Former Xbox Vice President Worried Game Pass Could Hurt The Industry

[gorfias]

"Ed Fries, the former Microsoft vice president of game publishing who launched the original Xbox, recently appeared on a podcast where he discussed some concerns he has regarding Xbox Game Pass. Fries said that he’s “scared” that the service could lead to a future in which folks stop buying games, opting instead to just pay for a single monthly subscription fee to access everything."

Former Xbox Vice President Worried Game Pass Could Hurt The Industry

Ed Fries is concerned that the success of Game Pass could cannibalize future sales of games

kotaku.com

I think Fries is correct.

As discussed before in this forum, we should not expect the gaming industry to stay as it has been, anymore than during the Arcade days of the 70s-early 80s, they may not have thought consoles to be anymore than a passing fad.

The linked article says services like "Gamepass" could be as harmful to games producers as Spotify has been to music producers. Well, Spotify is a thing. I am thinking his concern is not going to change what I think inevitable.

I've told my kids they should no longer gift me games for reasons such as this. I may not even get the mid gen console release of the Gen 9 consoles as that would cost about as much as 6 years of Gamepass, which I can play on anything. (Confession: in about 18 months, I do plan to build my next, possibly last gaming PC. From there, I can play Gamepass games).

Do you think such services will impact your gaming choices?

 

[BrawlMan]

Do you think such services will impact your gaming choices?

No. I have no need for game pass, as I already got all the games I want.

I actually posted this link in the general gaming news thread yesterday. This "concern" is really stupid. The industry cheats enough as it is, and if you don't want to buy a game, that's fine. At the end of the day, Game Pass is just glorified DRM. You're not buying any of these games or owning them, you're just renting them. At some point, some of these games will come off the store, either to do with licensing issues, copyright, or just a company being petty. That is why ownership is such an important thing. If people or a person cares about a game they love so much, then they should own a copy, if and when possible.

 

[gorfias]

No. I have no need for game pass, as I already got all the games I want.

I actually posted this link in the general gaming news thread yesterday. This "concern" is really stupid. The industry cheats enough as it is, and if you don't want to buy a game, that's fine. At the end of the day, game passes just glorified DRM. You're not not only buying any of these games or owning them, you're just renting them. At some point some of these games will come off the store either to do with licensing issues, copyright, or just a company being petty. That is why ownership is such an important thing. If people or a person cares about a game they love so much, then they own a copy, if and when possible.

Apologies for reposting this when you had already done so. I did a search on and for some reason found nothing close to this topic. I must have done something wrong.

I admit, to my wife's chagrin, that I still own hundreds of CDs, even though we have Spotify. She asks when the heck will I ever listen to them again. Some, like Pink Floyd's "Momentary Lapse of Reason" have sentimental value. That is the very 1st CD I ever owned, and she bought it for me going on 40 years ago.

Even so, we do have Spotify and It's been years since I bought a new CD. (Deep Purple Burn or Who's Next. Not sure which).

Last game disc I got was Forza Horizon 5 from the boy pointed out this was available at Game pass.

People still own albums and record players, but new tech has had its impact. I think streaming will similarly change the way we typically play.

 

[BrawlMan]

Apologies for reposting this when you had already done so. I did a search on and for some reason found nothing close to this topic. I must have done something wrong.

No apologies necessary; you didn't know.

I admit, to my wife's chagrin, that I still own hundreds of CDs, even though we have Spotify. She asks when the heck will I ever listen to them again. Some, like Pink Floyd's "Momentary Lapse of Reason" have sentimental value. That is the very 1st CD I ever owned, and she bought it for me going on 40 years ago.

I have nothing to be ashamed of. You clearly care for these CDs you bought and that's how it should be. There's plenty of old albums I still own and listen to, cuz I like having the option available to me. Digital can be convenient, but if you're in a spot with no internet, your internet gets turned off or breaks down, then how else you're going to listen to that song or songs? What other ways you're going to play a game if your bill is it's overdue? Or said content gets removed digitally for whatever reason?

Even so, we do have Spotify and It's been years since I bought a new CD. (Deep Purple Burn or Who's Next. Not sure which).

The last new CD I bought was last year.

Last game disc I got was Forza Horizon 5 from the boy pointed out this was available at Game pass.

I still buy game discs. I just got some recently a couple weeks ago. Though I admit, I used store credit in all those cases. It's still counts. I only buy physical copies of things I know I'm going to play and love.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

"Ed Fries, the former Microsoft vice president of game publishing who launched the original Xbox, recently appeared on a podcast where he discussed some concerns he has regarding Xbox Game Pass. Fries said that he’s “scared” that the service could lead to a future in which folks stop buying games, opting instead to just pay for a single monthly subscription fee to access everything."

