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Subscription model vs Buying games

reksveks

Member
Since 2012, I have played an average 45 games a year, so about 4 a month

New games I can't wait to play: I always buy day 1 and then sell them back. I bought Tales of Arise last week at £41.85 and this week I will sell it for £36.00 exactly.

Sounds a lot like renting but ehh.
 

StreetsofBeige

Gold Member
If you want to be the ultimate cheapo, just do what I do best of both worlds:

- Home Share with a friend and split the cost of all sub plans and games bought
- Game Pass for cheap ($1 upgrade)
- Buy most games on deal
- Only buy day one games at full price for the games both of you really want and cant wait too long or be destroyed as Christmas Noobs (ie. COD)

Add it up and the amount of money we've spent on sub plans and games since Xbox One arrived and allowed Home Sharing is dirt cheap.

Way different than eras ago where everyone bought their own shit and sub plans.
 
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Both and I find subscription complements owning the games incredibly well. E.g.: I wouldn't have bought Psychonauts 2 at release price, finished it through Gamepass and will definitely want to add it to my game library through a sale. Maybe a bad example because it's an MS game and might never leave Gamepass but it works for any game within a sub.

Anything I want to own outright I'll just do so regardless of it being in Gamepass or not like Elden Ring.
 
I prefer to own (physically or digitally) because I don't keep current with my gaming and tend to play as the mood strikes. Being tied to a subscription would make me feel obligation to play certain games before they're removed, and I don't enjoy that sensation. I want to just play what I want, when I want. (Subs can be great deals though, for sure.)
 

reksveks

Member
The major difference being that he keeps the games he wants to keep. Renting doesn't offer that advantage.
True, it would be a bad thing if you couldn't buy it whilst subscribing (I do wish Microsoft discount % was slightly greater but won't complain too much since I have had a number of titles I bought with playanywhere)
 
I am having conflicting views on this topic.

One 1 hand, I like buying games. Its great feeling to own what you like, and play as much as you want.

On other hand, Subs model have the games day1 on 15$ a month sub. You can cancel it anytime. This makes me buying day1 games on these service, look like a stupid person who wasted his money.

Owning games
Pros:
1: Achievement of buying the game
2: The ability's to replay those games as much as you want to.
3: You can keep them for a long time, in a physical form.
4: Discounts if you are a patient guy.

Cons
1: You have to spend 60$-70$ day1.
2: Those games are on a sub model at a cheaper price.

Subscription model
Pros
1: Great catalogue for cheap.
2: Entry is 10$, 15$ ,60$ yearly
3: Day1 on some services.
4: You can sub, cancel and resub at anytime.

Cons
1:You have to constituently pay every month to keep the games.
2: Games leave the service
3: You cant keep those games. you only have 1 month to complete them.

As a pc guy, I have 3 service Subscription model that is available to me.

EA play, which is at 5$, and 15$ a month. Ea play basic allows me to play most of their games. New games have 6 month wait time. Plus has day1 games. Same thing for Gamepass, and Uplay+.

This upcoming games like Far cry 6, can be played on Uplay+ for 15$. Battlefield 2042 can be played on ea play+ for 15$. Same for halo on gamepass.

How do I Justify buying games, When these things exist on pc.

Help me with your opinion gaffers.
I think you're confuse with PS Now and Xbox Game Pass.

With Xbox Game Pass Ultimate you'll get...

Perks
Discounts
- 20% off Games
- 10% off DLC

EA Play...
10% off games Discount
10% off DLCs Discount

All available within Xbox ecosystem
 

yenside578

Neo Member
As a person that is married , have a fulltime job and prefer to play a good story base game (mainly JRPGs). Buying the game is more worth it for me. Once I see a game I like I usually buy it and spend a good a couple months to play it once I have time. I do see the benefit for a subscription model but I don't have the time to play all the games that is offer on there and if I do have see a game I like, lets say Yakuza it would take me months to finished the game. which makes the game more expensive the buying the game .
 
Subscription services only flaw is that games leave the service. But then you just buy them. The difference between GamePass and something like Netflix is that anything on GamePass is not only available outside of GamePass but you also get a discount to buy it.

I don’t feel any “achievement” when I buy a physical game. Most of my physical games end up collecting dust.
 

Nico_D

Member
I've been playing games on game pass after I got the Box. Suits me well. Playing games for cheap and saving the rest of my monthly gaming money for the future.

If I want to keep some game forever, then I'll buy it instead on any of the three consoles - mostly JRPGs I loved. But honestly, most games are just one and done.
 

SquillieDee

Member
Gaming subscription services don't make any sense for me.

Games are fucking dirt cheap. Almost free. I never pay more than 20 euros for a game, and now that i bought a pc. even less..

