| Tspeddy said: Gamepass was not created to make Xbox beat Nintendo or Playstation. The service was created to find Microsoft a way to continue to stay in the race when they were fading so fast last generation it looked like it was probably time to pull the plug on the gaming division for a Trillion Dollar company that sees little to no return from that division. Gamepass gave Xbox a niche that the other companies did not provide and allows them the opportunity to make gains in other ways instead of selling consoles or games. The thing that no discusses when talking about the Gamepass model is just how much money Gamepass would have to make to be successful. Netflix was losing money every year with 120 million full paying subs and I still think they are losing money yearly and have never turned a profit. If Gamepass was a service where they purchased rights to games to put in the service then all they would have to do is secure more money in sub payments than they pay out to developers for the games. It would be an easy model to predict if it was successful. Snip |
Totally disagree. Gamepass was started because MS realized very simply that games are more important than hardware. Better yet, a game service that can supply games to those billion of devices out in the wild is a much better investment than just a single game console. The fact that you believe that GP is some way thought out as a way to keep the Xbox competitive with Sony and Nintendo really shows like most gamers how very narrow focus you are on these petty console wars. There is something you have to understand about short term and long term investment. Its the very reason why MS is taking their time building out their infrastructure for Xcloud.
Some investment are not done to turn a profit out the gates but to build marketshare. It does not matter how much money GP needs to generate to be successful if the whole company is behind making it successful. Its the unique position that MS is in because as they continue to build out their service which still makes them money. If you are someone who is concerned about losing money when you have a 5 to 10 year plan then you probably would never run a company. Let me ask you a simple question, how did Netflix change from a company that just streamed movies and TV shows to producing their own content. It actually now to the point where Netflix own content is actually worth the monthly service than it is the TV shows and movies they stream. The main point is that you do not understand the model. The model is not the same as the traditional game model that has existed for decades. Also the fact that the whole company is behind the effort suggest that MS understands that in order to get to Netflix level, you have either go whole hog or go home. This is why there is no real traction with PSNow. Sony could do exactly what MS is doing and continue to build out PSNow as a service that can be on billion of devices but they are treating PSnow as more of a afterthought. Sony is not willing to put full commitment in PSNow which limits the scope and reach of the service.
