Fast forward 30 years and we’re in a very different world. No magazine could ever keep you properly informed on 90-100 percent of all the games being released, even if it only focused on the ones that looked great. Demo discs are no more, demos themselves are rare outside of indies on Steam and beta tests for shooters, you can’t rent games on the high-street any more (you can barely even find a shop that sells games on the highstreet to be fair), and some of the biggest voices talking about games focus on just a few that everyone already knows about. Websites, which I obviously have to big up as I run this one, do their best, but I can probably count five or so games every day that I am told about that we simply don’t have the time to write about.
All this means that people tend to know about the same bunch of games because those few games are all everyone is really talking about. Now, I know Game Pass doesn’t fix this entirely, but it really does help get some other games out there in front of people. You can tell me this is all anecdotal nonsense (after you read the following anecdote), but I honestly believe that Game Pass offers a way to freely explore new games that is almost impossible to do outside of these subscription services. Yes, you pay for it, but once you’re paying the catalogue is your oyster.
Surprised they’re saying that as Game Pass has acted as a great leveller, allowing us to try out games despite the reviews and discover that actually many are pretty awesome and there’s definitely some anti-Xbox bias…
I do generally agree though, that I’ve found Game Pass brilliant for trying new genres and games I’d be uncertain about buying - unlike them though I’m certain it won’t die, if numbers crashed they’d backpedal a bit not kill it and they’ll keep it as long as it makes money
It’s wait and see scenario i guess. But i do have fond memories of gamepass. I would not have bought ni no kuni or ever heard of the series if it was not for gamepass.
Damn, I feel like it may be a tiny bit early for the games media to be licking its chops over Game Pass “dying” but maybe that’s just me.
I’ll tell you what, if the dooming does come true and Xbox does finally get hounded out of the industry, I sure as shit do not want to start reading “Maybe Game Pass wasn’t so evil after all” takes from the same media who trashed it relentlessly.
They’ve been licking their chops over the thought of GP dying for 7 years.
Anti Xbox clicks have tried up, REVERSE CARD, pro Xbox article!
I mean we know it ain’t dying but its definetly now going to be seen more as a premium service for the more hardcore gamers who have time to spare on this games in general.
“We’ve all been shitting on it nonstop since its inception while hoping it fails, but man it would be a shame if it failed.”…
Well, they’ve certainly done a bang-up job in trying to oust it over the years.
If game pass “dies” it’ll be because gaming media and competitors have been pushing the rhetoric that it’s harmful for the industry, unsustainable, a scam, and whatever else.
Also all this focus on the Ultimate tier being $30, but premium is seriously basically more than what most gamers want for $15. The only loss compared to Ultimate like 5 years ago (so no COD) is day one games changing to “within a year” which is EXACTLY what these journalists were pushing for and they constantly attacked game pass for day one games. Are we really flip flopping that quickly?