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[II_JumPeR_I]

Xbox Live games given every month are consider purchases meaning when your subscription runs out you can still play the games, PS+ games are linked to your subscription, so when your subscription runs out the ability to play the game runs out, as far as I know.

This only applies to the Xbox360 games

 

[DanielsM]

This only applies to the Xbox360 games

Yeah a few people corrected me.

 

[Ol'Scratch]

I presume they have made the same article for PS now...
Why ms Is Always Attacked when many others are doing the same things?

In fact this article has been made multiple times for PS Now and in fact for PS Plus so I do not think the boo hoo Microsoft is treated so unfairly crew needs to raise their torches and pitchforks quite yet.

 

[JangoRain]

There are very few games now that I play and feel the need to play it again years down the road. Game Pass is perfect for me for that reason. If I really enjoy a game from there I'll gladly purchase the game physical (if available) to support the developer and add it to my dwindling physical collection.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

"successfully"

That's like saying me getting a free month of Netflix means Netflix is a "success". I would say Netflix is successful at something and its not movie streaming, its selling stock. If Game Pass was "successful", I doubt they would have had to resort to giving it away.... let's put this in the .... we'll see category.

Microsoft is going to have to spend billions and billions, and there is no guarantee of "success", imo. This is going to be a long hard road, which is why they have the $1 thing going on.

The good thing for gamers is, if Microsoft does what they usually do - run, nothing is lost as its just a rental model i.e. Groove Music (Xbox Music).

Don't worry DanielsM, we all enjoy your daily anti-MS posts.

Don't forget Sony bowed down and partnered up with MS for Azure (which demoralized internal employees like babies), so at some point Sony will be expanding its streaming service beyond awful PS Now (which is mostly PS3 games you can't even download).

So once Sony launches their revamped streaming service, I forward to your posts "streaming services at full price are awesome thanks to Sony!"

 

[sergiovassari]

...so, you dont own a movie on Netflix.

 

[Huevos de Oro]

Nobody owns anything anymore.

 

[HeresJohnny]

This is how GamePass should be viewed.

That's fairly worthless to me, but I guess I can see the use for others. I mean, I can count on both hands the number of times I was truly disappointed in a game this generation out of nearly 200 titles I've bought. I don't correlate this to the gaming press (which by and large is sewage), but observing and reading informed opinions on here and YouTube. Still, I can see how actually playing it may have more worth to some.

 

[HeresJohnny]

There are very few games now that I play and feel the need to play it again years down the road. Game Pass is perfect for me for that reason. If I really enjoy a game from there I'll gladly purchase the game physical (if available) to support the developer and add it to my dwindling physical collection.

I'm the opposite. I was just walking the dog and heard the Ground Zeroes theme come on in my track list and I'm contemplating booting up MGSV again as a result. The way I see it, if I loved a game once, I pretty much always will.

 

[HeresJohnny]

I am sure people are buying games at a discount before the game gets delisted from gamepass, or the sub runs out. DLC is typically not included so some probably buy that while being subbed. Its also a great way to get the consumer to stick to your ecosystem, small monthly payments over the long term. Phil Spencer also said that after gamepass was launched they saw game sales go up.

I think Spencer is full of shit. Back in the day, Toys R Us had a very liberal return policy -- any game could be exchanged for another within 30 days as long as it was accompanied by a receipt. Wanna know what my friends and I all did? We got our parents to buy us a game, and then spent the entire summer returning them when we'd beaten them. Wanna know who changed their policy when it became clear they were getting bent over? Toys R Us.

 

[pr0cs]

Don't care at all, for the games I want to own I'll buy otherwise I consider it a rental service like Blockbuster of yesteryear...except I don't have to go to the store and hope the game is good.
I've already played 5+ games that I've had on my steam etc wish list that I played on gamepass and realized that they weren't my type of game. That alone for me was worth a monthly charge.

People are so fixated on price but in reality TIME is the most expensive part of gaming. Nothing worse that feeling compelled to play a game because you paid money for it, wasting time to play it instead of something you would actually enjoy.

 

[Deleted member 752119]

People are so fixated on price but in reality TIME is the most expensive part of gaming. Nothing worse that feeling compelled to play a game because you paid money for it, wasting time to play it instead of something you would actually enjoy.

Yep. Even more so for those of us with decent incomes to make what we spend on gaming trivial, but have limited gaming time due to work and other responsibilities.

 

[Nikana]

I think Spencer is full of shit. Back in the day, Toys R Us had a very liberal return policy -- any game could be exchanged for another within 30 days as long as it was accompanied by a receipt. Wanna know what my friends and I all did? We got our parents to buy us a game, and then spent the entire summer returning them when we'd beaten them. Wanna know who changed their policy when it became clear they were getting bent over? Toys R Us.

I'm failing to see your comparison?

 

[HeresJohnny]

I'm failing to see your comparison?

