• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Was GamePass the downfall of Xbox?

I think GamePass itself wasn't the downfall; but the incentives for GamePass clearly were.

With GamePass the focus is quantity over quality, and that just further hastened the downward spiral of their first party teams. They got worse under Spencer, amazingly, and he's had to BUY A LOT of studios to try and make up for it, and many of them are struggling more than they ever have.

What Phil doesn't get is you need to get rid of the sea of crap and just focus on making big blockbuster AAA games instead, because that's what really excites consumers
 
Last edited:
I think it was more the lack of quality exclusive games that did the most damage and also the fact that the PS brand is just so strong that its very difficult to gain marketshare. Once PS4 dominated, people were locked into the ecosystem, making it almost impossible to get those people to switch over.
 

Robb

Gold Member
I don’t think so, or rather I don’t think one single factor is the cause. If they had been able to put out games with a similar reception as TLoU, BotW, Baldur Gate 3 etc. etc. things might’ve been very different now.

I just feel like most of their releases come and go, they don’t really retain hype or stay in the conversation.

Their best game this gen so far has been a game they chose to just shadow drop.
 

BlackTron

Gold Member
Gamepass is one of the best things that happened in gaming. Sony should learn with it and increase the quality of the PlayStation Plus service.

You've already gotten replies to this same exact post in another thread. You're not even going to make some small semblance of an attempt to address those points? Just completely ignore them and keep parroting the same thing? Nice
 

Mooreberg

is sharpening a shovel and digging a ditch
Mobile Chrome took a tire iron to quote insert and formatting. This is a reply to one of Mibo No's posts:

Do you mean 2010? Xbox debuted in 2001 and 2007 was a killer year for exclusives. :)

But I agree with everything you have said beyond that. To me, Microsoft Game Studios started to atrophy in 2009. It was Halo / Forza / Gears year after year, with some failed partnerships (Insomniac, Platinum) along the way.





As you allude to, imagine a scenario where, since 2009, Guerilla was still just Killzone, Naughty Dog was just Uncharted, and Sucker Punch was just inFamous. It's not like these games didn't get follow ups. Counting out that Vita stuff from (as far as I know) other developers, Killzone saw another two releases after KZ2, inFamous had two sequels, and Naughty Dog made another three Uncharted campaigns counting The Lost Legacy. But they also all moved on at some point. Guerilla has not worked on Killzone in a decade. Nearly the same for Sucker Punch with inFamous. Uncharted is almost seven years in the rear view mirror for Naughty Dog.







Meanwhile, 343 Industries and The Coalition are tasked with carrying the water on franchises that saw their best entries more than fifteen years ago. Can't quite make the same criticism of Turn 10, they more analogous to Polyphony, who has hasn't ventured too far from safe pastures outside of a Omega Boost and a sport bike game.







But imagine a scenario with no Horizon games. No Ghost of Tsushima. And despite dropping the second game like a bad habit halfway through, imagine TLOU not existing and inspiring the best live action video game adaptation ever.







Microsoft owns a bunch of hyper talented studios at this point. They need to do better than pushing out more product from 17 - 22 year old franchises, and Disney properties past their prime. First party, third party, whatever. They need to commit their development muscle towards new and interesting properties.
 
Last edited:

Generic

Member
You've already gotten replies to this same exact post in another thread. You're not even going to make some small semblance of an attempt to address those points? Just completely ignore them and keep parroting the same thing? Nice
It still have to see a good argument against Sony putting their games Day-1 on PS+ aside of "It would decrease the game sales", which is irrelevante for me because I'm not a shareholder.
 

ADiTAR

ידע זה כוח
No, their downfall was giving promotions for no reason other than "He's a gamer so he must know something". The person who handled Rare and Lionhead in the early 2000s should've never given a chance to run anything.
 

BlackTron

Gold Member
It still have to see a good argument against Sony putting their games Day-1 on PS+ aside of "It would decrease the game sales", which is irrelevante for me because I'm not a shareholder.

I responded to you myself with many good points. If you think they are bad, tell me why.

Even on your point here. Imagine that, ailing to compete with MickeyD's, Burger King gave away free burgers until they started talking about going out of business. So you walk into the McDonalds next door and demand free burgers. "You guys are in a better position, if burger king who is dying can give it away for free, surely you can." But McDonalds wants to sell you burgers forever, not act like your buddy by giving free stuff until they also die and then you have no burgers anymore at all.

