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Game Pass users are playing 40% more games - including titles outside of the program
- Thread starter xeroyear
- Start date
" He went on to reveal that this increase in number of games played has also shown Xbox users trying a wider variety of games. An impressive 91% of subscribers say they have played a title they would not tried without Xbox Game Pass, while Microsoft has noticed members are playing 30% more genres than they did before joining."
It's a good message, and story...but my weird take away is that I want a t shirt that says "I'm 30 percent more genre!"
Clearly those are outliers, we know the service doesn't have much to offer beyond a few hidden gems and it's impossible for gamers to play a game when it's going to leave the service eventually.
People who want to play a wide variety of games are more likely to subscribe to something like this.
What is so hard to understand about it ? If a first party game is on gamepass day one how can someone expect the conventional sales to increase ???
Sure, but the article says habbits changed after subscribing to GamePass.
I think maybe they are just talking about sales of specific genres that some might not have bothered with prior to playing them on Game Pass. So they play them, then want something similar that's not on the Game Pass and go buy them. I honestly don't really see how these services make their money either over simply having people purchasing their games. Especially when it's a day one release that ends up on the subscription. I can't see how this would actually help The Outer Worlds since everyone can just play it for $5.00 or whatever. Are they making money off of people who just never buy games anyway? That compensates for losing the sales from those that would have purchased it if they had no other option?
Renting games has existed in some form since the 80s, but these services seem to be trying to compete with stuff like Redbox and Gamefly more than anything.
I wonder if Game Pass will cause another Rocket League type mega hit eventually. Where being "free" for 1 platform gave it ridiculous amounts highly positive word of mouth.
Good. Game Pass is an excellent service. I hope MS goes all out next gen. :)
Outer Wilds? While not a huge hit, it being on GP helped it to develop a strong following.
I heard because of the masses of games gamepass offers even the "clouds" will fall down and Microsoft will be gone forever.
But perhaps it's in the same way as when I play games using my GBA flashcart? I have definitely noticed that there is a direct relationship between paying for a game and appreciating its value. When I can play anything, at any time I like, sometimes I feel like the things I am playing have little value (when in fact, the opposite is true).
What's the price point where a game starts to lose its value? $5? $10?
Do the games available through Plus or Gold hold less value than if you'd bought them at their full retail price?
Does stand to reason that people would be more willing to try out different genres and different kinds of games than they usually do, given that it's effectively free for them once they're subbed. If anything would break people out of the endless comfort zone diet of FIFA, Fortnite, GTA and COD, it would be something like Game Pass.
But the retail sales don't correlate with their claims here. They are tremendously down; and Gears 5 was completely cannibalised by its Game Pass release. I absolutely do believe that people become more engaged with games in general & more willing to step outside their genre comfort zone after subscribing to Game Pass (it would be weird if they didn't!); but there's no way that it isn't having a deleterious effect on retail (and that includes digital retail too).
But the retail sales don't correlate with their claims here. They are tremendously down; and Gears 5 was completely cannibalised by its Game Pass release. I absolutely do believe that people become more engaged with games in general & more willing to step outside their genre comfort zone after subscribing to Game Pass (it would be weird if they didn't!); but there's no way that it isn't having a deleterious effect on retail (and that includes digital retail too).
Yeah, that was the amazing part for me about this. A developer of a relatively small indie game that got put on Game Pass explained that, the day they were added to Gamepass, the actual SALES of the game rose, too. If I remember right, he mostly explained it by the fact that you just get so much more advertisement space, that you get featured on the dashboard and are more visible to so many more people. Sadly, I can't remember the game anymore.
I don't know the numbers so could be way off but is there a chance that's offset by the increased Game Pass signups ? Game Pass also stays at the same price whereas games drop in price rapidly after release.
It's a great question I honestly cannot answer. It's just a feeling in myself that I have noticed and I wondered whether others had felt that way as well. When I can consume anything I want, at any time, for nothing, I can become ambivalent about it.
I can without any doubts confirm that. Since Game Pass is a thing, I'm playing and discovering many more games, often games I wouldn't even have thought about without Game Pass. The service has a pretty good & high paced rhythm to add new games, so there is always something new to check out.
