but also that could happen naturally anyway due to fortnite or whatever. If X person isn't going to play an indie game because of whatever reason, but may check it out on a sub service, at least they are getting paid that wayor kill them because no one plays them because SO MUCH CONTENT
It's the GEARS 5 debate: retail and digital sales were way down, but number of players were way up. Engagement will become even more important, as close to all revenue needs to come from consumer spending other than upfront payment. The subscription fee for being on it will most likely not cover more than a fraction of typical full game sales.
For subscription service owners, there is, additionally, the income to be made from subscriptions, and questions surrounding that are: how long do people sub for? Do they use your subscription service as a cheap way to play the occasional game or do they stay subscribed? This again ties into engagement, of course. If you can't bind them long term, then you lose the advantage of the subscription service income model and are basically giving away your games for cheaper prices.
But we (consumers) actually win for a while, which is why it's so appealing/dangerous.And in this race, we all lose. But hey at least it will be cheap
But we (consumers) actually win for a while, which is why it's so appealing/dangerous.
Who is "they" who are you talking to?He's absolutely right of course, but this is the video game industry and it has absolutely no concept of long-term planning whatsoever.
This is the industry that happily destroyed its consumer's sense of value with the mobile gaming sector. An industry that happily threw a middle finger towards Satoru Iwata when he warned everyone about what was about to happen from what they were doing and offered an olive branch as an out from that timeline.
This is their bed that they've made. Now they have to lie in it. I have no sympathy for the publishers responsible for this (May God have mercy on the poor indie developers that are gonna get completely annihilated by these services though).
In what ways do I lose if I have more options to choose from and I can afford to play video games I wouldn't be playing otherwise. Is it worth it to pay 70 bucks if I only play 3h a month? Well, sure it's worth 8 bucks for dozens of games to play.And in this race, we all lose. But hey at least it will be cheap
In what ways do I lose if I have more options to choose from and I can afford to play video games I wouldn't be playing otherwise. Is it worth it to pay 70 bucks if I only play 3h a month? Well, sure it's worth 8 bucks for dozens of games to play.
"Oh but you do not own the game" No I don't. If I feel like I'll be playing a ton of it I can always buy it and with a discount.
Do we lose because devs will have less money or do cheaper games? I doubt that will be the case. If 8/bucks a month isn't sustainable when these services start hitting like 20M subscribers, they will rise the price.
This we all lose thing is ridiculous. I do not hear anyone complaining about Netflix anymore. Because it's. So. Damn. Convenient.
Specially when cinemas charge you 10 bucks to watch a movie. Similar case here. I pay when I want to play, and I do not when I don't, still have the option to buy full price
I felt this a few times while I was subbed to GP. Sometimes I was less inclined to commit more time to certain games because a) there's so much constant content, and b) I had paid without an upfront cost so I had less motivation to see my moneys worth.Yeah it definitely gives me a more casual approach to some games. Like the new NFS, I played for 3 hours and moved on. I was like "yeah I guess it's fine for a sub game, but I'm not fussed."
I wonder if that will just make devs of mediocre trash more complacent.
Then you slowly bring up the monthly price dollar by dollar. People will justify paying a dollar more if the increases are in small increments.True enough. People saying "I dont even buy games anymore thanks to Game Pass" is exactly what MS wants for the next 3 years while they build up the sub numbers. Makes it 1000x harder to cancel the sub if you havent bought any games in 3 years
True enough. People saying "I dont even buy games anymore thanks to Game Pass" is exactly what MS wants for the next 3 years while they build up the sub numbers. Makes it 1000x harder to cancel the sub if you havent bought any games in 3 years
Then you slowly bring up the monthly price dollar by dollar. People will justify paying a dollar more if the increases are in small increments.
This is what I fear could happen to subscription services, if they are not properly managed.
Another possibility is that (to maintain "low" subscription fees) they'll offer fewer games and/or games that are smaller in scope, which could affect overall game development.
It's also possible that they might choose to do all of the above. They'll scale back game development and slowly jack up the price in the process.
There's a huge community talking right now about Death Stranding. People have bought it day one @$60 or more. Same thing happened with God of War, same thing happens with RDR2.AAA game prices drop like rocks after release. Indies and AA games are frequently available at huge discounts in humble bundles or steam sales. Many games are available for cheap on grey market key sites. The content is already pretty devalued to me. I rarely pay $60 for a game these days.
I don't see how subscription services would be any worse as long as the developer gets a decent deal
Pretty much. Microsoft couldn't sell their games for 60 bucks if their life depended on it at this point.
Oh, I'd say it's already devalued. Why drop $60 on a single game when you can play hundreds for a couple bucks?