playing street fighter 6 online and slowly working through soulstorm, that being said I do really want to play Kunitsu-gami soon, I wish that game got a physical, hopefully in the future

 

[M1chl]

Based regulation

 

[Mr Moose]

Has it been officially announced yet?

Also whilst a price increase absolutely sucks and I have no intention of defending it, every single subscription service has pretty much had a price increase this year, including Xbox's competitors, so I feel the FTC is reaching.

Even if they go for degradation off Xbox game pass standard... As Xbox game pass ultimate is still the same, albeit with a price increase.

(How much is the monthly price increase in the UK anyway?) Just debating whether to drop to the lowest tier with online play whilst I'm out enjoying the sun more, as I am only really playing street fighter 6 online and slowly working through soulstorm, that being said I do really want to play Kunimitsugami soon, I wish that game got a physical, hopefully in the future

https://assets.xboxservices.com/assets/42/85/42850801-4997-491d-a5bd-69c5bd7948ac.pdf?n=FINAL%20Game%20Pass%20price%20updates%20by%20country%20and%20currency.pdf

 

[Badlucktroll]

 

[bitbydeath]

Diablo?

Games - plural.

 

[Topher]

They are right, but I doubt it really matters. Good luck trying to undo the merger at this point.

 

[anthony2690]

https://assets.xboxservices.com/assets/42/85/42850801-4997-491d-a5bd-69c5bd7948ac.pdf?n=FINAL%20Game%20Pass%20price%20updates%20by%20country%20and%20currency.pdf

Thank you, an extra £2 a month for ultimate in the UK.

 

[SHA]

People are conditioned to expect free things.

But no one wants to miss anything at the same time.

 

[ReBurn]

Shouldn't Xbox and Game Pass fans support FTC here so they can get reduced prices?

It's not like the FTC actually has the power to change what they're complaining about. Supporting them is like supporting the weather.

 

[DaGwaphics]

They must sit in meetings at the FTC trying to think of ways to embarrass themselves further.

 

[MikeM]

Then the market wil sort that out and people will stop subscribing to the service ... MS don't have a monopoly, if they degrade their service it's to their own detriment as people will go elsewhere as we've seen.

MS is doing a great job of pulling themselves out of the market with these decisions lately.

I get that daddy Nudella wants constant growth but furthering pissing off what little base they have left isn’t the best plan to foster that growth. They are drunk on sub service revenue.

 

[Hero of Spielberg]

MS is doing a great job of pulling themselves out of the market with these decisions lately.

I get that daddy Nudella wants constant growth but furthering pissing off what little base they have left isn’t the best plan to foster that growth. They are drunk on sub service revenue.

Then the FTC has nothing to worry about

 

[Bond007]

Its been a degraded product for a long time.
The novelty has faded and people are finally starting to see it for what it is.

 

[FeralEcho]

This is seriously embarrassing. They're in last place and offer far more than any other sub.

What they offer :

Punished Miku

 

[NickFire]

Last hail mary before the FTC heads all get changed and Lina gets fired post-election.

Yeah, I don’t think MS is too worried about her being around much longer. Although, based on the last go around, I don’t think MS would be too worried if she never left either.

 

[Kerotan]

Do they call out other subscription services for this shit?

I’m no Xbox fan but my Jesus go shit on Sonys price increase with no value added to the customer for penis station plus.

Sonys been adding a lot of value especially to premium. A lot more is added monthly then leaves the service and when you look at a lot of the psp and PS1 games getting added they'll never leave because Sony published them. They've even started adding PS2, psvr games to it. Vita and ps3 native probably next.

 

[NonPhixion]

Wow, I can’t believe the ftc is calling MS out on their shit? Fuck the ftc I wanna pay more for a degraded product and will defend MS alongside my other warriors in here!

 

[JackMcGunns]

Options, there shouldn't be any!!

You get Game Pass Ultimate, you shut up and pay full premium! I don't care if you don't have a PC or you just want casual games and not necessarily day one games, you pay and be quiet.

Yours truly,

FTC.

 

[FlyyGOD]

It's a whole new tier that's optional. What is the FTC talking about?

 

[Topher]

It's a whole new tier that's optional. What is the FTC talking about?

It is a higher priced tier that replaces another tier while taking away day one games.

 

[Gamer_By_Proxy]

The question is, would they have made this Standard tier with no day 1 xbox releases if they didn't buy ABK? Probably not.
I could see the price increase as an inflation thing, blah blah blah. But the new tier with degraded offerings is pretty cut and dry.

 

[NickFire]

The question is, would they have made this Standard tier with no day 1 xbox releases if they didn't buy ABK? Probably not.
I could see the price increase as an inflation thing, blah blah blah. But the new tier with degraded offerings is pretty cut and dry.

Without ABK those day one releases would be pretty sparse anyway. So maybe no official tier without day 1, but unofficially across the board.

