I don't think Sony feel pressured, their revenue stream is quite a bit different from MS so I think they will observe, playing a wait and see approach and comfortably be behind in this respect.

I think next gen will change subscriptions for both. I can see Sony merging PS+ and PSNow.

I prefer PSNow in terms of how it works as it's once service that can do both, stream and download and it definitely has a better variety of games.

I dont want Sony to go down the cheap route as MS have. If they do we will see the quality of games drop as I don't think it's financially viable to release your blockbusters day one.

If they have tiers where you can have neither, PS+ and PS+Premium where you get both, that would be amazing. I'll happily pay £70 a year to have both.

Sony really needs to make PS Now be a Game Pass copycat. People are blowing off Game Pass,as gimmicky with.limitrd audience and I admit I did too until recently.

I got the one month for $1 offer in March and now I'm hooked. think it's a great idea because I can play with my console and continue on my PC if the wife wants to watch TV.

I can see Game Pass be a bit like Netflix. Ignored at the beginning by the rental lord Blockbuster and then become the throne holder when it comes to subscription service for console games.

Because it's gaining traction. Consumer that try it, for most of the cases anyway, really enjoy its value for money and the access to games that they were likely to pass. Developers are starting to see value on it as their games reach a broader audience and helping build brand recognition, and in the world of Games as a Service it also brings players to play online and spend on microtransactions.

Games As a Service are not a fad. We can track it from the early MMOs to Fortnite to Gamepass. If Sony don't react accordingly they might be in an catch up situation sooner than they think.  

A lot of people are suggesting that Sony deals with Gamepass the way Blockbuster dealt with Netflix.

This is what I think also. And I would add to the equation availability and value for emergent markets. Game Pass gives Microsoft a ridiculous advantage in low and mid income countries with its value proposition, and even among lower income people within developed nations. With the Covid 19 crisis it also turns into a even more meaningful advantage.

Not to say I expect ps5 to fail or anything like that, far from it actually. But Sony has to respond now while they are still far ahead. 

Well the question should be reversed (how Microsoft will respond to Sony's PS Now), and Microsoft already responded by making the game pass games available through the cloud without downloading them, like PS Now.

And since PS Now allows to play online without a PS Plus subscription, I guess Microsoft will do the same and removing Live Gold requirement for those who have Game Pass.

Or looking at it a different way.....

Gamepass is actually MS response to Sony's exclusives and domination. MS is now trying to take a different approach, and as you can see they are no longer mentioning console sales, but about user amounts/how many times a game has been played etc..

So the real question is; is Gamepass working?

Yes. I see gamepass as a response to the success of Playstation. Microsoft doesnt' offer the same quality content and has been losing console market share this gen. Gamepass then is a glorified discount/free game plan for a company that has not many choices.

On the other hand, it doesn't mean that gamepass is all bollocks. It makes sense and I believe Sony will react acordingly when they see they've got to. So far so good.

It's whole different from Blockbuster x Netflix. Blockbuster didn't have the business structure to pull off what Netflix had. Sony has all the infra-strucuture and market relationship to kick start a game pass copycat any time they wish. They just don't need to do it right now with 110m PS sold out there.

Until they do day 1 exclusives, they will never truly “respond”.