https://www.windowscentral.com/xbox-game-pass
The gaming industry is considered to be one of the most exciting industries in tech because of its importance to culture, entertainment and technological advancement. … Gaming is pushing the boundaries of entertainment by providing a totally immersive experience across anything that has a screen.
It’s sort of a cliched answer, but the Netflix comparisons aren’t totally inaccurate. You pay a monthly fee for the service, and for as long as your account is active (and as long as the game you want to play is still on the service) you can play whatever games are on Game Pass currently.
Your Xbox essentially treats these games like they’ve been purchased digitally; it simply checks to see if your GamePass account is in good standing and then it launches right from your Xbox desktop for you.
I’ve been a member since sometime in 2019 and I’ve loved it. I guess my only complaint is that sometimes stuff doesn’t stay on the service long enough for me to finish it (looking at you, Resident Evil 4, who left about a week after I signed up) but that’s kinda more my fault than MS’s lol
Why is Xbox offering the Ultimate Game Pass for so cheap?
Thanks for the A2A, Dmitri Norenberg.
The reason that Game Pass is “so cheap” is that it’s a marketing gimmick (and a ploy). It’s effectively a “bait and switch” technique of marketing brand new products. Let’s understand why this is important and how it could impact both you and the video game industry.
The Upsides
Game Pass is a new concept in the digital gaming landscape. If offers access to a large gaming library for a “low” monthly price. As with any new product introduction, it has both the potential for great success and spectacular failure. Microsoft’s team is hedging their bets on this product’s success. To gain interest (and traction), Microsoft has priced this new subscription offering on the low side. This does two things at once, 1) it ensures fast adoption of the product by a certain segment of gamers and 2) it simultaneously addicts gamers to this product.
The goal of any new product is to make you “need” it. By “need”, I mean as in it’s difficult to put it down and not use it. To do this, pricing the product “low” entices as many gamers as possible into this new product offering and also ensures that “need” is met. Note a low price to some may be high priced to others.
For the gamer, after signing up, you’ll get access to a large library of games you can download and play. You can continue to play these games as long as you remain a Game Pass member in good standing. This “good standing” concept is important to consider in the purchase of Game Pass. Which leads to…
The Downsides
With the low cost of this product comes with it peril. I don’t necessarily mean mortal danger, but I do mean peril to the wallet. As the Game Pass product becomes more and more entrenched in the gaming world and as publishers begin to balk at “giving their games away” to a small pittance of royalties, two things will happen. 1) The price of Game Pass will increase, probably exponentially. Instead of being $14.99 a month (which isn’t exactly inexpensive), it will soar to $20, then $25, then $30 a month. It’s not a matter of if this will happen, it’s a matter of when. 2) Game publishers will begin opting their games out of Game Pass.
These changes cause not only the consumer to feel like they are now being price gouged, the ever dwindling Game Pass library may no longer make it an enticing deal. And yes, game publishers will eventually request their titles be opted out of the program. Some publishers may opt out entirely. Other publishers may opt our their newest titles out of Game Pass for up to six months. For the consumer, this means that you won’t be able to play those newest games via Game Pass at all or potentially for up to six months. This will force you to go buy the game either digitally full price or via a boxed retail copy… thus negating the point of even owning Game Pass.
If the Game Pass library simply becomes a set of “has been” titles, there’s no point in spending that amount of money to pay for these. You can buy to own these titles used for far less than you can pay for the monthly fee to Game Pass.
Another big downside is that you do not own the games in Game Pass. You are effectively renting access to the games on an ongoing basis. Once your subscription lapses, you lose access to these games. You would either need to sign up for the subscription again or go buy the game outright.
Good standing (or more specifically, “Bad Standing”) is another downside for Game Pass. Owning Game Pass is predicated on “playing nice”. If your Xbox Live account has had communication bans or other similar sanctions levied against your Xbox Live account, then Game Pass might not be a great idea. This means that if you’re thinking of buying or gifting Game Pass to a gamer, you’ll need to understand if the Xbox Live account is already in jeopardy. You could be wasting your money by giving a Game Pass subscription to a gamer whose account is one comm-ban short of being fully banned. Thus, owning a Game Pass subscription is only worthwhile so long as the Xbox Live account remains in “good standing”.
The Marketing
Read the signup terms carefully. These prices specifically say “Introductory Pricing”. This is short for, “The price will go up, and soon”.
Let’s examine the current marketing materials to better understand both the upsides and the downsides of this product.
You can already see that “console” access has lost its “introductory” pricing. It is fully $9.99 a month ($119.88/yr). The PC edition is still (as of this answer) priced at $4.99 a month ($59.88/yr). Of course, the “Best Value” is the “Ultimate” edition priced at $14.99 a month ($179.88/yr).
