So this is a topic I wanted to make for a while, but I guess considering all that’s happened is as good as any other.
Why would buy an Xbox without getting GamePass?
Like, it’s one of the core reasons people are pissed off about the Gold Hike. People just want an Xbox without GamePass, and I don’t understand it.
Series S was literally marketed as a GamePass machine, so all this talk about it’s losing it value by the Gold Price increase boggles my mind.
You’re SUPPOSED to use Series S as a GamePass machine. It’s supposed to fit nicely in your TV stand next to your switch, PS5 or whatever. Why would you use an Xbox without GamePass?
“I want to own the games”… Okay, so buy them with your discount after trying them.
“I don’t have time to play all that many games” Okay, so try the ones you want.
Like I get the arguments, but as someone whose been on GamePass since Day 1, I can’t imagine buy a Series S or a Series X and NOT getting GamePass.
Could someone explain it to me or something? I literally can’t see past my GamePass Privilege.
A large group of gamers are those who slay one or two games only. The FIFA players, GTA, COD, and so on - some of these would have bought a series s due to the lack of X stock. Therefore, gamepass seems unviable/uninteresting to those people, however they need gold to play online.
I’m sorry the concept of someone purchasing a $399 to $499 gaming console to play the same one or two games every day for a year then buy the next one is completely alien to me. It’s why I don’t understand it.
The below are real life examples from work, friends and family and I suppose there are a lot of people like them (especially the casual edition).
Potential Customer 1 (Casual Series S Edition): Online play is the main focus. Plays Fortnite, GTA Online and Warzone. Buys FIFA and the newest COD every year and doesn’t want to spend that much on a new console and upgrade his 1080p TV. Doesn’t care about Game Pass and until now he managed to get away with 60 or even less dollars/euros for XBLG.
Potential Customer 2 (Core Series X Edition): Plays a variety of genres but due to work and family doesn’t have the time for many games so he chooses carefully what to play and buys a small selection of games through the year day one. Had a PS4 last gen but Sony’s latest sad dad games didn’t do much for him so he decided to return to Xbox this gen (Bethesda played a big role in this as well). Also has a good sized library from the 360 days so BC is another bonus. Doesn’t care about Game Pass and only plays online when a big MP game like Street Fighter comes out.
So yeah I’d say just let people use the consoles the way they want and stop saying “you are supposed to do that”. We are not supposed to do anything, everyone knows what is best for him/her and where to spend his/her time and money.
For me, Game Pass is strictly for Microsoft’s first party exclusives and any third party games that end up on Game Pass day one but outside of the current four months that I currently have Game Pass Ultimate for (it was part of the Xbox Series X bundle I ordered online from GameStop in late December), I plan on paying $10 for each exclusive game that I want to play day one, complete it and then cancel it before I get charged for the second month simply because I don’t see Microsoft’s exclusives as being worth a $60 purchase especially for those that im 50/50 (Avowed, Starfield, The Elder Scrolls VI, etc.) on and while Game Pass in general is an excellent subscription service, the problem for me is that I have already played and completed the games that I wanted to back when they were released while any games that I haven’t simply aren’t going to be played. Also, im not going to “wait and see” if I game I want to play day one eventually goes into Game Pass which isn’t a guarantee and if it does it could literally be years later. No thanks.
The perfect example I can give is the Destiny clan I am part of. We are a bunch of Dads. Most everyone is financially on solid footing/well off. Yet, I have tried several times to urge them to upgrade to Gamepass Ultimate using the dollar promo, especially since they are already subscribed for 2-3years of XBL, but they are reluctant. Many only play Destiny, COD, The Division, GTA/RDR2 and Madden. They aren’t interested in other games and frankly if most of us weren’t former Halo fans I am not sure they would be playing on Xbox. There are many folks who only play a couple of games a year.
Yes (in my case) because I have long stopped caring about the bonuses from the collector’s edition and I am willing to buy seasons individually. Granted I have been on GamePass since day 1. So it’s kind of a moot point. However, there is an argument to be made that you are better off buying the game. There is no guarantee Destiny will continue to be on Gamepass indefinitely and you still have to buy the collector’s edition for the aforementioned bonuses and season pass. Older people are set in their ways but I am sure they will see things my way once first party titles such as Starfield, Halo and TES come out. Unfortunately by then they will have to pay MSRP.
