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Tom Warren Gamepass subs dried up on xbox consoles long time ago

Bernoulli

M2 slut
IvMhiaV.jpg


 
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Tom Warren's tune is changing quite fast in 2024 it seems.

Sounds like the tide is changing for Xbox and quite soon.

Anyway, we knew this already. We never got a Gamepass update after 25M subscribers...that means it probably never got to 30M. It says everything you need to know.
 
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“You don’t get growth by targeting console sales. Console sales don’t matter.”

Ahh, I am sure then PC GamePass sales are growing at tremendous rates. Oh and TV ones too (GamePass on Samsung TVs)! The strategy is foolproof!
I know you're being sarcastic...but i'll add that subscriptions aren't all that. We've seen how they aren't the future in any business and aren't all that sustainable. Look what Disney Plus is doing to cheapen Disney even more. Look how it's ruining Marvel, Star Wars and most IPs.

The only thing subscriptions do is needing an almost limitless need to have new content no matter what it is. 99% is shit and 1% is actually damn great. This isn't a good business practice. And honestly? You can't apply this to videogames like that. Videogames aren't TV shows where you see them once and that's it. It's not something you can sell as a service instead of a product...and why? The ones that are services are F2P games anyway, you don't need to be subscribed to play them, like Fortite, LoL, etc
 
I subscribe to GamePass Ultimate for my Xbox Series X and PC but the truth is that I don't really make full use of as I play most games on my more powerful PC and hardly use the Xbox these days.

And even on PC I find myself constantly put off by Microsoft's clunky Xbox app that has an alarming tendency to 'break' game installs with updates and patches that then throw out infuriatingly vague error codes and an unhelpful 'please try later' message. I have actually got so fed up of these that I ended up uninstalling the GamePass version and actually buying the game on Steam instead!

There simply isn't enough interesting content on GamePass for me that isn't available on other systems and the Xbox's exclusives have been very underwhelming/disappointing so far, even games like Starfield and Forza Motorsport which are either dated (former) or just downright dull (latter).

Once I get an OLED monitor with HDR for my PC, which I intend getting this year, then I will have no use of the Xbox at all or GamePass. I loved the original Xbox and Xbox 360 but I feel that the Xbox has just lost its appeal and no longer has anything to offer me in the way of interesting games that I cannot play elsewhere (PC and PS5).
 
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Kdad

Member
Its no longer the no-brainer deal that it used to be as it's too expensive now. They lost 3 subs just from my house. Now 2 kids in my house only sub for 1 month when there is an expensive game they want to play and then cancel immediately.
All these sub/streaming services will eventually implement a minimum 3 or 6 month imo...it isn't sustainable for them to have the huge churn .
 
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winjer

Gold Member
Just casually dropping "next xbox is ARM hybrid" == streaming/mobile-phone-alike

That is just random unsubstantiated non-sense from him.
At this point we don't know any thing about the next consoles.
And even if it uses some ARM chip that does not mean it's for streaming games. ARM CPUs can be used for many things.
And streaming can use all types of CPUs, it's not exclusive to ARM.
And btw, both the PC5 and Series S/X already use ARM CPUs for the SSD's controller. So these systems already have a hybrid utilization of ARM and X86 CPUs.

All he proved was that he knows little to nothing about hardware.
 
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foamdino

Member
What I think it means is making a cheap $200 powerful console that gets a boost with the cloud
I work with ARM Cpus and they are actually very good for what we do with them. (and look at Apple hardware and the new snapdragons for how they can be pushed) so I'm not knocking ARM cpu architecture for a next xbox - I'm just pointing out that someone like Tom Warren seems to be pushing this now.
 

Clear

CliffyB's Cock Holster
Said it before, but I still think there's a fundamental misunderstanding at the heart of the whole GamePass strategy. The gaming market is just too disparate and divided in terms of interest groups for a Netflix-equivalent offer to ever work to the same degree.

You can't hook in all the sub-groups under a singular umbrella no matter how superficially value-packed the offer is. There's a level of commitment required to play games that simply isn't there with passive entertainments, and it gets wearying for the majority of users for whom there aren't enough hours in the day to try out everything.

