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Should Sony invest in it's game pass type service?

Should Sony invest in it's own game pass?

  • Of course you dummy, Sony is severely tunnel visioned, Meanwhile Xbox has looked far into future

    Votes: 41 30.4%
  • I don't know dawg, this game pass thing is all smoke and mirrors if the games aren't of high quality

    Votes: 48 35.6%
  • I just buy 2 exclusives a year from Sony, I think I can afford their games and then some

    Votes: 17 12.6%
  • Can you please let me pre order the PS5 for god's sake Sony

    Votes: 11 8.1%
  • I am day one on Xbox Series S/X

    Votes: 18 13.3%

  • Total voters
    135
So Xbox recently posted 15 million subs to their netflix style subscription dubbed Game Pass. These are seriously high numbers and really helps Microsoft push forward with their focus on a streaming/digital games future. Where you don't need to worry about buying a game at full price, merely being a subscriber will give you access to the full fledged game. It could be an indie game or a AAA game or a AAAA game or an episodic type game. PS Now, I don't quite recollect the the sub count, is it what 2 mil subscribers? Should Sony focus on building a game pass type service to increase their value proposition as we step into next gen territory? Jimbo in an interview said game pass style subscription isn't a sustainable model. Well if that's the case Microsoft wouldn't have taken that route no? Perhaps it's a high risk high reward scenario and only Microsoft can afford what it's doing today. From the 7.5billion dollar acquisition of Zenimax/Bethesda to adding EA games to it's super attractive game pass. Xbox gamers around the world just need to sign up for game pass and they get their exclusives and multiplats on day one for free. Meanwhile you've got Sony jacking up the prices for their exclusives to $90 dollars in Europe and other parts of the world and $70 in the US. Can gamers sustain this insanely high priced exclusive games model?

Do you think Sony should rebrand PS Now and build their game pass over that product? What are your thoughts GAF.
 
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speedomodel

Member
I mean they have PS Now, right?
tenor.gif
 
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StreetsofBeige

Gold Member
Sony already has PS Now. The only core differences are no day one Sony games, and their recent gen additions arent as good. In return you get tons of PS1-PS3 games.

PS Now can transform to GP if they added first party day one games. They already add them, but years later.
 
Sony already has PS Now. The only core differences are no day one Sony games, and their recent gen additions arent as good. In return you get tons of PS1-PS3 games.

PS Now can transform to GP if they added first party day one games. They already add them, but years later.
I was looking through the PSNow game list last night. There was nothing recent on it. I was a bit surprised.
 
I honestly thought Xbox dropped the ball again this gen. Like being at the point of no coming back. But holy shit, this past week has been an eye opener. Jim Ryan dropped the ball even harder, is full of shit and had to admit the whole "we believe in generations" was a big lie. He then doubled Xbox's 2 years or crossgen games, to 3-4 years for playstation. Then Bethesda acquisition! Now we have a million and one threads of fanboys worrying about Xbox, Gamepass, etc. Someone please tell me how crow tastes? Never tried it before.


(Not calling OP a fanboy, just saying in general, you'll see it in many threads)
 

Jtibh

Banned
It'd have been nice of them to add Tlou and Tlou Part II in that ps collection, feels like a missed opportunity
If they want to expand subs they need to put something big on psnow for the ps5 release.
Everyone has psplus.
You wanna know what i played recently on psnow?

Katamari and toy story with my daughter.

I dont expect day one releases but also dont make us wait for a whole year.
 

diffusionx

Gold Member
Doing a GamePass type thing is not just a service you throw out there, it is a fundamental change to the way the company does business. Sony clearly still believes the typical console business model works fine. So the question is, will GamePass upend the industry and Sony will be stuck like Blockbuster to MS' Netflix? That's the key question. If that is the case, then they should do it.
 

MrS

Banned
No. They can't afford to engage in a race to the bottom with MS. It would be wrong for them to devalue their sensational IP. Pretty much all of the Sony exclusives last gen were worth the entry fee. They don't need to get in the mud with MS when they have top drawer games that people want to pay full price for.
 

LordOfChaos

Member
I'm somewhere between option 1 and 2 but voted 1, but if Zenimax games go on Gamepass...Megaton. And yes I think Sony should think about it, but as they said it might not work with the investment in many AAA titles.
 
Nope.

Gamepass devaluates games and is anti-consumer.

Like when they still ask 70€/$ for a physical version or digital download, but also shout out the message of "hey, get hunderds of games by paying same as 1 full game costs/year, so one game is worth next to nothing, basically free to play"

Only way it would be fair is to drop launch prices of games to 1-15€/$ area.


Now they just say: buy our game pass, or pay full price, fuck you!

Same as ps+ customers would get free cyberpunk and others would have to pay 70€, not fair at all
 
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Gloggins

Member
I mean the main difference is no Day 1 first party games. They explained why that won't happen.

It's much better than 1 year ago but more should be announced by November. Like all first party PS2 and PS3 games added. Increase streaming resolution to 1080p. More and more recent monthly additions. Advertise it more aggressively.