Former Xbox Vice President Worried Game Pass Could Hurt The Industry

Ed Fries is concerned that the success of Game Pass could cannibalize future sales of games

kotaku.com

I think Fries is correct.

As discussed before in this forum, we should not expect the gaming industry to stay as it has been, anymore than during the Arcade days of the 70s-early 80s, they may not have thought consoles to be anymore than a passing fad.

The linked article says services like "Gamepass" could be as harmful to games producers as Spotify has been to music producers. Well, Spotify is a thing. I am thinking his concern is not going to change what I think inevitable.

I've told my kids they should no longer gift me games for reasons such as this. I may not even get the mid gen console release of the Gen 9 consoles as that would cost about as much as 6 years of Gamepass, which I can play on anything. (Confession: in about 18 months, I do plan to build my next, possibly last gaming PC. From there, I can play Gamepass games).

Do you think such services will impact your gaming choices?

So, you’re going to resort to what you argue will ultimately hurt the game industry by choice, or merely because it’s inevitable?

 

[CriticalGaming]

I think Gamepass might end up hurting Xbox more than the industry as a whole. There are already articles being written about Gamepass fatigue, and my understanding is that the games on offer aren't changing much month to month if at all. Top that off with absolutely nothing new on the horizon from any of Xbox's studios means that people are going to have very little reason to remain subscribed to a service with no new content coming.

So you unsub right?

But then what happens? Eventually Starfield comes out and since Bethesda is a shit game's maker nobody wants to pay $70 for that shit, so you pay $15 to get Gamepass for a month, the game sucks, then you unsub again.

Gamepass will hurt Xbox unless the rate of releases gets to the point where people wont mind keeping their sub going. Other Publishers wont let their games be on Gamepass Day 1, and Sony doesn't have to worry about it because they make games people want to buy and even their new service will not just shower people with a game on day 1.

The smarter choice I think is to give people the exclusive game 6 months or so after release. So that box sales are mostly unaffected, and it still keeps people invested in your monthly service. Of course you have to release games for that to work in the first place so either way I don't think it'll work for MS until something drastic changes.

 

[gorfias]

So, you’re going to resort to what you argue will ultimately hurt the game industry by choice, or merely because it’s inevitable?

Inevitable.
But it is more complicated than that. Back in the day, I used to love going to the VHS rental store. Taking home 2 kids cartoons for my young ones for only $3 in 2000 dollars seemed a bargain. It was fun. But I cannot deny the market changed and consumers benefited. So many streaming services vs. that $3 rental for a day.

I think Gamepass might end up hurting Xbox more than the industry as a whole. There are already articles being written about Gamepass fatigue, and my understanding is that the games on offer aren't changing much month to month if at all. Top that off with absolutely nothing new on the horizon from any of Xbox's studios means that people are going to have very little reason to remain subscribed to a service with no new content coming.

So you unsub right?

But then what happens? Eventually Starfield comes out and since Bethesda is a shit game's maker nobody wants to pay $70 for that shit, so you pay $15 to get Gamepass for a month, the game sucks, then you unsub again.

Gamepass will hurt Xbox unless the rate of releases gets to the point where people wont mind keeping their sub going. Other Publishers wont let their games be on Gamepass Day 1, and Sony doesn't have to worry about it because they make games people want to buy and even their new service will not just shower people with a game on day 1.

The smarter choice I think is to give people the exclusive game 6 months or so after release. So that box sales are mostly unaffected, and it still keeps people invested in your monthly service. Of course you have to release games for that to work in the first place so either way I don't think it'll work for MS until something drastic changes.

I found this surprising:

And the convenience of play anywhere cannot be understated.
I think this will put a ding in Xbox console sales and not Switch or PS5 sales, but looking at this graph, is MS making 25 million x monthy sub of $15ish = nearly $400 million a month? I think the point is in the near future, they don't care what you game upon: just pay your subscription.

 

[CriticalGaming]

Inevitable.
But it is more complicated than that. Back in the day, I used to love going to the VHS rental store. Taking home 2 kids cartoons for my young ones for only $3 in 2000 dollars seemed a bargain. It was fun. But I cannot deny the market changed and consumers benefited. So many streaming services vs. that $3 rental for a day.


I found this surprising:
View attachment 6221
And the convenience of play anywhere cannot be understated.
I think this will put a ding in Xbox console sales and not Switch or PS5 sales, but looking at this graph, is MS making 25 million x monthy sub of $15ish = nearly $400 million a month? I think the point is in the near future, they don't care what you game upon: just pay your subscription.