Additionally, there is a $1 trial for the first month that converts into whatever pricing applies after that 1 month trial is over. The $1 is simply to entice you to sign up and try it. Again, this is an attempt to cause you to “need” the product. After your $1 first month is over, you’ll begin paying between $4.99 and $14.99 per month. You should always read the terms of service for $1 trials. You may not get any introductory pricing after the trial is over and may be subject to full pricing per month. Additionally, any introductory pricing offered may only last 1, 2 or 3 months before converting into full price.
The Math
At $14.99 a month, this means you’ll pay $179.88 (let’s just say $180) a year for Game Pass. For the cost of three (3) $60 games, you’ll gain access to a library of both older and day one games. If you are a gamer who buys less than 3 games in a 12 month period, this yearly price may seem steep. If you’re a gamer who buys well more than 3 games in a 12 month period, the price of this subscription will more than pay for itself. The more games you typically buy in a year, the more Game Pass could be worth it.
Game Pass also offers one more “math” benefit. By gaining access to Game Pass’s library of games, you no longer need to buy a game to determine if it’s good. You simply download it and play it. Then determine if it’s worth $60 or not. Even then, if you do find it “worth” $60, you still won’t pay that. You’ll only pay your monthly fee, which is currently less than the cost of a brand new game, but not used games. Basically, the “basic math” point to purchasing into Game Pass is to gain access to day one new games, not to gain access to $5 or less five year old used games… which allows you to use that $45 you saved (assuming $15/mo subscription level) on other products.
Note that DLC will likely not be included in Game Pass. You’ll likely be required to purchase DLC separately… or wait for a Game of the Year edition to be added to the Game Pass library, which typically includes DLC.
Publisher Downsides
As with any “pay to play” model, like Apple Music or Amazon Music Unlimited, there are publisher downsides. Instead of being paid their full price of $60 for a game title, publishers are likely only paid when the game is actually played… and only for the amount of time the gamer plays it. Like a song in Apple Music, royalties for music are accrued only for a play of that song. If a game is downloaded, but never played, the publisher will likely get no royalties. If the gamer plays the game once and deletes it, likewise, the publisher will only get a small amount of royalties… far less than the cost of the game if it had been purchased outright.
This “pay per play” model will leave some publishers in the lurch for revenue and thus, they will lose money on their games by having them participate in Game Pass. Publishers will attempt to renegotiate their terms with Microsoft to get larger and more royalties, but that request will likely fail. This means that some game developers will be required to opt out of having their games in Game Pass.
Why do I mention this royalty system at all? Because it will likely be the death of Game Pass unless Microsoft capitulates to and offers an increasing royalties system as subscribers grow. Like book publishers abhor dealing with Amazon’s price cutting tactics, so will game developers grow to dislike Microsoft’s handling of Game Pass.
For now, Game Pass is new, shiny and innovative. However, game developers will quickly see the downsides to their own revenue stream when their game is included in Game Pass. Instead of getting a windfall of revenue at game launch, game developers will see only monthly royalty payments that will taper off much more quickly leaving them with far less revenue than had they released the game outside of Game Pass.
Free Trial vs Publishers
Part of the reason game developers have had significant windfalls in the past is that gamers must buy the game outright before knowing if it’s a “bad” or a “good” game. Gamers are forced to buy the game to “try it” with no ability to return for a full refund. With Game Pass, this subscription methodology changes everything. Now, gamers can trial a game for 24 hours before deciding to commit to it. Meaning, as I said above, if a gamer downloads it, plays it for a few hours and then deletes it, the publisher may only get a $1–5 payment. This royalty payment is substantially less than the $60 they would have otherwise received if the gamer had purchased the game outright under the old sales method.
The lack of “try it before you buy it” and the absence of a refund policy in the gaming world has given publishers tremendous income. With Game Pass, that income will evaporate. If a game is released and is, overall, not worth it the money, Game Pass both allows gamers to try it out without paying $60 for that trial, gamers can then spread that information and help prevent other gamers from wasting their $60 for that title. Under Game Pass, day one games will end up make or break for their respective publishers. If a game is bad, no longer will all of those $60 copies have been sold with no refund. Now gamers have the option of trying it for less than $15 and then “return” it without having paid anything more than their Game Pass subscription.
This is a huge revenue downside for game publishers who literally bank on this “no trial, no refund” revenue phenomena. With Game Pass, no longer will that sales phenomena be viable.
Game Pass Dilemma
The dilemma created by Game Pass may be so pronounced that it causes many smaller publishers to fold. Many may choose either not to participate in Game Pass, if possible. If Microsoft is currently forcing publishers to participate to release their games on the Xbox, it may force publishers to no longer produce games on the Xbox.