Why would you care about McDonald's wanting to run a sustainable business that can continue to serve you burgers forever? You're not a shareholder, so obviously they should be copying the business that was giving away free stuff out of desperation to compete with them.
 

BlackTron

Gold Member
No, their downfall was giving promotions for no reason other than "He's a gamer so he must know something". The person who handled Rare and Lionhead in the early 2000s should've never given a chance to run anything.

So basically they never understood and were outsiders in the industry from the beginning. Almost everything redeeming about Xbox can be traced to a few individuals like Peter Moore. When what small competent guard they did have dissipated the wheels completely flew off.

It's basically just MS gonna MS nothing new special or surprising
 

reinking

Gold Member
Its unbelievable how much anger some of you have for a subscription service which is optional. It’s like it stoled your lunch money. If everything going so well on Playstation, from where comes things anger?
I don't have anger from the subscription service but I do believe Game Pass has been Microsoft's attempt to buy consumer loyalty and in the long run buy up control of the industry. Can I ask why others' opinions on the subscription service seem to have angered you?
 

BlackTron

Gold Member
Its unbelievable how much anger some of you have for a subscription service which is optional. It’s like it stoled your lunch money. If everything going so well on Playstation, from where comes things anger?

It's optional to subscribe but whether it will hurt the gaming industry isn't. So even a person who doesn't play Xbox might have alarm bells about what MS is doing with GP and acquisitions.

For people who do play Xbox. Maybe they're angry at GP because it killed their beloved.
 

geary

Member
It's optional to subscribe but whether it will hurt the gaming industry isn't. So even a person who doesn't play Xbox might have alarm bells about what MS is doing with GP and acquisitions.

For people who do play Xbox. Maybe they're angry at GP because it killed their beloved.
I think if you asked any of the Xbox owners, are thrilled with the value gamepass brings to their hobby.
 

Painskiller

Member
Amidst rumors of Xbox potentially transitioning to a full 3rd Party model, the question arises: was the pursuit of a gaming subscription model worth it for Microsoft, given their significant investments in acquisitions and day-one releases?

Many argued that it was sustainable and feasible for Xbox to release AAA games on Game Pass from day one, projecting an expansion of the install base and subsequent growth in subscriptions and game sales. However, the recent Insomniac leak suggested that releasing games on subscription services could negatively impact game sales. Moreover, Mat Piscatella's recent statement about subscription saturation on Xbox consoles and the mediocre sales and quality of several recent Xbox exclusives further complicates the scenario.

Looking ahead, especially with the acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Microsoft stands as one of the largest gaming publishers. The question lingers: was the focus on Game Pass a strategic misstep, and could Xbox face a fate similar to the Windows Phone? Uncertainties about the future trajectory of the Xbox platform persist.

Fyi: I have all the consoles.
Not downfall, but change of direction. No more quality games, but a lot of cheap and mediocre titles in subscription.
 

Shubh_C63

Member
Xbox GP is not meant for Xbox players. They are meant for new casual players MS is betting on.

We will see at most 1-3 AAA game from MS once a generation. Everything else will be just good enough to be AA economical for GP like Sea of Thieves (perfect one!)
 

skneogaf

Member
The xbox console was always likely to sell the least if all the games launch on pc at exactly the same time.

I had an xbox for halo and forza and gears of war, now I don't need one as the games are day 1 on pc.
 

Mister Wolf

Gold Member
giphy.gif
 

Heisenberg007

Gold Journalism
I don’t think so, or rather I don’t think one single factor is the cause. If they had been able to put out games with a similar reception as TLoU, BotW, Baldur Gate 3 etc. etc. things might’ve been very different now.

I just feel like most of their releases come and go, they don’t really retain hype or stay in the conversation.

Their best game this gen so far has been a game they chose to just shadow drop.
I think it is because of Game Pass, they could not deliver big-budget games like these.

Have you noticed that almost all XGS games look very AA and mid-budget? Starfield, Avowed, Indiana Jones, Halo Infinite, Redfall, etc. None of these games have the scope, ambition, or production values of a modern-day high-budget AAA game, e.g., TLOU 2, GOWR, Cyberpunk, RDR 2, etc.