I think the majority of console owners play probably less than 20 games in a consoles life cycle. For most gaming isn’t their main hobby so they don’t want or cannot put that much time into it. Most people just wanna play the game titles like COD, fortnite and so on and have next to no interest in anything else. I have a few Xbox Live friends like that. They don’t seem all that interested in gamepass as they have very limited hours to play games anyways so paying a subscription free for something you won’t use much is a waste to them. Personally i can’t believe i used to survive without gamepass. It’s my favorite thing to ever happen to Xbox.
Personally, I don’t understand either. Why would anyone game mainly on Xbox & not subscribe to Game Pass?
It’s really easy to just buy subscription cards when they’re on deal somewhere like Amazon, or CD Keys. You can stay in the system without ever paying full price. You get access to a big library of games & you will discover something new, which you enjoy, which you would probably have missed otherwise. Every title in the library is automatically discounted, should you prefer owning your favourite games. Every Xbox exclusive is there & every Xbox exclusive will be there, day one. Loads of third party titles are jumping in as well, day one.
There’s honestly no downside, that I can see.
But there’s the answer to my question & the question of this thread. Why would people not subscribe to the service? Because they don’t want to. They see a downside.
Everyone is different & has their own opinions about things. We don’t all like the same things. Not everyone sees the world the way I do, or the way you do.
It’s best to just leave folk to enjoy their gaming their way.
I know several people who only by Fifa/PES/GTA, and have to be dragged kicking and screaming onto the new machines. In some cases they have a dropping off point and just say “whatever, I’m just going to play Fifa 14 on the 360 forever now”
Backlash was warranted and i’m glad they’ve reversed the decision and threw in an extra bonus.
I’d like them to review the family options, I need a family pass to help. I have 2 boys who play xbox, i play xbox and PC and a daughter who plays on PC. That’s a lot of game pass to pay for. I console share the boys to make it easier but i’d love to wrap it all up into one payment.
OK from my perspective as one who would not be a subscriber to gamepass were it not for the upgrade for £1 deal.
Simply it’s more money, Gamepass was an additional cost above Gold, while it had some games I wished to play it had just as many I disliked or was ambivalent on. Even though it has value to many it had no extra value to me, I have a family, 2 daughters, a partner who still suffers post illness and little time to play games as it is. Add to that I have other consoles, a bookcase full of board games and a staggering backlog of games on steam from humble bundles etc that I had never touched. Not to mention my main games I was playing were not on Gamepass anyway.
Gamepass did not (and frankly still really doesnt) have that much value to me, I could (and do) go weeks or months sometimes unable to play anything much at all other than a quick spin round Destiny or some ancient RPG on BC, and I would be paying more for a service I wasn’t using.
Having said that It was a no brainer for me to upgrade for £1 and I have gotten some use from gamepass since I now have it, but frankly I have more than enough games I own or from Gold or BC to still leave me a backlog to last years. As it stands now I would still not have gamepass were it not for that deal, the extra money it would cost me wouldnt be worth it.
Plenty of people have their reasons for what they play and how they do it, I don’t really give it any thought or have any desire to shame them for “missing out” or “not doing it right”.
Tbh owning games is a bit overrated, specially when the replay value on many if not almost every game is thin or null. Best example I can give you: I bought a PS5 after 4 years of not being into that ecosystem. I downloaded my profile that had like a hundred PS4 games already. I installed none of them and I don’t plan to. “Cool, I own Towerfall and Dying Light. Now let me install that new Demon’s Souls instead”
I wish every console had a service like Gamepass. I want to play, finish the game and then move on. If there’s enough replay value I will consider buying it.
I love Game Pass, I think it’s one of the best things in gaming right now, and I also think that it’s easily worth the cost even at the full retail price (not that you’ll ever have to pay the full price, because even if MS gets rid of the generous upgrade scheme, there will always be discounted offers from places like CDKeys). However, I let my subscription lapse, and I’m currently not a subscriber. It’s only temporary, I did it so that I could take advantage of the upgrade offer, but right now I’m not in a hurry to get back. I don’t have much time for playing video games at the moment, and I’m in a phase where I’ll often prefer to watch a film or engage with something else instead. At the same time, I already have 400+ games in my Xbox library, most of which I haven’t even touched yet. So while I do intend to resubcribe to GPU relatively soon, i could easily see someone in a similar situation being perfectly happy without it, and just buying a new game here and there.
So you sum up my reasons above for not finding Gamepass impossible to resist and @insane_cobra 's reasons purely as being “curmudgeonly, fearing the future, and dumb”? Rude.
