The Gamers Arms

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/ ... -ambitions

Netflix for games - its that mantra again. I have heard that so many times back in 2018 I got bored of it. This statement by Satya Nadella contradicts a previous statement from Phil Spencer that subscription is not king, but Nadella is the big boss, so his word counts more. Microsoft do have big plans for subscription and Project xCloud. They will being out Game Pass to the PC and most likely a partnership with Android but fuck knows how you play big games on a mobile device. Copying the Nintendo model of "doing a Switch" only goes so far as many games are not designed like Nintendo's portfolio, so a mobile device will be pretty useless for a lot of game mechanics.

Personally, after experiencing Origin Access, I am all for a PC subscription to Game Pass provided the price is right. Games to me is becoming more and more like movie or TV consumption. Play once, move on. If I loved a game I could always buy it (on a sale), so renting games to me is not a big deal, but I know for some owning is everything and I wholly understand.

The biggest downside to Game Pass is the regularity of adding new content. With Access, I am not that fussed to play EA games on day 1 but I might want to play some of Ubisoft games or Bethesda games or other publishers on day 1. I very much doubt any subscription will have that. So in some ways this is very much a Netflix of games - a huge back catalog of old games, the occasional good 1st party game from Microsoft and the rest is just dross.

I think you are misrepresenting Game Pass. Since E3 they have really stepped up what they are offering on the service and Microsoft has been adding a load of games that are not Microsoft games. We've had Ashen, Below, Ori, PUBG, Mortal Kombat X, Just Cause 3, Marvel v Capcom 3 and Absolver to name a few. I think it's the best thing Microsoft are currently doing and is easily worth the current subscription price.

I did say I was interested and that most of their catalogue is old and judging from the games you have quoted, they are old.

Ashen and Below came out in December and PUBG isn't what I would term as an old game.