I've 'tried' an excessive amount of netflix shows I would never watch otherwise. Says nothing about my enjoyment or the quality of the show. This whole thing reads like a fluff piece just to put out some positive numbers on gamepass.
Yea, me too.
Since i got gamepass i stopped buying Indie Games. Before i was buying at least one per month for my Switch but that stopped.
Yes, but this is what the main takeaway is supposed to be (I think):
I never really considered the service myself until recently. I normally buy every game that I am really looking forward to around release (which have been fewer titles per year), but then I also end up finishing it within a week or two, and maybe replay it once. After that though? Unless it's an older, and somewhat short game, it usually just sits forever. So, do I want to spend $50 - $60 for a game I will realistically be engaged with for around two weeks, or pay $5.00 and have another two weeks for whatever? Decisions, decisions, but it won't affect my genre preferences since there's barely anything I want to play that's there that I haven't already played anyway.
Doesn't that mean GamePass users will be more honest about whether or not the game they're playing is actually good, versus falling into the sunk cost fallacy of 'I paid $80, it's a good game'?
That's caused by the advertising space. The important part to note here is that it's non-subscribers who are choosing to buy the game instead of Game Pass after seeing the game.
The only time a Game Pass subscriber would buy a game on the catalog is if they're not planning to keep Game Pass but wants to keep playing a game after GP expires.
And there are people who do enjoy it and then become fan of a franchise of a genre.
They arent talking about enjoyment also. They are talking about people trying.
I find myself trying out new games all the time but I tend to bounce off many of them. A huge variety but lots of stuff I download and never play haha.
Ultimately physical sales numbers might be down on some titles but player retention seems much better and, in my opinion, that is what really matters. It seems perfect for some of those AA and indie titles that get a constant push of new players as the service gets bigger. Also seems great for smaller MP focused games, as the user base stays stable. It's a shame when stuff gets taken off aka Onrush.
Ultimately physical sales numbers might be down on some titles but player retention seems much better and, in my opinion, that is what really matters. It seems perfect for some of those AA and indie titles that get a constant push of new players as the service gets bigger. Also seems great for smaller MP focused games, as the user base stays stable. It's a shame when stuff gets taken off aka Onrush.
Subbed to Gamepass and got Gears 5 through that so I had $$ left over so I bought BL3 which I never would have if I had bought Gears.
Also playing games I enjoyed gets me interested in what other games that dev had made or is making.
Also playing games I enjoyed gets me interested in what other games that dev had made or is making.
I'm genuinely interested in the finance of it all, but we won't ever hear.
With more studios they are investing tens of millions more a year into games and I'm wondering whether they are making that back. Lets say Gears costs $60 million to develop and several tens of million more to market. That is an awful lot of subscribers required to cover the cost of that. Obviously there'll be a greater number of players buying DLC, but that balance is what is interesting to me, as that is the gambit Microsoft have made.
When you consider they'll be dropping sequels for:
Halo
Gears
Forza
The Outer Worlds
Fable
...and others on the service day one, its an interesting position.
With more studios they are investing tens of millions more a year into games and I'm wondering whether they are making that back. Lets say Gears costs $60 million to develop and several tens of million more to market. That is an awful lot of subscribers required to cover the cost of that. Obviously there'll be a greater number of players buying DLC, but that balance is what is interesting to me, as that is the gambit Microsoft have made.
When you consider they'll be dropping sequels for:
Halo
Gears
Forza
The Outer Worlds
Fable
...and others on the service day one, its an interesting position.
I have played a shit ton of games on gamepass that I normally would not have bought.
admittedly, I haven't bought a game on my XBO since gamepass came out.
I will continue to stay a GPU subscriber.
admittedly, I haven't bought a game on my XBO since gamepass came out.
I will continue to stay a GPU subscriber.
Engagement=money?
MS or Netflix won't make more money if I watch one oplay one game on their services or if I play/watch several.
I remember them talking about how TONS of people who never play puzzle or physics-based titles tried a game like Human Fall Flat. The low entry price point makes it so easy to experiment with games out of your comfort zone, and makes you second think about what games you actually need to buy. I, for one, am barely buying games anymore, as I realize that there is no point in buying games unless they're dirt cheap or unless I am desperately in need of playing it at launch. Because if I can get the game "free" a couple months later, then I am saving my money for sure.