Will Gamepass kill the Xbox development community?

[ThirdEidolon]

Noticed there were no threads whatsoever on Xbox and I figured it deserved one at least.

Do you think Gamepass is harming tangible sales for developers?

It had S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Heart of Chernobyl day one. How many actually bought it on pc though? Or even Xbox?

Do you think Gamepass is sustainable longterm, and will it drive developers away from Microsoft?

 

[Yousef]

I can tell you this right now; I’ve actually avoided buying so many games thanks to me already beating them on game pass. I think you’re right on the money.

 

[ThirdEidolon]

I can tell you this right now; I’ve actually avoided buying so many games thanks to me already beating them on game pass. I think you’re right on the money.

In my own personal case, it's translated to actual sales. I bought Stalker and I bought the Gunk. I also bought Flintlock. I don't imagine everyone does that, though.

Post automatically merged: Yesterday at 9:14 PM

I think gamepass is really good for the ones you don't want to commit to, like the new Indiana Jones game or P3R.

I'll try it, but I doubt I'll end up buying it.

 

[ATenderLad]

I think it's symptomatic of the larger problem, that Xbox sales aren't very competitive. Game Pass is meant to be an incentive, something that attracts a larger base to the system to drive up more sales in general, but that's not really materializing. I guess I'd say the Game Pass won't Kill the Xbox, so much as it won't Save the Xbox.

 

[Gorse]

I actually think that, from Microsoft's point of view, Gamepass is a great business venture.

Aside from the 360 (which was first-to-market and held its own for like a decade), the deal with XBox has always been that, in exchange for zero exclusives, a higher console price, and having to interact with Microsoft, you get the best performance from console video gaming, no questions asked. That's something that really grabs people who post on video game forums and play hardcore games like Cybergod: Unleashed and Oppai no Nazo [EX Edition], and it worked for many years, but the enthusiast market in today's video gaming culture can be tough to depend on.

Enter Gamepass and the Series S. It's half the price of a Series X, and you don't even have to buy the games. If you're a family considering a console for your kids or a dudebro looking to get in some FIFA with the boys after work, that instantly becomes the XBox's competitive advantage. You get an unlimited supply of prominent third-party titles whenever you want, running on a machine that would cost at least four times the price if it were a PC, and the peace of mind that you'll never have to fully commit to a $70 software purchase. And Microsoft gets all your money, forever.

I've never owned an Xbox console, but sometimes I'll see the Series S on Amazon and think "OH MY GOD, THINK OF HOW MUCH I'D SAVE..." That's what a significant chunk of the XBox target demo is thinking, too.

will it drive developers away from Microsoft?

If the chips ever came down and developers made moves away from Microsoft (they won't), M$ would start subsidizing new third-party games themselves in exchange for permanent availability on Gamepass. (Even if those games weren't exclusive.) They have the money and might to throw around, and the audience will always make it worthwhile for the people actually making the games to comply.

 

[Yousef]

I actually think that, from Microsoft's point of view, Gamepass is a great business venture.

Aside from the 360 (which was first-to-market and held its own for like a decade), the deal with Xbox has always been that, in exchange for zero exclusives, a higher console price, and having to interact with Microsoft, you get the best performance on console video gaming, no questions asked. That's something that really grabs people who post on video game forums and play hardcore games like Cybergod: Unleashed and Oppai no Nazo [EX Edition], and it worked for many years, but the enthusiast marketing in today's video gaming culture can be tough to depend on.

Enter Gamepass and the Series S. It's half the price of a Series X, and you don't even have to buy the games. If you're a family buying a console for your kids or a dudebro looking to get in some FIFA with the boys after work, that instantly becomes the XBox's competitive advantage. You get an unlimited supply of prominent third-party titles whenever you want them running on a machine that would cost at least four times the price if it were a PC and the peace of mind that you'll never actually have to buy full-priced games. And Microsoft gets all your money, forever.

I've never owned an Xbox console, but sometimes I'll see the Series S on Amazon and think "OH MY GOD, THINK OF HOW MUCH I'D SAVE..." That's what a significant chunk of the XBox target demo is thinking, too.

If the chips ever came down and developers made moves away from Microsoft (they won't), M$ would start subsidizing new third-party games themselves in exchange for permanent availability on Gamepass. (Even if those games weren't exclusive.) They have the money and might to throw around, and the audience will always make it worthwhile for the people actually making the games to comply.

At the risk of slightly steering off from what’s said here, gamepass is just too comfortable not to invest into. Yeah, sure, I can spend 120 dollars to try to games I may not like.
Or, I can spend 14 dollars, play both and never look back.
This isn’t hypothetical, that’s exactly what I did with persona 3 reload (which I winded up loving) and persona 5 tactica (which I pray gets deleted from not from game pass, but from existence)