PCG Article Game Pass can't stay this good a deal forever (PCG Article)

[ZedClampet]

Enjoy Microsoft's subscription service while it's still so cheap—and has such a diverse library.

Things to expect: higher sub prices, worse deals for developers, probably still a crappy app...

 

[WoodenSaucer]

I agree that the price will probably go up at some point in time. I doubt if it will skyrocket, though. But I don't agree much with the writer of the article. They're comparing it to Movie Pass. You can't compare a service started and maintained by the behemoth, called Microsoft, to a smalltime movie service started by hacks that can't sustain it. They're totally different animals.

No, I believe Game Pass is definitely here to stay.

 

[Brian Boru]

I've been on MS's Office 365 for a decade since it launched, still the same price today but the value has increased hugely—dozens of extra apps added, dozens of extra usage points [ie users and devices] added, and of course the regular rolling upgrades.

MS has just implemented the first price increase for enterprise users in a decade, so there may be a price increase for consumers sometime soon. It's huge value tho for what you get.

Point being, a large part of MS's 10s success was driven by 365, so my guess is they'll adopt a similar strategy with Game Pass—infrequent small price increases alongside significant increases in value.

<aside>
There are 3 things to look at with paying for products & services. Price, cost, and value. They are significantly different, but people tend to focus mostly on price—presumably because it's the only one with a number obviously attached. You'll make better financial decisions if you figure in cost and value.
</aside>

 

[WoodenSaucer]

I've been on MS's Office 365 for a decade since it launched, still the same price today but the value has increased hugely—dozens of extra apps added, dozens of extra usage points [ie users and devices] added, and of course the regular rolling upgrades.

MS has just implemented the first price increase for enterprise users in a decade, so there may be a price increase for consumers sometime soon. It's huge value tho for what you get.

Point being, a large part of MS's 10s success was driven by 365, so my guess is they'll adopt a similar strategy with Game Pass—infrequent small price increases alongside significant increases in value.

<aside>
There are 3 things to look at with paying for products & services. Price, cost, and value. They are significantly different, but people tend to focus mostly on price—presumably because it's the only one with a number obviously attached. You'll make better financial decisions if you figure in cost and value.
</aside>

Yeah, I agree with your assessment.

It's hard to believe Office 365 has been around a decade. I just started using it a couple of years ago. I used to buy the standalone versions, but the thing that got me to dive in was the extra cloud storage of OneDrive. I was considering paying for more storage on Google Drive, and it wasn't going to be much more to get that, plus all of the Office apps on Office 365. Well, now it's called Microsoft 365.

But think about Netflix. I dumped Netflix a little over a year ago. I was getting to the point that I was thinking about getting it back again, but then I saw the price was a lot higher, and they also announced another price increase. So I'm not signing back up because of that. Eventually a subscription service would get to where its value doesn't match its price, and supply and demand will kick in and balance it out. If a service isn't worth the price, they're not going to make any sales.

 

[Brian Boru]

Netflix

Both Netflix and Movie Pass are one-trick ponies—they have to sell their service to stay afloat. This makes them very vulnerable to market moves, and especially vulnerable to hostile competitor action, eg if a big guy decides to eat their lunch. Think boss battle without armor—rogue-like.

MS is one of those big guys, and so not vulnerable in the same way. A good example is Windows, which once was MS's lunch, and now they're giving it away—and maybe pushing consumers towards Linux.

So MS can use Game Pass as part of a strategy, without worrying if it'll sell for a few years—in a similar way to Epic's strategy with their store. MS has no doubt noticed that gaming is bigger than music + movies combined, so I expect Game Pass will remain a membership driver for a long time—into 30s at least—so MS can cash in on the coming booms in VR and AR.

 

[WoodenSaucer]

Both Netflix and Movie Pass are one-trick ponies—they have to sell their service to stay afloat. This makes them very vulnerable to market moves, and especially vulnerable to hostile competitor action, eg if a big guy decides to eat their lunch. Think boss battle without armor—rogue-like.

MS is one of those big guys, and so not vulnerable in the same way. A good example is Windows, which once was MS's lunch, and now they're giving it away—and maybe pushing consumers towards Linux.

So MS can use Game Pass as part of a strategy, without worrying if it'll sell for a few years—in a similar way to Epic's strategy with their store. MS has no doubt noticed that gaming is bigger than music + movies combined, so I expect Game Pass will remain a membership driver for a long time—into 30s at least—so MS can cash in on the coming booms in VR and AR.

Yeah, you're exactly right about all of that. And I'll tell you this: Game Pass is a pretty big incentive for people to buy their consoles, too. And it's been shown that Game Pass subscribers are actually some of the bigger purchasers of games from their store. Personally, since I've had Game Pass, I haven't bought one game. But I guess a lot of people do.

 

[Brian Boru]

I dumped Netflix a little over a year ago

Now look what you've done!

Netflix loses subscribers for first time in more than 10 years - BBC News

 

[WoodenSaucer]

Now look what you've done!

Netflix loses subscribers for first time in more than 10 years - BBC News

Haha. I just saw that yesterday. And it's all because of me!