But I'm some nob on a forum, what do I know.
 

Maxwell Jacob Friedman

leads to fear. Fear leads to xbox.
Why would they want a gamepass service when their games already sell bangers? Sony had probably soon to be 10 million + ips in their portfolio from this gen and people think they would make a service where thats cut in half?
 
Sony has several variants already but they need to consolidate, plus streaming shouldn't be the primary means to access content ala PSNow. But I am on Ryan's side when he states that the GamePass model isn't sustainable. It definitely raises the floor for your overall outlook, but it really, really lowers the ceiling for your potential earnings, especially your biggest games. The only way to make it viable is scale, meaning you'd need a significant number of users to make it work, plus MS is the one who gets to experience the upside, not the individual studios (albeit I imagine their is some pro-rata apportionment based on which games are being played in the same way Spotify handles their revenue sharing).

MS is subsidizing all their studios who wouldn't sell copies if offered standalone by the revenues their whale projects would generate (Halo, Forza, Bethesda, etc.). Add to the calculus the operating expense of the biggest studios and something is going to give.
 
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Kokoloko85

Member
Nope.
Day 1 on Ps now, would mean less sales for the big games.

Less sales means less money = less money for studios for future projects.

Considering Xbox came out and said gamepass doesnt make much profit. I dont know how they will fund all 24 studios with gamepass. So not a great idea for Sony considering they make most money on selling games


PS PLus Collection and there model for PS now is ok.
Just add more old games like how Nintendo does it
 
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I agree the business model is not sustainable in the long run, games are more and more expensive to make, and you can't expect to a game company to give away full priced 70+ bucks games every month for a small subscription fee each month and call it a day.

Truth is, I think Microsoft is going for this model for the following reasons:

1 - They don't really have many exclusives coming for the first two years of their console's life (or at all). This means they will be making like 500+ bucks from subscriptions off early adopters and giving them rather crappy launch and meh games. By the time the killer apps come, they will already have extracted tons of money off customers.
2 - They feel that they can't really sell the hardware without having a service like this.
3 - By the time the actual must-own exclusives begin to appear (mostly the bethesda stuff) , they will probably readjust the monthly price, claiming that it's too low for the value you're getting... By then they are probably banking on the fact many ppl would have bought an Xbox console , and will be kinda stuck paying the higher price. Basically it's easy to charge low for a service with lackluster games on it for a couple of years, tricking new users to jump in , then jack up the price one the people own the console and are invested in the brand...
4 - They are filthy rich , and are willing to lose money if it means increasing their share and getting PS5 users and PC users to suscribe to their monthly service... Then they will jack the price once they have enough members and the have hurt the competition.

Said model wouldn't work for Sony because:

1 - They have tons of 70$ exclusives coming in the near future, many of them costing beaucoup bucks to develop over multiple years . Would be dumb to give them away for next to nothing, and I don't think Sony needs to do so anyway, as these game will sell at full price.
2 - Sony doesn't feel like they need a subscription service to sell their hardware and games, as their exclusives are what makes them the bulk of their money anyway.
3 - Since good exclusives will be available pretty much from launch , and since they would probably have to inflate price to like 30 per month to make a profit out of it, it's not a really convincing model for them.

In the end it's a good model if you don't have many exclusives and want to make people pay all year round for a subscription instead of buying a couple of games every where, but when you actually have tons of great games to sell your customers, you're better not having a subscription model...
 
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I find it hilarious How some people think like Sony is the one that need to copy others model like they are not the ones who have been leading this industry for só many years
 
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LarknThe4th

Member
I have said it previously on here, PS NOW by the end of the generation in anticipation of the PS6 will have been molded into a Gamepass like service

Now I said that yesterday, today.... well I am certain that is what's going to happen, and you can easily afford big budget games with a Gamepass service, ya just need about 40 million subs and of course Sony can get that many people to buy in, they need to start setting it up now though and have it ready for rollout in the next 5 years or they will fall WAAAAY!! behind next gen, coast on the big exclusives for the PS5 and then get into the sub space next gen
 

Bryank75

Banned
Stick to the plan but they need to stop pushing higher game prices in Europe.... it's already higher here than everywhere else.

They need to get more exclusives and more big studios / publishers.
 

Jadsey

Member
Fuck no.

PlayStation and Nintendo need to hold away from that business model or we will all end up playing third-rate, no effort, subscription filler titles.
 

protonion

Member
Someone who has patience should do the math, because I just do not see how this subscription model will ever lead to profit.

-PS5 without game pass.
I buy Spiderman at launch. Sony gets 30(?) dollars.

-PS5 with game pass.
Spiderman is there day one so I don't buy it and give Sony 10 dollars through game pass. Those 10 dollars will be split between all publishers that have games at that time.
How? By time played? Fixed amount? Cost of game?

If I was a publisher I wouldn't even want my game there unless sales died completely.

What is Sony getting in the end? 2 dollars?

Again, someone should the math but it feels like you need 100 million subscribers (full price) plus mtx revenue to have something going. And I don't think big publishers will even think to have their games there day one. So subscription on top of game purchases. No thanks.
 