People had abused the return policy so badly that it affected sales. The notion that sales have gone up in spite of people being able to sign up for a dollar to GP rings hollow to me. It's absurd to think this won't affect sales negatively.

 

[Nikana]

People had abused the return policy so badly that it affected sales. The notion that sales have gone up in spite of people being able to sign up for a dollar to GP rings hollow to me. It's absurd to think this won't affect sales negatively.

Right but you're comparing two very different things.

Every scenario after they signed up for a $1 doesn't equal to affect sales negatively.

Either they canceled in which they lose access to the games, they kept their subscription which means they are now paying full price for gamepass, or they bought they game when they had their trial.

That's not even close to a abusing a return policy.

 

[HeresJohnny]

Right but you're comparing two very different things.

Every scenario after they signed up for a $1 doesn't equal to affect sales negatively.

Either they canceled in which they lose access to the games, they kept their subscription which means they are now paying full price for gamepass, or they bought they game when they had their trial.

That's not even close to a abusing a return policy.

I know several people who are actively planning to sign up for a buck, play a game they want to play and then cancel it. The point isn't that one is a return policy and another is essentially a rental service, but rather that GP can be abused in a similar fashion. We have to remember that at the end of the day, people still have to make money doing this, or it won't be around.

 

[Nikana]

I know several people who are actively planning to sign up for a buck, play a game they want to play and then cancel it. The point isn't that one is a return policy and another is essentially a rental service, but rather that GP can be abused in a similar fashion. We have to remember that at the end of the day, people still have to make money doing this, or it won't be around.

People abuse services and retail every day. As long as the mass aren't doing it then it's just part of the process.

Plus the $1 deal won't be aorund forever.

 

[DynamiteCop!]

I know several people who are actively planning to sign up for a buck, play a game they want to play and then cancel it. The point isn't that one is a return policy and another is essentially a rental service, but rather that GP can be abused in a similar fashion. We have to remember that at the end of the day, people still have to make money doing this, or it won't be around.

You're forgetting one underlying reality, this whole $1 thing is intentional, they're intentionally taking a loss on it and for good reason. They'll likely be doing this for a few years, they get people into the ecosystem, they get people engaging this way and used to it, they get people to adopt and like it and then one day they stop having these discounts and the user will be so accustomed to the service they continue supporting it at full price.

 

[VertigoOA]

Does watching movies or a series from start to finish on Netflix mean that you didn't get the complete experience?

VHS and DVDs were once a thing too

 

[HeresJohnny]

You're forgetting one underlying reality, this whole $1 thing is intentional, they're intentionally taking a loss on it and for good reason. They'll likely be doing this for a few years, they get people into the ecosystem, they get people engaging this way and used to it, they get people to adopt and like it and then one day they stop having these discounts and the user will be so accustomed to the service they continue supporting it at full price.

I totally get what they're doing. It's the Columbia House CD Club plan, remember those? They would advertise 12 CDs from a list of select titles for a penny. In doing so, you agreed to buy two more CDs at regular prices over the next year. The idea was to get people hooked on having CDs delivered rather than going to stores to buy them, and they used the allure of 12 free CDs to reel you in.

Thing is, it failed. People would get the 12 CDs, fulfill their obligation, and cancel. This will end similarly imo.

 

[Self_Destructive]

You're forgetting one underlying reality, this whole $1 thing is intentional, they're intentionally taking a loss on it and for good reason. They'll likely be doing this for a few years, they get people into the ecosystem, they get people engaging this way and used to it, they get people to adopt and like it and then one day they stop having these discounts and the user will be so accustomed to the service they continue supporting it.

This is true, but much like Steam sales, it also risks devaluing the products, as well as potentially the service itself. If people get used to spending $1 on something like this.. it could have long term repercussions.

It risks normalizing the "I'll wait for a sale" attitude.. and this is across hundreds of games, and their big first party series as well.

Of course, MS has suggested that gamepass being used as a rental/testing service to "try before you buy" has actually helped game sales. But we'll have to wait and see what effect it has long term. Quite frankly, GP is a great deal even at full price.. but they clearly want higher numbers to market the service as well as Xbox. I hope it has the intended effect though as you say Dynamite.

 

[Nikana]

I totally get what they're doing. It's the Columbia House CD Club plan, remember those? They would advertise 12 CDs from a list of select titles for a penny. In doing so, you agreed to buy two more CDs at regular prices over the next year. The idea was to get people hooked on having CDs delivered rather than going to stores to buy them, and they used the allure of 12 free CDs to reel you in.

Thing is, it failed. People would get the 12 CDs, fulfill their obligation, and cancel. This will end similarly imo.

This too is a bad comparison. Completely different strategy.

 

[HeresJohnny]

This too is a bad comparison. Completely different strategy.

