~The Game Pass Thread~

Games
#5451

I don’t think anyone’s suggesting that Microsoft doesn’t know that this loophole exists. Indeed, I think that they do in fact feel like the added subs they get through this mechanism are worth it to them.

But at the same time, I believe they very much intend for the vast majority of folks to be paying the full price.

There may be some crazy black magic marketing thought going into this, in that this kind of loophole is really only known about by pretty hard core gamers, but then those folks also tend to have more influence on the overall gaming community. So having this kind of hidden loophole makes the platform ultra appealing to those hard core folks (especially when compared to the “normal” price), while still having most of the normies paying the normal price.

#5452

No way to prove that without their revenue metrics, but if true it’s a rather brilliant move.

#5453

So we’re the “Inner Party” people, is what you’re saying? ;-)

#5454

Joke’s on microsoft, I don’t play any of the games I buy or subscribe to anyway!

#5455

Also the exact opposite of most price differentiation strategies. Normally you’d want to offer a lower price to price conscious consumers (the normies) while still being able to extract top dollar from the enthusiasts through things like pre-sales, deluxe editions, etc.

#5456

One of the things that doesn’t get mentioned here often is the occasional good perk offered to Ultimate Game Pass members. Usually it’s just cosmetic garbage, but when they offered a free month of Crunchyroll, I make pretty good use of it. The latest I used was 2 free months of Hulu. I used every single bit of that. Wow, that was a great two months. Hulu is just on fire this month. I got charged $13 for the first time, and I’ll probably keep it for another month to finish off the ongoing season of Reservation Dogs.

But yeah, UGP definitely saved me $26, as I would have gotten Hulu at this time anyway, to watch the shows I watched.

#5457

They had a 3-month trial of Marvel Unlimited as well. I got to read a bunch of old comics, anyway.

#5458

Is that still there? I’m not sure how to use something like that so I left it alone.

#5459

I dunno. It disappeared for me, but I used it. So I’m not sure if the offer is still on.

#5460

WTH Microsoft?

Why can I pause the transfer individually in the Xbox app but not the Microsoft Store app? Or is the stop / play icon (so much for consistency between the two apps even if the queue is the same) means the same thing as pause? Why is there no option to pause from the … button?

#5461

I tried Turbo Golf Racing last night and it was kinda fun. I never played Rocket League but I find the addition of golf to the formula to be very appealing. But the game is still in early access and unfortunately it crashed on my fourth round. I’ll definitely be playing it again.

#5462
#5463

Does every country in the world have to be ok with MS acquiring Activision Blizzard or something? I’m confused as to why they are presenting their case seemingly around the world.

#5464

It’s funny that Microsoft had managed to get Sony to waste money that they could be spending on getting games onto their own subscription platform.

#5465

Microsoft is spending tens of billions of dollars to keep entire publisher catalogs off Sony hardware.

#5466

Lol, Sony getting a taste of its own medicine. You would think after three decades of experience in music and movie industry they would know not to piss off people, guess they got a little arrogant. Not surprised considering they lost market share in electronics like IBM losing the business market in the 90s.

#5467

I am enjoying playing Octopath Traveler on Gamespass.

#5468

Isn’t that article just talking about console exclusives, which have been a thing for decades?

#5469

Well, apparently the source document isn’t clear, but on the face of it they’re just talking about subscription services, not entire console exclusivity. And maybe not exclusivity at all, but sort of reverse exclusivity - not you must only be on our service, but you cannot be on their service.

#5470

…which makes a lot of sense since being on Game Pass is like a free giveaway that makes the value of a game next to zero anywhere else.

Nintendo has talked a lot in the past about the race to the bottom on game pricing. This is why their first party stuff retains its value for years and years instead of having quick sales. They believe if you price low (or make it a giveaway/service release), you are effectively saying your games aren’t very good or are rather slight.

Agree or disagree, there is truth in how the consumer perceives games they receive for nothing.