Xbox announces partnership with AMD for "next generation Xbox consoles"

[HoloDust]

RolStoppable said:

HoloDust said:

Not going to say that I know if they'll accomplish that goal, although I think they've learned a few lessons along the way from the other areas they've botched and they're trying not to repeat them. But I think what they've been doing is geared toward that goal, and they are in quite unique position to achieve it before anyone else - they have experience in gaming industry with lot of AAA dev studios, Gamepass is first truly successful large scale "all you can eat" gaming subscription service that resembles video on demand subscription services, and their computing infrastructure has largest worldwide coverage (quite a bit above both Google and Amazon).

So yeah, I can see them succeeding in becoming Netflix for games in the future...how far away that future is, and will they manage to cross successfully this transitional period is anyone's guess.

Is there proof that Game Pass is successful? Between Microsoft selling subscriptions at a very low price early on and the current situation where Microsoft has to pay off publisher to put games on the service, it's hard to imagine that this is a self-sustaining business already. There's also an industry-wide reluctance to launch games day and date on Game Pass and as long as it remains it that way, most of the latest and greatest games will arrive on Game Pass late, if at all.

Netflix produces exclusive shows and movies for their service, but Microsoft has no intention to do the same for theirs. If we looked at a to-do-list that Microsoft has to fulfill, we could likely check a few of the supplemental points like you've done already in your post. But the essential points - and they all revolve around the content that is available on the service - aren't in good shape.

Honestly, I doubt Gamepass is self-sustaining business right now. On the other hand, if you look at it as a long term investment, I find it to be doing what it was meant to do - get people accustomed to paying subscription for open buffet approach to gaming as an alternative to classic model. Whether that's on dedicated hardware, non-dedicated hardware or via streaming, it's a service they want to provide for all interested, and be first and largest at that. Will they succeed? I have no idea, doubt anyone does.

I don't expect this type of service to replace classic model (that's possibility for the far future, and even then only to a certain degree), but it's an alternative that will, from my POV, be increasingly more interesting to more people as the time goes on.