Microsoft Announces Xbox Game Pass, Netflix-Style Gaming For the Xbox One (polygon.com)

Microsoft today announced it is moving into the world of Netflix-style game subscriptions with Xbox Game Pass, a monthly service coming this spring that will give you a selection of games you can download and play on your Xbox One for $9.99 a month. From a report on Polygon: The service will include "over 100 games," including Halo 5: Guardians, Payday 2, NBA 2K16 and SoulCalibur II. "One of the best things about Xbox Game Pass is that you can discover and download the full titles directly on your Xbox One," the official post states. Any game you buy through the service will be sold to you at a 20 percent discount. An alpha preview of the program begins today with "a very limited" number of games, and Xbox Live Gold subscribers will get first crack at the program this spring. It also sounds as if the service may be available, at least in part, on the PC.

Comments

That's nice but not for me

[H3lldr0p]

I'm certain this scratches a certain itch for some of their customers but the only reason any console is allowed in my house is because of the stupid exclusive games anymore. And you know, I'm not all that upset at it. Used to be, but it's too much energy to be angry at that stuff. I'd rather be putting that energy into having fun playing the games.

So, you know, hope someone has fun with this. It's not the best deal but it's better than nothing.

Sorry but..

[Neuronwelder]

I like playing games on my home made computers. I don't need something made for me... Thank you.. no. (Every day in every way, they take a bit more of what you can pick and control.)

"netflix-style"

[fibonacci8]

There's a word for that in English: "rental".

Re:"netflix-style"

[vux984]

Nope. The word rental applies to what we used to do at blockbuster... where we'd take a game home for a few days and then return it. Pay-per-view is a pretty similar model, though not sure you can do it for games anywhere.

'Netflix-style' is a fairly specific model
    a) its subscription based
    b) you have access to the 'catalog' as long as you have a subscription
    c) the catalog changes over time, new games added, AND existing games removed

I assume this service has all those features.

Re:"netflix-style"

[barc0001]

Actually no, the word is "subscription". Netflix, O'Reilly Safari, and similar services where you have access to anything in the catalog at any time all for one monthly fee.

Under the old rental model, one game would cost you $x, and if you wanted another game it was also $x, even if you returned the first.

Re:"netflix-style"

[Ranbot]

...For $10/mo that seems like a lot of lost potential revenue. Maybe the elimination of the second-hand market covers that?

I don't think they plan to lose any revenue.... they are offering a 20% discount on any full game purchased through the service, so a $50 game will be $40, but that $10 discount was paid up front with the monthly subscription fee. And to your point any digital purchase or "rental" cuts out the second-hard markets. I think this could only backfire if the service is really bad or feels forced on customers and turns them off.

Re:"netflix-style"

[vux984]

There's a few obvious places for catches:

1) Like netflix, some titles go away after while, so you have to buy them if you want to play them again or finish them or whatever.

2) DLC? May or may not be included in the subscription title, might have to buy it to get the whole game.

3) Limited selection. Current AAA games that fit the whole 'buy it', play it for few weeks and then forget it... might not make it onto the service, or might show up months after the initial excitement has died down. There might be a few on the service as loss-leaders to get people in...like netflix the majority of big titles might be nowhere in sight...

I'm sure it won't be a total ripoff, but there's lots of ways to ensure it doesn't lose any money vs buying the titles.

Re:Or....

[SubtleGuest]

You may have enough games already.

Nope

[Anonymous Coward]

There was a time when Microsoft had a coding support system for game developers, where they provided support for developers in regards to coding their games and finishing them.
There was a time when Microsoft subsidized game developers to help them finish and bring games to the desktop computer, to Windows. It wasn't like the Publisher relationship but a pure "we give you money and you do whatever you can, we won't command you how to make your shit, just fucking do it how you imagined it and finish it!"
These two alone ushered a Golden Age for computer games. Nothing else was required.
Microsoft actually got a profit from this in the long term despite the seemingly loss-inducing "benevolent" system, and they got good rep from it.
This was the 90's when Microsoft was pushing the computer and trying to get the console communities on-board.
A similar system was used by Sony during its own golden days (PS1, PS2).

