Eh, I think video games work differently than music. With the music industry there was a decline in purchases due to piracy, so not many were tied to a digital library. With video games there isn’t a decline in purchases, so people want to have access to their digital libraries, which made last gen very important.
Also, you have to remember with video games most people have a backlog, so they like the idea of eventually getting around it, which is why digital library is important. I know subscription services like gamepass is enticing, but most people don’t want to lose access to their digital library.
At the end of the day the games are what matters, which is why you’ll see some leave xbox for playstation even though they’ve built up a decent library library
While I agree that a good chunk of people don’t care about them. Many do and psn profiles as you mentioned is a very active community.
Sony obviously thought that it was worth copying Xbox Achievements so they would probably disagree with you on this one.
For me personally and for many people I know in real life Gamepass and Cloud gaming are why I rejoined the Xbox ecosystem after skipping the Xbox One generation and I wouldn’t have bought a Series X without it.
I think looking at Gamepass purely as rental system is a bit of a mistake. Many of the games DLC and expansions which cost money which will help lock people in a stay subscribed and invested.
I think it’s risky not to assume the people that mainly play the games you mentioned don’t have a digital library. They most likely got a library from GWG/PS+, so they most likely want to have access to it. Also, if you want to assume those gamers aren’t tied to a library, but maybe they’re tied to a platform due to where their friends are playing and they may have microtransactions tied to a platform. Not all live service games have cross-progression, so I know with certain games like Apex you’re tied to platform since there’s no cross progression.
Also, I think the term hardcore gamer isn’t what it used to be because gaming has become more mainstream, and many people are playing games of all genres. Anyways, I think it’s a very valid point of people not wanting to let go of their digital library and don’t want to build again. I know if I was to get a handheld to get PC games I would like more at the ROG than Steam Deck due to a better digital library with Epic Game Store and PC Gamepass than just Steam alone
The rental thing is just a narrative that people spin.
Here is how I personally look at Game Pass. As a primary Xbox player, I bought first party games and subscribed to Xbox Live Gold.
So in CAD, not counting the cost for Gold (it equals Ultimate when added), Game Pass is $144 CAD. 2 last gen first party games would cost $160.
At this point, since I will always be subscribed, Game Pass pays for itself. Not only do I get the games I would have bought, but I also get others that I might’ve waited for a sale. Games like Ghostwire or Hi-Fi probably wouldn’t be day one in the last generation for me.
That is also not counting all the third party stuff that gets added.
The service allows me to play more, avoid impulse sale buying, and save money.
This whole rent games thing is certain folks who subscribe for a month. If they really cared about ownership, they wouldn’t even do that… They would buy the game.
We know Xbox would have been shut were it not for Spencer’s gamepass and cloud plans. Spencer himself has effectively said as much. Nadella took over knew little about gaming saw Xbox struggling and studios were closing and their ability to compete with Sony in the console space non existent.
Their investments in gaming only happened because Spencer aligned the Xbox division to the cloud, services and subscription strategy that MS as a wider organisation were pursuing and now thriving off.
It’s not a debate. Microsoft of 2014 and onwards has zero interest in seeing Xbox compete with Sony for the living room console space because it isnt relevant to them it’s not their core business and as Spencer has outlined the brand position simply couldn’t do it. Even if they did it’s small change for Microsoft for huge investment.
The play for cloud and services is why Xbox still exists. Period.
Xbox literally spent an entire year+ talking about how they had “The most powerful console ever made!”, but it didn’t amount to much due to chip shortages and Covid delaying all of their games.
Whether you like it or not, Gamepass is their best exclusive right now and is seemingly the only positive thing going for the brand. I would even argue they need to advertise the service more, which would also allow them to talk about having the most powerful hardware, etc.
Regardless, they’re making good profit off the gaming division at the moment and I can only assume that’ll improve as they keep releasing great games. Their strategy is working, even if a percentage of the userbase doesn’t like it.
Also, just because people subscribe to Gamepass doesn’t mean that they’re not buying games as well. I still buy plenty of games and the data shows that plenty of others do as well. Your entire argument feels like it boils down to “I don’t like Gamepass!”.
