Sony could somewhat compete with it if they make PS Now have a rule that Playstation games will appear between 6-12 months after release. Usually a year from release games will hit low points such as 75% off, so won’t hurt that much to keep them on the service. Also an area where they could hurt microsoft if they invest with indie launches on PS Now. I think devs would like to go on PS Now since sony will have a much larger install base, so i can see devs choosing ps now over gamepass to launch their games
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Netflix has very high quality shows. They have a breadth of AAA, AA and Indie content across all types of genres. In fact if you were to compare the content, Netflix has more AAA equivalent of content. Netflix is also worth 8x+ more than HBO. Nothing disparaging about the comparison.
Since HBO doesn’t back smaller or niche projects as much, people expect more on average per release but from a macro level, HBO, Hulu, etc could never keep up with the content.
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Fair enough, but I feel these comparisons only serve to undersell what Xbox is doing. Excuse my outburst.
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The biggest difference between Game Pass and PlayStation Now is availability.
PS Now is available in 18 countries to around 905 million people, while Game Pass is available in 41 countries to a total of 3.235 billion people - that’s around 41% of the global population
PS Now is not available in a single South American or African country, and the only Asian country supported is Japan.
“Game Pass” was trending on Twitter in my country earlier today, which has a population of 210 million. Every PS5 and Series X|S is sold out in here. And yet, PS Now is surprisingly absent from my country.
If Sony wants to be serious about rivaling Game Pass, it must remember that the rest of the world exists.
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I never thought about it from that angle.
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Gamepass isn’t some kind of mystery that Sony doesn’t know how to decode.
Sony already has an equivalent service in PS Now, it just offers less-good value in terms of day one games and newish games from third parties.
All Sony needs to do to create an equally compelling service is put their games day one and start paying for more indies and third parties to sometimes be there day one (or near launch) as well.
The barrier to Sony doing this is institutional, not a lack of capability. They need to decide they want to do it. Microsoft has a long term vision they’re chasing, Sony is holding out because they’re currently the kings of the status quo and are hesitant to upset the situation.
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If that’s the attempt, it’s not a good one.
Sony is at a crossroads with its strategy, do they want to offer a service like GPU where people can stream exclusive games from a PC, IOS or android day and date? Cause if so, it reduces the need to own PlayStation hardware, which till date has been Sony’s goal. Hardware attachment is very important to their brand identity.
Until PS is clearer on this and how they want to position their service it won’t be comparable to Gamepass. Not to mention Xbox will be releasing more first party content for sure than PS this gen, with more guaranteed investment. Gamepass model needs consistent content. PS with its current output people would be incentivized to subscribe and cancel after they play the game want.
EDIT: Also, another big hurdle for PS cloud streaming is that they will have to provide MS or Amazon with PS5 server blades to stream PS5 games as they can’t be run off PC hardware already in the cloud. This where I feel Sony made another big mistake in going with their own proprietary API instead of going with Vulkan which is used in PC GPUs long with DX12 (would’ve meant possibility of streaming through pc hardware). Streaming would also mean sharing more revenue to service provider to like Azure and AWS, so it is not an easy decision Sony has to make.
I’m going to say that if they do get serious about the subscription service, the quality of their games or the money hatting they do for timed console exclusives will be scaled back. Sony is much more limited in terms of budget.
I also agree they don’t have the Will to go all in like Microsoft on this because they are still stuck in the hardware mindset. That’s what they want to sell and it will hold them back from making decisions like xcloud or all day 1 on PC or producing content tailored to something other than a console.
Literally came to comment exactly this. Just availability will go a long way in making sure the service creates enough engagement and use that they’d have no other option but to invest in it more seriously.
Gamepass has been here in India for example for a good while now, and the pricing is pretty good. Ultimate costs 10 dollars due to regional pricing. And I’d been subbed to pc game pass for a few months now. Unsubbed due to all the games getting delayed. Then they released December lineup and I was like Holy shit I need to get back Lmaoo.
It’s a PS dominated country yet still PS now is nowhere to be seen. The last time, Xbox one released one year later, yet this time series consoles not only opened pre-orders with the rest of the world but also released the consoles with the rest of the world. Ps5 didn’t do pre-orders and the console release is also not in sight, maybe even will go up to January.
So yeah, until PS now comes in more regions, it won’t grow. That’s ignoring all the other problems with the service like SOME first party coming pretty late and staying for too short a period, and the pc version of the service lacking mouse and keyboard support, which I think is very very crucial for a lot of pc players including me.
I do see the service improving in the coming year or so, but still a very long way to go. The whole “blockbuster vs cable” comparison was dumb as hell to begin with, because even the biggest giants in blockbusters like Disney had to realize its not as clear cut and dichotomous like that. More competition is good. I for example am enjoying content on amazon prime a looooot more than Netflix right now, and feel like it’s a much superior service. But without Netflix, prime wouldn’t be where it is. So yeah in the same way i hope PS now improves a lot and solves all these problems above mentioned to not make Xbox become complacent on the subscription side.