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SkylineRKR

Member
Doing a GamePass type thing is not just a service you throw out there, it is a fundamental change to the way the company does business. Sony clearly still believes the typical console business model works fine. So the question is, will GamePass upend the industry and Sony will be stuck like Blockbuster to MS' Netflix? That's the key question. If that is the case, then they should do it.

This is my main question as well.

Will charging 70-80 for a game be sustainable in the long term versus simply subbing for a lower fee and get lots of those games you likely only finish once anyway. On top of that, Sony wants you to pay for online and if you want to use Now its another separate sub. Access on PS4 is another sub as well.

Sony has the most expensive model, its traditional and I'd advise them to at least merge Now with Plus.

But would Gamepass exist without Sony? Those publishers know they will get their traditional sales and revenues on a Sony console. Would they agree if MS was the only player?
 
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Ozrimandias

Member
Been waiting for PS Now like 7 years, on the paper was an awesome service, but it turns out to be a big lie, no ps one classic, just a few ps2 classics, not available worldwide, with ridiculous prices at the beginning, it took half the time to microsoft to put its service.
 

Agent X

Member
Sony should certainly build onto and improve PlayStation Now, but they don't need to clone what Microsoft is doing with Xbox Game Pass. There are several areas where PS Now is already superior to Xbox Game Pass, and those are the things that they should not change.

Will charging 70-80 for a game be sustainable in the long term versus simply subbing for a lower fee and get lots of those games you likely only finish once anyway. On top of that, Sony wants you to pay for online and if you want to use Now its another separate sub. Access on PS4 is another sub as well.

You're mistaken.

The subscription to PS Now gets access on both PS4 and PC. Also, online play is already included in the package for the games in the service--you do not need PS Plus to play online.
 

NEbeast

Member
I honestly thought Xbox dropped the ball again this gen. Like being at the point of no coming back. But holy shit, this past week has been an eye opener. Jim Ryan dropped the ball even harder, is full of shit and had to admit the whole "we believe in generations" was a big lie. He then doubled Xbox's 2 years or crossgen games, to 3-4 years for playstation. Then Bethesda acquisition! Now we have a million and one threads of fanboys worrying about Xbox, Gamepass, etc. Someone please tell me how crow tastes? Never tried it before.


(Not calling OP a fanboy, just saying in general, you'll see it in many threads)

People keep spouting this cross gen for 4 years nonsense. Just because they are supporting ps4 for a few years does not mean all FPG will be cross gen.

Props to xbox though, Zemimax is a massive acquisition. Gamepass is looking mighty good now.
 
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People keep spouting this cross gen for 4 years nonsense. Just because they are supporting ps4 for a few years does not mean all FPG will be cross gen.

Props to xbox though, Zemimax is a massive acquisition. Gamepass is looking mighty good now.
They haven't stated otherwise, so it's not a wrong assumption to make. Anyone's guess is as good as yours or mine.

And definitely agreed about gamepass. I seriously didn't see this coming from a mile away.
 

SkylineRKR

Member
Sony should certainly build onto and improve PlayStation Now, but they don't need to clone what Microsoft is doing with Xbox Game Pass. There are several areas where PS Now is already superior to Xbox Game Pass, and those are the things that they should not change.



You're mistaken.

The subscription to PS Now gets access on both PS4 and PC. Also, online play is already included in the package for the games in the service--you do not need PS Plus to play online.

For the games in the service?

So if I want to play CoD or BF online, I still need Plus. Its a shitty deal.
 

Roronoa Zoro

Gold Member
They should not make it day one. Get the actual sales so the games keep their high budgets and get rewarded for years of work. Now if they wanna do a model where the games all come to PSNow after 6 months that could work
 

Great Hair

Banned
If Microsoft was selling 15 to 22million copies of Halos, Gears, Forza as God of War, Horizon, Spiderman, Zelda, that brawler game or pokamen ..

a) gamepass would not exist
b) play anywhere would not exist
c) a+b = you all pc gamers, would be converted to xbox gamers

Give you thanks to none other than
Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo, Ltd. ;)
 

Agent X

Member
For the games in the service?

So if I want to play CoD or BF online, I still need Plus.

It's simple. If the games are in PS Now, then you don't need a separate PS Plus subscription to play them online. If the games are not in PS Now, then you do need PS Plus to play online.

In this regard, it is better than Microsoft's offering, where you must pay for Xbox Live Gold to play any game online, regardless of whether the game is in Xbox Game Pass or not.
 

Alebrije

Member
Why people think Sony is on trouble at this moment? They are printing money like crazy at this moment a will keep doing this and at least during 2021.

Yep Bethesda is a big studio but it took 7.5 billons from MS money in exchange of future games but not magically we will get Fallout 5 by 2021.

Microsoft lack of creativity obligue to bleed money buying studios, lossing money on new console, do not know about gamepass but certainly current price is temporal.

Sony will react? Depends of the games MS delivers next years...meanwhile Sony will keep its strategy .
 
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