At some time they stopped doing this. And then the downfall began. And now this.
Well then. I can only say that i have enough monthly bills to pay already. Subscription systems can go flush themselves down the toilet.
I wonder when the industry will realize that subscription-based systems aren't maintainable or possible unless you completely destroy the diversity and richness of a sector so consumers can actually afford the hit on their wallets. It sounds little when we talk of one topic, but when you stack 20 different subscription systems and sum it all up to your average consumer, you've got a fucking problem and an impending implosion.

not bad...

[Phusion]

One of the many reasons I'm not a console peasant anymore is because after the XBox 360 faded away, no one was able to hack or mod the XBox 1 or PS4 firmware to allow "backups" (read: piracy) and I'm not going to drop $60+ on new games. So the gaming rig I built for myself works fine, if there's a truly great game that relies heavily on multiplayer, I'll buy it, but that's about it. With this model. I might consider picking up an XB1 some day. I wouldn't mind paying a monthly fee to have access to a modest library of games that keeps updating as new games come out. There are loads of used XB1 systems out there on CL and eBay, I could practically get a new one with a large HDD for a song-- so... maybe this new thing is for me.

Gold vs Pass

[FredrikKarlsson]

Whats the different between Xbox Gold and Xbox Pass?

Gold gives you free games each 2nd week
Pass lets you rent games each month

"Each week, Xbox Live Gold members can save up to 50-75%"
Pass saves you 20%

How is this anything like Netflix? And why should I not pass on Pass?

Re:Gold vs Pass

[DontBeAMoran]

You shall not pass?

Re:Gold vs Pass

[sethaw]

Whats the different between Xbox Gold and Xbox Pass?

Xbox Live Gold is required for multiplayer. It gives you 4 free games a month. Sometimes the games are good, but sometimes its not unusual for me to not like any of the games for the month.

Xbox Game Pass will give you access to a larger library of over 100 games at a time but you will still need to subscribe to Gold to play multiplayer. Much of the value here will depend on the exact titles which haven't been announced. It will probably be like EA Access where you get lots of good games but not games that have been released in the last 9 months or so.

"Each week, Xbox Live Gold members can save up to 50-75%" Pass saves you 20%

Again, the titles being discounted here really matter. If the game pass gives you 20% off a $40 or $60 title then to me that's better than 75% off of a $5 title. However, if you were subscribed to Game Pass and have access to a game then you don't have any immediate incentive to buy the game.

New games or older?

[will_die]

So are any of those games that will be available on it recent AAA releases?
If so I would gladly sign up for it if available on the PC. There are very few games I play for over 2 months so this would pay for itself in quick order.

Re:Look at the partners:

[Robyrt]

That's why Microsoft is sweetening the deal by adding its own first-party titles like Halo 5, just like Netflix became increasingly reliant on its own new content.

Re: Or....

[Ranbot]

Haha you are 100% right! I haven't even played 50 of them. But when you get like 15 games for around 8-12 bucks I figure why not.

You already answered why not...

I haven't even played 50 of them.

Re:Look at the partners:

[unrtst]

YAY. One title (Halo 5) that is currently going for $19 new on amazon, and a bunch of garbage. And you'd have to pay the $10/month for pass, and another $10 for xbox live so you can play online, just to get temporary access to it.
Oh, but you can also play Soul Calibur II, if you want to reminisce on the old PlayStation 2 and Gamecube days. How the hell is this a title they are leading with?

Re:Seems to be a response to "EA Access" popularit

[Zak3056]

That was my thought as well... EA Access is a hell of a deal ($60 a year, and just about every EA game seems to go into it eventually). For the cost of one game a year, you're getting EA's entire catalog about six months after release.

xbox member gold

[nzl]

whether on the web is the most inexpensive prices xbox gold member http://www.noelgame.com/2017/0...