 

[Klayzer]

It is a higher priced tier that replaces another tier while taking away day one games.

I don't get why Xfans are pretending like nothing has changed. Day one games, are locked to the highest tier only now. Fact.
*On consoles*

 

[poppabk]

The question is, would they have made this Standard tier with no day 1 xbox releases if they didn't buy ABK? Probably not.
I could see the price increase as an inflation thing, blah blah blah. But the new tier with degraded offerings is pretty cut and dry.

Yes? This is the way all subscription services operate - your base tier should be shit and mainly used to look good on a poster or in an ad - "Only $9.99" "Starting at 5.99".
Then your mid tier should be the first usable tier - but should be close enough in price to the higher tiers that it's almost stupid to not upgrade to the higher tier.
You even see this with the pricing by Nvidia and Apple on their products.

 

[Gamer_By_Proxy]

Yes? This is the way all subscription services operate - your base tier should be shit and mainly used to look good on a poster or in an ad - "Only $9.99" "Starting at 5.99".
Then your mid tier should be the first usable tier - but should be close enough in price to the higher tiers that it's almost stupid to not upgrade to the higher tier.
You even see this with the pricing by Nvidia and Apple on their products.

I'd say no, the day 1 games is the GamePass identity and how they advertised. So if they needed to degrade it outside of this purchase, they probably would have added ads, which I believe was rumored at one point.

 

[JackMcGunns]

It is a higher priced tier that replaces another tier while taking away day one games.

It's a new tear that doesn't have day one games, plain and simple, it's not replacing anything, the price that you're willing to pay may land on that tier, but day one games still exists on higher priced tiers. What you want is the ability to still pay less and get all the benefits of the higher tiers.

 

[Majima Everywhere System]

I’ve been trolling MS after the first few years of this gen as they turned into corporate mush.

FTC definitely has a similar ass on staff.

 

[JackMcGunns]

I'd say no, the day 1 games is the GamePass identity and how they advertised. So if they needed to degrade it outside of this purchase, they probably would have added ads, which I believe was rumored at one point.

Yes, day one games are still part of GamePass, you don't get that anywhere else. You don't say PlayStation has no exclusives just because you only buy Call of Duty and it's on other platforms, you just made other choices.

It's silly to suggest it's a better idea to only offer Game Pass Ultimate and call it a day. What about the people who don't care about day one games, who just want the access to the large libary of games or play casually without getting ads in their face?

 

[baphomet]

It's a new tear that doesn't have day one games, plain and simple, it's not replacing anything, the price that you're willing to pay may land on that tier, but day one games still exists on higher priced tiers. What you want is the ability to still pay less and get all the benefits of the higher tiers.

Yes, it's replacing the current game pass on consoles.

If you want day one games on console you now have to subscribe to ultimate.

 

[Plague Doctor]

Phil's going to need to dust off his best Imagamer shirt and set up a video on social media letting us all know he is listening and promises not to have shit tiers called out by the FTC. They are, as an underdog division, are still cleaning up the mess from 2011 and these things take time. How much can you expect them to do after 13 years?

He's got this. He just needs more time and more money.

 

[Topher]

It's a new tear that doesn't have day one games, plain and simple, it's not replacing anything, the price that you're willing to pay may land on that tier, but day one games still exists on higher priced tiers. What you want is the ability to still pay less and get all the benefits of the higher tiers.

Phrase it however you want. The option for day one games used to be available at a lower tier and now it isn't. Microsoft could have just raised the price for consoles like they did on the PC side, but instead they created this bullshit mess.

 

[JackMcGunns]

Phrase it however you want. The option for day one games used to be cheaper and now it's more expensive.

There, I fixed the wording for you. It's really not a big deal. The price for nice things are going up.

 

[MarkMe2525]

It is a higher priced tier that replaces another tier while taking away day one games.

In fairness, that's not the whole story. They also added the access to live, which cost an additional $9.99 previously, if purchased separately from "Game Pass for Console". It's replacing two tiers.

Edit: I'm not saying it's a good value, I just feel that the situation is being misrepresented when presented in this manner.

 

[Gamer_By_Proxy]

Yes, day one games are still part of GamePass, you don't get that anywhere else. You don't say PlayStation has no exclusives just because you only buy Call of Duty and it's on other platforms, you just made other choices.

It's silly to suggest it's a better idea to only offer Game Pass Ultimate and call it a day. What about the people who don't care about day one games, who just want the access to the large libary of games or play casually without getting ads in their face?

The Standard "degraded tier" is closer to the price of the GPU tier when the ABK deal happened. It's largely a perception thing. Standard isn't the lowest tier. It used to only be the lowest tier that didn't have Day 1 games, now it's the lowest and middle tier, hence degraded.

 

[NickFire]

FTC should go hard against any console that charges for online access.