Not in the sense that they're lowballing the product to get people in the door, and then trying to keep them there once they've tried the service out. Not a bad comparison at all in that regard, nor is it entirely a different strategy. I'll give you that with the CD clubs you actually walked away with something tangible for joining which you won't with GP, but otherwise, yeah, there are some similarities there. More than a couple.

One of the things that took out the CD clubs is that it was discovered they were fucking the artists on the promotional CDs... the artists received no royalties for those (and how could there be for a penny?). I wonder if something similar might happen with developers/publishers on those GP members who sign up for a buck too, maybe something like they'll only start getting royalties once that member re-ups at the going rate.

 

[Nikana]

Not in the sense that they're lowballing the product to get people in the door, and then trying to keep them there once they've tried the service out. Not a bad comparison at all in that regard, nor is it entirely a different strategy. I'll give you that with the CD clubs you actually walked away with something tangible for joining which you won't with GP, but otherwise, yeah, there are some similarities there. More than a couple.

One of the things that took out the CD clubs is that it was discovered they were fucking the artists on the promotional CDs... the artists received no royalties for those (and how could there be for a penny?). I wonder if something similar might happen with developers/publishers on those GP members who sign up for a buck too, maybe something like they'll only start getting royalties once that member re-ups at the going rate.

You're comparing a digital service vs a physical service. That changes the entire business model entirely.

And the CD service wasn't a promotion price. It was the entire model. The $1 is and has always been a promotion. It will not be $1 forever and a lot of people aren't paying only a dollar. Where as everyone im your comparison got physical goods for a penny.

On paper you could try to make comparison's but the minute you try to break it down by the business model the comparison's stop.

 

[Hawke502]

Whats even the point of this article? Yeah, i don't own all the 200 and something games, but if i can buy them if i want to, i can't see the problem. With gamepass im trying out much more stuff lately.

 

[HeresJohnny]

You're comparing a digital service vs a physical service. That changes the entire business model entirely.

And the CD service wasn't a promotion price. It was the entire model. The $1 is and has always been a promotion. It will not be $1 forever and a lot of people aren't paying only a dollar. Where as everyone im your comparison got physical goods for a penny.

On paper you could try to make comparison's but the minute you try to break it down by the business model the comparison's stop.

It doesn't matter if it's physical or not, does it? Physical goods for a penny or digital goods for a dollar. It's all irrelevant to the discussion at hand, really. The methods both companies used/are using are what we are talking about here. Columbia House and BMG used low cost to entice people to join a service in hopes they'd stay subbed once they had met their commitment, just as Microsoft is with GP.

It very much was a promotion with the CD clubs, because the low cost of entry only applied once, and not everyone got the same deal -- some people only got 8 CDs, and some just joined to join. Back to the promotion though, after that, you got no more free discs and were expected to pay full pop for all future purchases. Unless of course you cancelled and got another 12 free discs at the promotional rate, which is what people did and likely led to the demise of such clubs, and they'll do it with GP too.

 

[Nikana]

It doesn't matter if it's physical or not, does it? Physical goods for a penny or digital goods for a dollar. It's all irrelevant to the discussion at hand, really. The methods both companies used/are using are what we are talking about here. Columbia House and BMG used low cost to entice people to join a service in hopes they'd stay subbed once they had met their commitment, just as Microsoft is with GP.

It very much was a promotion with the CD clubs, because the low cost of entry only applied once, and not everyone got the same deal -- some people only got 8 CDs, and some just joined to join. Back to the promotion though, after that, you got no more free discs and were expected to pay full pop for all future purchases. Unless of course you cancelled and got another 12 free discs at the promotional rate, which is what people did and likely led to the demise of such clubs, and they'll do it with GP too.

How does it not matter for physical vs digital?

When comparing the distribution of each service the cost is exponentially different. Not only do you have phsycial goods, you have to ship them as well.

Not only that but then you are dealing with digital rights which is where the model is completely different again. One is a digital services model and the other was a phsycial media seller.

If I don't stay subscribed to the CD club I keep the goods.

Not the same with gamepass.

So yes it's very important one is digital and one is physical.

You're saying that a free trial/cheap trial is where it fell apart. But that's only part of the story to why it fell apart .

In the digital space, like I stated earlier, there will always be abusers. It even happens in regular retail space all the time with coupons and deals. There are people that never pay a dime for Pandora, Hulu, Netflix, etc because they simply make new emails and make temporary credit cards to spoof the system into thinking they are a new customer.( These companies are getting better at detecting this though)


But again as I stated earlier, this is such a minute portion of the customer base it doesn't matter. Which is the same for 99 percent of consumers who will sign up for gamepass. 99 percent will either subscribe for full price or cancel after their promotion has ended.

 

[DeepEnigma]

Between this and Windows Central's google sourcing article that the SAD doesn't allow for disc games, gaming bloggers are scraping the bottom.

What's next, these sites going to show us how to build a PC again?