And once that realization is reached... the value proposition stops looking so sweet, compounding the issues with retention.
 

Mr Hyde

Member
I only sub for a month here and there if it's something interesting I want to play but not pay full price for. After I played the game I cancel the sub. I do the same for PS Plus. No longer will I pay yearly for subs. Ain't worth it imo.
 
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Bernoulli

M2 slut
I only sub for a month here and there if it's something interesting I want to play but not pay full price for. After I played the game I cancel the sub. I do the same for PS Plus. No longer will I pay yearly for subs. Ain't worth it imo.
Same, I don't see how some stay subbed for years unless it's for the online games
 

JohnnyFootball

GerAlt-Right. Ciriously.
Tom Warren's tune is changing quite fast in 2024 it seems.

Sounds like the tide is changing for Xbox and quite soon.

Anyway, we knew this already. We never got a Gamepass update after 25M subscribers...that means it probably never got to 30M. It says everything you need to know.
"But...but...Xbox NEVER shares these numbers is my favorite response. They could be at 100M by now!"

Of course, they don't share them...because they suck. Business 101 - if you have success, you brag about it and convince fence sitters that it is THE product to get.
 

JohnnyFootball

GerAlt-Right. Ciriously.
There's a shit ton of PC's out there. Outside of that, it seems they're banking on streaming taking off.
It cracks me up that anyone with a functioning brain thinks that PC gamers will go for a subscription service that requires another launcher and not owning the game. There have been a shit ton of PCs out there for years and it has not moved the needle for MS in any significant way.

Xbox has been putting out PC versions of their games for years now.

Fun fact: I've actually gotten far more use out of PC Gamepass than I have Xbox Gamepass since I have used those games to earn achievements.
 
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Kurotri

Member
I'm inept when it comes to technical stuff..someone tell me what hybrid arm means like I'm a 12 year old.
 
You are right and I take no comfort from this. The Xbox 360 era was incredible and Xbox blew it afterwards. I’ll never understand how or why.


They thought they had more power in the field than they really did. They took the success of the 360 and felt that they could then levy things *they* wanted, such as Always Online(has to check in), no Used games, Kinect required(camera) for Xbox One.

Then when Mattrick was pressed on it by Keighley(and you can look this up) he basically said "We don't care. Buy a 360."

What happened was no one wanted that and Sony absolutely smashed them by doing NONE of that, rubbing it in their faces they WEREN'T doing that and launching a stronger system at $100 less.

It also(and I was with them at the time) angered GameStop, then a major player in the industry. They deliberately refused to stock much of it, further forcing the backpedal on those policies.

It is somewhat of a miracle they survived that disaster.
 

SJRB

Gold Member
F7B5InOWoAAI7PK


- console sales tanking
- gamepass subs dried up
- game studios releasing dreadful games
- not a single banger on the near horizon
- games from studios they recently bought all underperformed or strongly disliked


Things aren't looking too hot.
 

Heisenberg007

Gold Journalism
Tom Warren's tune is changing quite fast in 2024 it seems.

Sounds like the tide is changing for Xbox and quite soon.

Anyway, we knew this already. We never got a Gamepass update after 25M subscribers...that means it probably never got to 30M. It says everything you need to know.
Shill "journalists" got the latest script, so they're trying their best to calm down the hardcore fans.

q2QNKq6.jpg
 

Xion_Stellar

People should stop referencing data that makes me feel uncomfortable because games get ported to platforms I don't like
"But...but...Xbox NEVER shares these numbers is my favorite response. They could be at 100M by now!"

Of course, they don't share them...because they suck. Business 101 - if you have success, you brag about it and convince fence sitters that it is THE product to get.
They used to share console sales and then they stop doing that.

They used share Xbox Live subscriptions and then they stop doing that.

They used to announce Game pass milestones and haven't done that in a while.

At this point I'm expecting them to bundle all of the numbers I just mentioned into the amount of how many Windows activation keys where used in that particular year and try to spin that as a positive to their investors.
 