So it does tie indirectly back to Game Pass.
 

StereoVsn

Member
Day one on PC and Gamepass, yes absolutely. Xbox is a console, not PC plus other shite even if the background tasks say Xbox (is it called game bar or something?).
Yeah, Day 1 PC and GamePass diluted the value of owning Xbox consoles.

In addition mismanagement or lack of management of Xbox game studios hurt even more on top.

And I say that as primarily a PC gamer, but have owned every Xbox since OG. Well and PS hardware as well (plus Nintendo and Sony handhelds).

There was no point of owning Xbox except for BC and some games I would rather play on console due to how bad the Windows Store bugs were.
 
Last edited:

balls of snow

Gold Member
Once they do away with the hardware you bet your ass ms is leaving the xbox name behind and it will just be microsoft gamepass. The xbox brand is too toxic.
 
I sometimes wonder if there just isn't enough space for two higher-powered consoles on the market these days. I think ultimately it's just the games not hitting as hard as they should.
There's really not in the current market conditions. With Xbox putting every one of its games not only on Gamepass but on PC, the actually need for any gamer to own an Xbox to play those games is just too small--Series is basically only for gamers who either cannot afford to game on PC or who actively choose not to. Yes, there's a market for there, but not really large enough of one to sustain Series. Especially when you have the PS5 next door which has almost every game Series has save for the ones developed internally by Xbox or one of the publishers Xbox recently acquired. While PS exclusives do come to PC, it's generally years between the console release and the PC release. If you don't mind waiting 12 to 36 months, that's great. But you can make a muc greater case for needing a PS5 than you can a Series. Add to this, the Switch is there too, holding down every Nintendo exclusive which you can't play on PC even years later while being available in the same price range as the Series S, and that's basically the final nail in the coffin.

This doesn't even take into account the PS5 All Digital Edition, which is a 1:1 with the full tilt PS5 lacking only an optical drive. No specs are sacrificed for a lower price point.

Even if you are a big fan of Xbox first party content, there is still very little compelling reason to actually buy Xbox hardware. It's a baffling decision, and IMO Xbox should stop trying to straddle the fence and just drop Xbox hardware entirely and push for being a digital platform on PC and mobile.
 

Moses85

Member
lmao wtf? Gamepass is all they want to push, and eventually thats whats going to make them ton of money
Look up Microsoft earning from any quarter since last 10 years. 365 and azure subscription makes them gazillion dollars, microsoft is ultimately a software company
As technology and internet speed progresses even more, input lag and graphic fidelity from local and cloud processing will only get better
They are building a gigantic catalogue which eventually everyone will want on their platform, think next 15-20 years down the road
It happened with software, data, movies and music. Gaming its taking longer because of too many bottleneck, but I assure you IT WILL happen. And Microsoft will be on forefront with monopoly.
So you think Microsoft is making Profit with GP?
Cracking Up Lol GIF

They already burned so much money with this service, this will never result in profit.
 

yazenov

Gold Member
I think Game Pass was the result of Sony dominating MS in both hardware and software sales. MS was going down anyway given the dwindling sales post-Xbox 360. Gamepass was their last-ditch effort to stay relevant and counter Sony's dominance, it was introduced out of necessity for survival,.

So no, I don't think Game Pass was the result of their downfall. It was due to their incompetence and the lack of awareness of what the market wants. But Gamepass is the final nail in the coffin for Xbox.
 
I think Game Pass was the result of Sony dominating MS in both hardware and software sales. MS was going down anyway given the dwindling sales post-Xbox 360. Gamepass was their last-ditch effort to stay relevant and counter Sony's dominance, it was introduced out of necessity for survival,.

So no, I don't think Game Pass was the result of their downfall. It was due to their incompetence and the lack of awareness of what the market wants. But Gamepass is the final nail in the coffin for Xbox.
 

spons

Member
Game Pass is weird and in-between. The missing DLCs for first-party games is odd. I would go the Ubisoft+ Premium road: everything included. Right now it's a little bit of everything, which means it's mostly nothing. Of course there is the rare gem such as Palworld on Game Pass, which could make it worth it, but it's just not enough. Either double-down on subscriptions or ditch the thing.
 
Top Bottom