I’ve spoken entirely of Microsoft up to this point, but I would be remiss by not calling out Sony. Sony has, to this date, not chosen to create a similar product for the PlayStation. I can understand why. First, Sony needs to see how this product pans out for Microsoft. Second, Sony is well aware of how Game Pass can easily undercut game developer profits and undermine the PlayStation as a result. That’s easy to predict. Sony is in rightly in “wait and see” mode.
Microsoft hasn’t always been the smartest company when it comes to gaming. They’ve made a number of mistakes in the recent past, both at E3 and at other events. It’s clear, Microsoft’s product offerings can sometimes take unexpected turns. Game Pass offers a great deal for the consumer, but it’s not so great a deal if you happen to be a game developer relying on the old “no trial, no refund” system. Game Pass will most definitely take a bite out of the old sales model. Exactly how much of a bite remains to be seen.
For now, Microsoft may have set aside money for subsidizing royalty payments to publishers who adopt early into Game Pass. That money will eventually dry up leaving publishers holding the bag (and with less overall revenue). Sony has taken a smarter “wait and see” position to see how Game Pass unfolds for both gamers and game developers alike. Game Pass is a risky move for Microsoft. It could work out quite well as cost savings to gamers at the cost of reducing overall publisher revenues. How those down revenues might impact the industry overall remains to be seen, but lower predicted revenues will mean fewer games.
Hopefully, this answers your question as to why Game Pass is “so cheap” and how it may impact the game industry.
No evidence of it ever increasing in price, In fact they have specified it being volume based. The estimates are from 10 Million to 11 Million users. At high volume it is sustainable. A majority of new games are 1st or lack of a better term 2nd party developers. Witg the few newer 3rd party triple A titl… Read More
Everything is going subscription based. Unless you have to own your own Music CD’s Blu-ray Discs Movies or Video Games which you will quickly get bored of and never play again and that goes for Movies and Music it makes sense to just rent them with a subscription and save a ton of money unless your a col… Read More
Your logic doesn’t nearly hold to existing, similar products, seeing as:
Spotify is 14 years old and going, Apple Music is even older.
Secondly, most of everything else your saying only applies for people who don’t care about playing games with other people.
Why?
Virtually all games have a multiplayer “life-… Read More
Microsoft is committed to the future of “Play Anywhere”.
To do this and stay ahead of a changing gaming landscape, MS needs to satisfy the habits of their existing player base and encourage PC gamers to tie in to the Xbox Live network. It’s a “long play” strategy.
There’s no profit at all in selling consoles for MS.
The hardware is merely the bait—pitched at a price which covers costs and captures a player base. Profit comes from sales of games, apps, accessories, media sales and the push towards “games and apps as a ser
I agree with David Caune and Brian Wright on their assessment. Microsoft is offereing Ultimate Game Pass for cheap, because it is a marketing move. Let’s put it this way: When you watch TV, and you see a commercial saying “Order now for $9.99 a month!” Why do you think that is…? They want you to buy the product thinking that it’s cheap. Wright was correct. It’s a Marketing ploy. In reality, Ultimate Game Pass costs more to produce as a service, but they want to pull you in, and they want you to understand their business model. So, that “long play” strategy comes into play.
When Microsoft introd
Is Xbox game pass worth it?
How can I get an Xbox Ultimate Game Pass for free?
Do you think Xbox Game Pass is worth the money? What are some of the better games on there?
I just bought the ultimate game pass for my son on his xbox 1. I paid $1 for one month, there is a $14.99 monthly fee for every month after the first one. Now, how many millions of gamers do you think will purchase a $1 month for unlimited games, then cancel after that month? Voila, they’ve made shit loads of money In 1 month.
It’s so cheap because they want as many people as possible to buy it. They’re betting that those who’ve tried for cheap will like it so much they’ll continue to subscribe. If you subscribe you won’t be buying games included with game pass, and you won’t want to loose the games you like, you’re likely to keep paying out for game pass, after all, full price per year is the equivalent of one new AAA game per year.
Thank you for the A2A
Well, we can’t be sure since we’re not MS but there’s a couple of possible reasons.
By bundling all three together they get people who were only interested in one or two parts “trying” the one they didn’t want since they have it. This already worked on me I picked up GP Ultimate because it was cheaper than my Gold + Xbox Gamepass subs, guess what I was just doing before coming to Quora? playing a PC gamepass title.
Game streaming looks like it might actually be viable in the near future, which seeing how disruptive movie streaming was. By bundling the PC game pass, Xbox game
Why is the ultimate game pass being offered for $1? It’s a promotion. Microsoft runs these kind of offers a lot. You can start a membership for $1 and then pay the regular price when you renew. I my opinion having both Xbox Gold and game pass in one membership is totally worth it. Just remember though, once your account has redeemed the $1 offer (which is normally offered to new members) it can redeem that offer again.
Microsoft wants people to support it. It’s cheap for now, but they want people to jump onboard and continue to use it into the future.
gamer warrior Network 