I’m a console player. The sub service is a fun little bonus from time to time but absolutely not the reason I buy an Xbox. I think it does Xbox a disservice as a brand & standing in the industry to now reduce it down to a value proposition like Game Pass with a monthly fee.
So yeah, maybe I’m in the minority but I buy Xbox hardware because it’s (usually) the best hardware. All this talk from MS about Game Pass, PC & first party games though… is tedious to me.
And IMO a lot of the PS5’s sales are also based on people buying it for the hardware & multiplatform games. Like COD, Fifa, Hogwarts, Resident Evil etc. I’m just the Xbox equivalent of that & it would be wrong to dismiss this as a pointless market. Because it is the console market.
What exactly is it that you’re expecting or want from MS/Xbox then?
The Xbox will be what it’s always been, a place to play Xbox games and the Series X will be the place to play them the best outside of PC, nothing has changed other than GP being a service you use on the xbox to play those same games, the console will always be important if not vital to the the success of GP and the brand but just not the only part of it like the previous gens
The Xbox that you are asking for or at least seem to be asking for where only the console matters is dead and eventually Sony will move towards it as well
and quite frankly GP and those other services are the only reason Xbox is still a thing right now
How long have you been gaming? You see I recall a time when renting games and borrowing games from friends was a thing. After that used games became a thing. You’d buy a game, play it, then sell it to a pawn shop Gamestop so you could buy another. Game Pass is just an extension of that today. Now as someone who likes to “own” my games and has a unopened game backlog deep enough that the games are now in collector status, I can see how non-ownership hurts. However the truth is we are going to have to give up on owning games. Games ship half-finished now, day one patches are required, online connections are required, DLC, etc… We just won’t be able pop games in and play many years from now like we can with a SNES or something.
As a rather old man the talk of ‘rental’ service bothers me. I dont sit and admire my steam list of games i played, finished and will never play again ‘wow im glad i bought that, cant wait to never play it again’
The other rather confusing aspect of everything being said is one thing is gamepass not absolute. Its just one more vector into gaming.
The whole argument was having multiple entry points into gaming is not a bad thing, its something Sony is doig as well, which everyone seems to gloss over.
This kind of shit really depresses me. We all talk about how we want more transparency and honesty from the heads of this industry, but when we get it, people will work overtime to twist their words to fit whatever narrative they’re aiming for. It’s disingenuous and honestly disgusting.
Jez hit the nail on the head here. It’s misinformation and some folks will lap it up. Everyone talks about “Holding them accountable” until they are held accountable themselves.
Every year after something bad is happening, Xbox is doomed.
And Xbox will never change the public opinion and the narrative will always be against Xbox.
We had grass gate at the beginning of the X1/PS4 gen and now graphics doesn’t matter anymore.
We had people criticizing Microsoft for the timed exclusive deal for Tomb Raider, but FF7, FF16, Kotor rmk is fine.
Xbox strategy was supporting last gen for a few years and everyone thought this was stupid and held back the generation. Jim Ryan talked about believing in generations, but this a lie so let’s ignore it.
Microsoft was raising the price of Gold, which was stupid, but it was hell on social media and Microsoft reversed it immediately. But when Sony was raising the price of games by $10 it’s okay.
Forza Horizon 5, Flight Sim, Age 2+4, Grounded, Pentiment, Minecraft Legends and Hi-Fi Rush are amazing games, but will be ignored because they are not your typical over the shoulder game by a competitor.
Forza Horizon 5 should be at least nominated as a GOTY, but it’s a racing games and racing games are not games.
Microsoft is fine in their position. It’s not like Xbox is stagnated.
Sometimes I wonder if the gaming community wants the early PS3 era back to buy an overpriced console and have Sony as a monopoly.
Well Steam is digital and I believe the console side doesn’t consider that ownership in the traditional sense. I think when console owners talk about losing ownership they mean physical games. Physical games hasn’t been a thing for PC in a long time so I don’t think the push back against Game Pass comes from PC gamers very much.
Also yes Game Pass is just another way to deliver games. People forget that all of those games are available to purchase and almost all of them at a discount.