 

[JackMcGunns]

The Standard "degraded tier" is closer to the price of the GPU tier when the ABK deal happened. It's largely a perception thing. Standard isn't the lowest tier. It used to only be the lowest tier that didn't have Day 1 games, now it's the lowest and middle tier, hence degraded.

If you feel it's degraded, then don't buy it. I don't understand the problem. You want day one games, then pay for that tier. I think you're asking for a tier that has day one games, but you want to pay less for it, not that the option has been removed.

 

[Gamer_By_Proxy]

If you feel it's degraded, then don't buy it. I don't understand the problem. You want day one games, then pay for that tier. I think you're asking for a tier that has day one games, but you want to pay less for it, not that the option has been removed.

I get it, but that's not the point. Personally I've only had GP when it was free or $1, but the FTC was saying it'll lead to a degraded service for gamers, and MS is showing how they were right. It's not about gamers have the choice to pay or not pay.
Monopolies can say they same thing, either buy it or don't.

 

[proandrad]

Government being useful again in pointing out the obvious and doing nothing about it.

 

[Topher]

There, I fixed the wording for you. It's really not a big deal. The price for nice things are going up.

Well if you are going to pretend that they didn't change the fundamentals of what Game Pass has always been then there isn't much use discussing it with you.

In fairness, that's not the whole story. They also added the access to live, which cost an additional $9.99 previously, if purchased separately from "Game Pass for Console". It's replacing two tiers.

Edit: I'm not saying it's a good value, I just feel that the situation is being misrepresented when presented in this manner.

Not misrepresenting anything. Game Pass has always been about access to games including day one. Adding Live doesn't change that.

 

[YOU PC BRO?!]

Hey Microsoft…

 

[AyraSutoraifu]

 

[mayham2199]

Too bad CMA simply gave up on defending their position and due to political pressure they were forced to accept a compromise about the irrelevant cloud streaming issues just to save face.

Thanks to Activision Microsoft has accelerated their plans to become a multiplatform third party publisher and Gamepass prices are going up with day one games relegated to the Ultimate option. People who cheered for this acquisition surely got served well.

It's crazy cause I didn't want this acquisition to happen at all. If I knew it was going to force all these changes on Xbox though then I would have been all for it.

 

[MarkMe2525]

Well if you are going to pretend that they didn't change the fundamentals of what Game Pass has always been then there isn't much use discussing it with you.



Not misrepresenting anything. Game Pass has always been about access to games including day one. Adding Live doesn't change that.

Game Pass Core has been available since September of last year, and that tier doesn't include day one games. This new tier isn't just replacing "Game Pass for Console", but the aforementioned "Game Pass Core" as well. There is no direct analog to the new "Standard".

Edit: again, not liking the $15 paywall to online gaming. I'm just refuting, what I perceive to be a misrepresentation of the facts of the matter.

 

[Topher]

Game Pass Core has been available since September of last year, and that tier doesn't include day one games. This new tier isn't just replacing "Game Pass for Console", but the aforementioned "Game Pass Core" as well. There is no direct analog to the new "Standard".

Core was simply a rebranding of XLG. That didn't change the game library subscription service. Standard does. Bottom line here is that console gamers who want access to day one games going forward are required to subscribe to Ultimate. That is a fundamental change to the Game Pass game subscription service.

 

[JackMcGunns]

Well if you are going to pretend that they didn't change the fundamentals of what Game Pass has always been then there isn't much use discussing it with you.

Of course, getting games for $1 or taking advantage of Microsoft rewards to get in for free has been a thing, and we should be glad we got in and saved for quite some time, but complaining an exploit can't last forever is a personal problem. People want nice things, but don't want to pay for them. Game Pass is still an excellent deal and even offers a tier when you can get games that release on Day one. FTC has no business here.

 

[Topher]

Of course, getting games for $1 or taking advantage of Microsoft rewards to get in for free has been a thing, and we should be glad we got in and saved for quite some time, but complaining an exploit can't last forever is a personal problem. People want nice things, but don't want to pay for them. Game Pass is still an excellent deal and even offers a tier when you can get games that release on Day one. FTC has no business here.

Complaining about an exploit? What are you talking about?

 

[MarkMe2525]

Core was simply a rebranding of XLG. That didn't change the game library subscription service. Standard does. Bottom line here is that console gamers who want access to day one games going forward are required to subscribe to Ultimate. That is a fundamental change to the Game Pass game subscription service.

Yes "core" effectively replaced XBL, but that does not mean that it did not become a part of "Game Pass". These things are not mutually exclusive. Game Pass is what MS makes it, and as of September last year, Game Pass became about subscribing in exchange for access to an arbitrary amount of available games, with the option to pay more for day one access and a larger library. If we are to make the claim that Game Pass has "always been about day one games" until the "Standard" tier became available, that's just not true. Game Pass stopped being about day one games September of last year.

 

[Mr Moose]

They should up the price even more.