Games take forever to play through. I don't have enough time to play the 10 games i buy or so each year.

With this in mind. Why would i limit my self to the limited library of an subscription service. I much rather choose freely what to play.
but not all games are dirt cheap, and not all games take forever to finish. some of my most enjoyable games this year were kind of short, and I never would have tried them if I had to pay full price for them (Psychonauts 2, 12 minutes, Artful Escape for example)
 

MacReady13

Member
I really despise this trend of sub services. I just do what I have done my whole adult life going back to the SNES- I purchase the games I know I will play and the rest I wait for a deep sale months/years down the track and pick it up cheap. For example, I knew Resi 3 remake was a poor remake compared to part 2 so I waited almost a year for it to go really cheap (sub $20) and purchased it. I felt I spent the right amount for a game like that. I don't feel the need to spend close to $20 a month to THEN purchase the game I want at a discount! I'll just wait for it to go on special and, when i'm ready, purchase it then. I don't have the need to have 200+ games sitting there waiting for me to play them all.
 

Bryank75

Banned
If you've been a gamer for any length of time, your backlog is probably immense...

I have all of the Tomb Riaders, Bioshocks, Deus Ex games, POE, countless racers, Batman, nearly all the Yakuza games etc etc many from PS+

Then you have things like PS+ collection for free basically.

These along with Destiny and other online perpetual games are what you play between main releases usually.

But the juice is the big titles.... GOW, Horizon, Spider-man, R&C, Elden Ring, GT7, Forza, Ghost of Tsushima, Battlefield 2042, RDR2, Persona, Final Fantasy etc.

For me, a sub service is for people who are new to gaming or for some reason do not have a backlog.
 

Men_in_Boxes

Snake Oil Salesman
But the juice is the big titles.... GOW, Horizon, Spider-man, R&C, Elden Ring, GT7, Forza, Ghost of Tsushima, Battlefield 2042, RDR2, Persona, Final Fantasy etc.

For many people (core gamers), "the juice" is with AA or indie titles where you'll find more creativity and innovation. It's possible to view the casual gamers as the demographic for the "big titles" where creativity often takes a back seat to production values.
 

Tmac

Member
Can you reconcile both models? I'm not so sure about that...

I fear that if subscription models prevails, game will drift even more towards incomplete buy dlc/loot model to make up the difference.
 

Schmick

Member
If you've been a gamer for any length of time, your backlog is probably immense...

I have all of the Tomb Riaders, Bioshocks, Deus Ex games, POE, countless racers, Batman, nearly all the Yakuza games etc etc many from PS+

Then you have things like PS+ collection for free basically.

These along with Destiny and other online perpetual games are what you play between main releases usually.

But the juice is the big titles.... GOW, Horizon, Spider-man, R&C, Elden Ring, GT7, Forza, Ghost of Tsushima, Battlefield 2042, RDR2, Persona, Final Fantasy etc.

For me, a sub service is for people who are new to gaming or for some reason do not have a backlog.
I've mentioned this to you before. Sub service is also for gamers who want to play with friends and alot of friends at that. There are 8 of us in my group of friends. All Gamepass subscribers. The ease of being able to pick a game knowing that everyone in the group has the same game is soo convenient.

In response to the OT, I'm both. I subscribe and I buy. I have no issue about game ownership. All I'm interested in is playing games.

When I consider it I'm quite involved with subscription services;

Gamepass
PS Now for PC
Netflix
Amazon Instant Video
Disney Plus
Amazon Music

But i also buy games. Mostly from the deals found on gg.deals. for me gaming has never been better except for hardware shortages, hiked up prices and COVID delaying the full transition to next gen.
 
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Bryank75

Banned
I've mentioned this to you before. Sub service is also for gamers who want to play with friends and alot of friends at that. There are 8 of us in my group of friends. All Gamepass subscribers. The ease of being able to pick a game knowing that everyone in the group has the same game is soo convenient.

Yeah but most of the biggest multiplayer games are free to play these days. I could see it for a few niche games... B4B or something.

But they should realize at Turtlerock that because they put it on Gamepass they alienate people on other platforms... I am not buying a game for 70 dollars or euro if other people get 'free' access to it.
 
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Schmick

Member
Yeah but most of the biggest multiplayer games are free to play these days. I could see it for a few niche games... B4B or something.

But they should realize at Turtlerock that because they put it on Gamepass they alienate people on other platforms... I am not buying a game for 70 dollars or euro if other people get 'free' access to it.
There are many games on Gamepass that are not f2p. We as a group are not necessarily interested in the big f2p games because to be quite frank we would suck at them. Too competitive.
 
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