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Day and date sub will be a sure fire hit for Playstation.
I don’t get why Sony hasn’t done it yet. Given there status, they can even charge more then what Gamepass costs.
They already have PS+ subscribers. Convert them to it for $15 and bang millions of subs.
The thing where Xbox now has advantage is the shear number first party studio they have under there umbrella and a three year head start in business of Gamepass (day and date + third party) model.
Another great advantage is Gamepass for PC. Sony simply can’t do it right now.
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Sony had less to gain and more to lose, which favors caution. Attracting somebody to Windows gaming sells a Windows licence, attracting somebody to Xbox sells a console that might result in supplementary income through regular game sales. If somebody converts their primary console because of it, then that’s extra money in the bank. For Microsoft, that’s primarily an aggressive move. For Sony, that’s primarily a defensive move, because 2/3 of the home console market was already theirs, there’s fewer people to attract.
The second point is that if Microsoft ate into it’s sales, that was less for them to lose than if Sony ate into their sales. This is especially true when Gamepass launched initially - the second half of 2017 was not packed with Microsoft first party releases. Forza 7 and Super Lucky’s Tail were the biggest notable releases until the following year, when Sea of Thieves came out. The early experimental period allowed Microsoft to stick their toe in the water without potentially risking the sales of a whole bunch of their biggest games. Forza is big no argument, but it was just one big game.
I’m confident that the success Microsoft is seeing will eventually result in Sony doing the same with simultaneous releases - but I totally understand why Sony didn’t immediately mirror it. Sometimes it’s not clear if things are going to be successful until you see it play out long term. As the incumbent market leader, it’s understandable they would be hesitant to break the status quo for fear they might mess up what they already had.
I don’t think Sony’s games fit on a subscription model. I always finish their games in one or two weekends, so I could probably subscribe for only those months that have a 1st party game.
This is also true for Microsoft, but I have the impression that xbox games’ lifetime is a bit longer. I could play Sea of Thieves / Forza / Gears / Halo once or twice per month, giving me a reason to keep the sub.
Sony’s business model (at least on PS4) has been based on premium experiences with huge sales numbers. Will they lose too many 70usd sales? Will long-term subs compensate such a loss? How “game pass” will fit there is tricky, and needs some serious market analysis / taking a big risk.
Having said that, I am looking forward to their vision of game pass. Whatever it is, it will benefit all gamers.
Again someone sees it backwards. Gamepass isn’t a vehicle to entice people into the Xbox hardware or Windows Ecosystem. Its the OTHER WAY ROUND. Gamepass IS the ecosystem and Xbox hardware and windows and android are merely conduits into gamepass.
That’s why Sony hasn’t done it yet because they see their ecosystem very much as the console and its infrastructure.
Whereas MS see their ecosystem as a service model independent of hardware.
Its probably now in reality too late for Sony to enter the game. Gamepass has become so big and is reaching audiences all over the place. The branding is too strong. Sony would now in effect be converting their existing audience into a sub model which they will absolutely do - but in terms of directly competing with gamepass - I think that ship sailed by a month or so ago.
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The relationship is symbiotic - people need to have GamePass on some kind of platform, and Gamepass in turn makes those platforms more desireable. Yes they’re trying to make it platform independent with more options e.g. XCloud, but as of 2017 it was Xbox exclusive, then it came to PC years down the line.
Microsoft didn’t jump head first with no contingencies. It rolled out the service one pillar at a time, strengthened it, then strengthened their first party portfolio with acquisitions as it grew, and brought it to more and more platforms.
So long as the Xbox provides an affordable entry point into the ecosystem, they will push Xboxes. Even in an xcloud world, it’s better for microsoft for you to run the games locally on a box you paid them directly for. It’s also better for microsoft if, in addition to gamepass, you also buy xbox games not on the service, as opposed to buying those same games on playstation. Revenue from 3rd party games sold on Xbox will remain a huge factor many years into the future, and if Gamepass helps increase that, they will be very pleased.
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Console players love to buy there games and they will continue to do so.
Game subscription service isn’t for these console players but for the price conscious gamers.
The market of these gamers goes beyond the traditional console numbers. Anyone playing on a smartphone, laptop or old PC are the potential customers of game subscription service.
Xbox platform has more ways and reasons to add more new players into there ecosystem and the main reason is Gamepass.
Microsoft has the luxury to lead the industry in the subscription services. They have Xbox, Windows, Azure and the money. Other companies don’t have all this luxury.
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It’s part of their PR talk, they have higher metacritic scores and GOTY nominations/winners, so they’ll use that to their advantage. Even Keighley participated with his “basic cable” stupid comment.
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If Sony decides someday to offer a subscription service with day one access to future games in franchises like Uncharted and The Last of Us, plus access on other devices like my phone, plus backwards compatibility for the rich library of games from past PlayStation consoles, they’d really be speaking my language!
It won’t happen to the degree that Xbox is investing into it. It will probably be more like HBO Max