That kind of surprises me because everyone I know has cancelled their sub to it because they don't like what's on offer or finished whatever was there to interest them in the first place. Still I don't think this means much to the rest of the industry because quite frankly if they see a negative impact from having their games on the Pass, then they just don't let MS put their stuff up there.

Additionally you hvae to wonder what they are paying all these companies to allow their games to be on the service in the first place. First party is no big deal but im sure all the third party liscenses rack up quite a bill. Not to mention how many accounts are on the $1 trial that month. Considering January would be around the Christmas boom as well for people getting new Xboxes.

 

[BrawlMan]

That kind of surprises me because everyone I know has cancelled their sub to it because they don't like what's on offer or finished whatever was there to interest them in the first place.

That's only people you know in your social circle, not the entire country or the world. I highly doubt they make up that large factor. I get where you're coming from, but Microsoft is still getting money from this, then it ain't hurting them much. And as I said before, this EX Microsoft employee's "concerns" are more like that he's upset that Microsoft nor other companies, can screw over gamers more than they already have. The people want to find cheaper ways to play games or get them temporarily, they get them. But if they really care much for that game, they better get the physical version winning if possible. And these people that say they don't care for physical versions, usually get the console for the shallowest reasons. And if it's a game they do care about, and eventually becomes remove from digital stores, nine times out of 10 they'll be some type of regret or upset that they can't play it anymore. I've seen it happen every single time. Whenever somebody ignorant or naive "keeps telling me it will never happen to this game!", then the game gets removed from the digital store for some reason, they get upset and start whining. And I'm like that's why you should have gotten the game earlier or got the physical version. You would still be playing.

You won't believe how many people, usually younger or some kids, that say that they don't need the physical version of these games or they're always happy to be online/always online. I then tell them or their parents that are usually with them, "What are you going to do if the servers closed down, you forgot to pay the bill, or the power goes out?" A majority of them can't respond back with anything other than a "Uuhhh, Uhhmmm, or......". My response is yeah, that's what I thought.

 

[CriticalGaming]

, "What are you going to do if the servers closed down, you forgot to pay the bill, or the power goes out?"

Or what if you move into a building that isn't fucking finished and the internet services are not hooked up until some unknown amount of time!!!!!!!!! FUCK!

 

[CriticalGaming]

GOOD NEWS GUYS!!!! Sonic '06 returns to Gamepass soon probably!

The infamous Sonic '06 has been relisted on Xbox

Sega subsequently delisted the game following redicule. Until now. Sonic reloaded? More like Sonic relisted.

www.destructoid.com

That'll bring in the subs for sure!

 

[gorfias]

That's only people you know in your social circle, not the entire country or the world. I highly doubt they make up that large factor. I get where you're coming from, but Microsoft is still getting money from this, then it ain't hurting them much. And as I said before, this EX Microsoft employee's "concerns" are more like that he's upset that Microsoft nor other companies, can screw over gamers more than they already have. The people want to find cheaper ways to play games or get them temporarily, they get them. But if they really care much for that game, they better get the physical version winning if possible. And these people that say they don't care for physical versions, usually get the console for the shallowest reasons. And if it's a game they do care about, and eventually becomes remove from digital stores, nine times out of 10 they'll be some type of regret or upset that they can't play it anymore. I've seen it happen every single time. Whenever somebody ignorant or naive "keeps telling me it will never happen to this game!", then the game gets removed from the digital store for some reason, they get upset and start whining. And I'm like that's why you should have gotten the game earlier or got the physical version. You would still be playing.

You won't believe how many people, usually younger or some kids, that say that they don't need the physical version of these games or they're always happy to be online/always online. And I didn't tell them or their parents that are usually with them, "What are you going to do if the servers closed down, you forgot to pay the bill, or the power goes out?" A majority of them can't respond back with anything other than a "Uuhhh, Uhhmmm, or......". My response is yeah, that's what I thought.

GOOD NEWS GUYS!!!! Sonic '06 returns to Gamepass soon probably!

The infamous Sonic '06 has been relisted on Xbox

Sega subsequently delisted the game following redicule. Until now. Sonic reloaded? More like Sonic relisted.

www.destructoid.com

That'll bring in the subs for sure!

I'm sure there is digital vs. disc threads out there. I'm going to look for one ASAP.
Little off topic for here but personally, I've had mixed experiences, losing digital games for which MS no longer had the exact same sku (Battlefield Hardline. They still even have it at the store or did... they changed the sku and poof my game was gone) but I've lost games on disc. Games for Windows, games that wouldn't read with warranty expired (Forza 5, Xmen 2 on Gamecube).