What threat does Gamepass pose for Sony in the long run?

[Runa216]

JWeinCom said:

Runa216 said:

In my semi-defense (but not really)I hadn't even thought about PSNow before today when a friend mentioned it. I have no idea what games are on each service because I never looked too deeply into them. Streaming sucks, I never had any doubt about that, but I did some research and saw the numbers and saw that to my shock PS4's PSNow had 4x what GamePass had. I had heard some ads about what games were coming to PSNow, and they seemed like decent enough games. Again, I'm not interested in either service enough to purchase either one, so I didn't do a deep dive, but I still think that Sony's not in any real danger due to GamePass and won't be any time soon. If GamePass was a system seller, Xbox would be breaching 120 million units sold, not PS4. 

I do agree quality is more important than quality. That's one thing we all agree on when it's convenient. 

It's a nice option for those who want/need it, but I think there will always be a large group of people who want physical copies of games, who want to own their games, and don't want a commitment. Xbox has been pushing for their games to be a service or to limit players for a while; they wanted to make always-online DRM, and people had a fit about it. Now, they wanna tie people down with more monthly fees and require online connectivity? Same thing, different presentation. 

Well, look at the games lists. I think they speak for themselves.

Whether or not Sony's in real danger, they seem to be reacting to it. I believe that PSNow added the ability to download games fairly recently (about 2 years ago) once Gamepass started taking off. They've been adding more recent and high profile releases such as RE:7, FFXV, and SFV than they had in the past (although this still lags compared to Gamepass). And I also think PS Plus Collection was at least partially developed to counteract the value proposition of Gamepass for early adopters. 

As for saying Gamepass is the same thing as having an always on DRM requirement for the games already purchased... Are there really no differences in those situations? I feel like if you tried to play devil's advocate, you could come up with some...

Oh, there are differences between DRM and Gamepass/Now. no doubt. However, it's just another step towards taking control away from the consumer. Game companies have been trying to limit how much control people have for ages. they fought likened used games to piracy and fought it until people resisted, they tried to implement DRM in many ways and people resisted, Microsoft tried to make the Xbox One Always Online from the get-go and people resisted. now they're following in the path of Netflix and once again trying to control what people can play and how they can play it. It's not the same, but it's another way to get to the same point. 

Long story short, forcing us into monthly subscriptions and curating what is on there controls us, at least a bit. It's not inherently bad on its own - Netflix and other video streaming services are great - but for an interactive medium it does encourage playing now, playing often, and not waiting just in case something goes down. It forces you to be online. It's a good deal, for sure (Both Now and Gamepass, in their own ways), but it's just a far easier to digest version of Always Online DRM in a manner of speaking. 

I play games at my own pace. It's why I don't even borrow and never used to rent. It's also why I don't play Games as a Service games, games with recurrent spending, or many online games. IT's also why I love Sony's offerings: Almost all of their games are singleplayer offline games.

Clearly these online games and these service models have an audience - they keep making money - but there will always be plenty of people who want games that aren't on the clock. I'm one of them, and I'm not the only one.