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JohnnyFootball

GerAlt-Right. Ciriously.
F7B5InOWoAAI7PK


- console sales tanking
- gamepass subs dried up
- game studios releasing dreadful games
- not a single banger on the near horizon
- games from studios they recently bought all underperformed or strongly disliked


Things aren't looking too hot.
Don't underestimate Hellbade 2!! According the fanboys it's the biggest and most important exclusive in years! it's totally gonna change the game....according to Cult Eastwood, TimDawg, Senjutsu. These guys get everything right....right?!
 

Kings Field

Member
Xbox partnering with Valve for Gamepass on deck would be bigger and better news.

Already use gamepass on deck. The Xbplay app makes it run perfectly. Only problem is it costs $6 and to some people that’s too much. I wish Xbox would have a native app however which I think will eventually happen.
 

JohnnyFootball

GerAlt-Right. Ciriously.
They used to share console sales and then they stop doing that.

They used share Xbox Live subscriptions and then they stop doing that.

They used to announce Game pass milestones and haven't done that in a while.

At this point I'm expecting them to bundle all of the numbers I just mentioned into the amount of how many Windows activation keys where used in that particular year and try to spin that as a positive to their investors.
I love the "12M players have played Starfield!" Yet how many of those 12M even earned the first achievement that you literally get for walking 5 minutes.
 

MikeM

Member
I just cancelled my GamePass sub on PC. Backlog is too massive.

They need to stick to the console base and grow it. The gamers that care buy consoles and the Series S is cheap enough in affordability.

I just don’t see who they are targeting with putting GP elsewhere. My dad? People who don’t invest in gaming as a hobby to begin with?
 

Topher

Gold Member
Already use gamepass on deck. The Xbplay app makes it run perfectly. Only problem is it costs $6 and to some people that’s too much. I wish Xbox would have a native app however which I think will eventually happen.

Yeah, but that only streams from an Xbox console. I doubt we will see a native Xbox app on Steam Deck. Microsoft wants those Steam sales.
 

Sorcerer

Member
Said it before, but I still think there's a fundamental misunderstanding at the heart of the whole GamePass strategy. The gaming market is just too disparate and divided in terms of interest groups for a Netflix-equivalent offer to ever work to the same degree.

You can't hook in all the sub-groups under a singular umbrella no matter how superficially value-packed the offer is. There's a level of commitment required to play games that simply isn't there with passive entertainments, and it gets wearying for the majority of users for whom there aren't enough hours in the day to try out everything.

And once that realization is reached... the value proposition stops looking so sweet, compounding the issues with retention.
Is that the real motivation behind Gamepass? Overwhelm you with games, play a few, time limit everything so you end up buying what you missed?
I still think first party games should come with all dlc included and as it is released. That really bummed me out.
 
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Flabagast

Member
Gamepass is a strategic dead end, they tried, it failed.

I just hope their studios (that de facto now only sell a fraction of what they sold before acquisition) will be fine
 

JohnnyFootball

GerAlt-Right. Ciriously.
They thought they had more power in the field than they really did. They took the success of the 360 and felt that they could then levy things *they* wanted, such as Always Online(has to check in), no Used games, Kinect required(camera) for Xbox One.

Then when Mattrick was pressed on it by Keighley(and you can look this up) he basically said "We don't care. Buy a 360."

What happened was no one wanted that and Sony absolutely smashed them by doing NONE of that, rubbing it in their faces they WEREN'T doing that and launching a stronger system at $100 less.

It also(and I was with them at the time) angered GameStop, then a major player in the industry. They deliberately refused to stock much of it, further forcing the backpedal on those policies.

It is somewhat of a miracle they survived that disaster.
That's debatable. Could they have recovered from it? Yes. Sony gave them a blueprint: Invest heavily in your first party studios and focus on quality, not quantity. IF Ms had done that, and had competent leadership at the helm. I think they would be quite healthy today. Not worthless sacks of shit like Matt Booty and Aaron Greenberg (Phil did SOME good things like BC).
 
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