Xbox Game Pass Hurts Sales, Says Dev Behind Xbox Game Pass Title
Somerville dev reveals how Xbox Game Pass hurt its sales.
www.gamespot.com
It's finally ok to talk about how much XGP sucks donkey balls, so expect more of these in the future.
Somerville dev says Xbox Game Pass hurts sales
- Thread starter Cool hand luke
- Start date
www.gamespot.com
It's finally ok to talk about how much XGP sucks donkey balls, so expect more of these in the future.
OP couldn't even be bothered to quote the relevant part of the article, what a hack/fraud.
Are you implying that maybe the dev is implying their game didn't do well because it lacked a good enough opening hook? Well, that could be possible, and maybe models like Game Pass force games to be more honest to a point where it could help or hurt them...but so do demos. And with demos, if they do hook you in, you still have an incentive to buy the full game as the demo is only a portion of said game.
With Game Pass, the whole game is in the service so unless the dev struck a really fat paycheck or a payment deal based on metrics that especially favor the type of game they've made, there's a very good chance they will leave money on the table because B2P sales will drop. And rightfully so, because honestly once you have the full game for "free" in the service, only the hardcore have a reason to still buy it (and usually for collector's editions).
It bears out in other media too: most people subbed to Netflix don't bother buying those shows and films on Blu-Ray, only cinephiles and hardcore home theater buffs really do so and they're a very small portion of the total userbase.
Have to reach the gamepass hate/ms evil/doom threads quota man
I'm implying that the OP should have quoted what the Dev actually said, which I did in full, or at least, in as much as I quoted the only parts transcribed from the original interview in the article. As to what the dev was actually saying, I think he makes his point perfectly clear. GP can make game dev more difficult because without ownership stake you have to pack meat into the first ten minutes of a game or people get bored and wander off. He didn't say it, but it should have been implied, that not all games work best structured like that. Things like RPGs or platformers work better introducing you to mechanics first and then letting shit go crazy in the games' second halves. Its "easier" in some other genres because you can just hide your basic gameplay in mission 1 behind a lot of explosions or whatever, but thats still not good (and savvy players can see through all that anyway.)
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Hmm, you know a model like Game Pass probably works very well for arcade-leaning genres like arcadey racers, shmups, puzzle games etc. Problem is even among the best of those there's a misconception that they are "shallow" by a lot of gamers today because of both typical length and their gameplay loop being a lot more compressed vs. say a JRPG or FPS game. That's in addition to their difficulty.
But their depth actually lies in the nuances of their mechanics and becoming very skilled in them. They reward mastery of the game mechanics but I think nowadays gamers prefer doing that with multiplayer-centric games like fighters, MOBAs etc. than single player-centric types of games. Maybe it's a challenge in finding the way to marry those things that more devs, especially Microsoft's own teams, should try answering.
Basically the dev is pissed off because with game pass he can't scam you with some bullshots and vertical slices anymore.
Kinda ridiculous because that same argument can be used against refunds. I refunded lots of steam games before the 2 hour limit because they ran like shit or I didn't like.
At least with GP I am assuming they get paid a lump sum upfront.
Kinda ridiculous because that same argument can be used against refunds. I refunded lots of steam games before the 2 hour limit because they ran like shit or I didn't like.
At least with GP I am assuming they get paid a lump sum upfront.
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This isn't the fault of gamepass, but a symptom of subscription services, an abundance of games and catalysed by overly-demanding, spoilt-for-choice gamers with no attention spans.
The first 10 minutes of a gamepass has to hook someone, but so does the next X hours of the game, otherwise they will turn it off and play something else.
It's unfair to expect a dev to make an action-packed, non-stop game that relies on collectathon loops and GaaS MTX.
Gamepass does impact on sales of AAA games, but increases the sales and reach of B tier and A/AA games. Microsoft should adjust their strategy to suit the benefits and strengths of gamepass while offering a better deal to developers.
The first 10 minutes of a gamepass has to hook someone, but so does the next X hours of the game, otherwise they will turn it off and play something else.
It's unfair to expect a dev to make an action-packed, non-stop game that relies on collectathon loops and GaaS MTX.
Gamepass does impact on sales of AAA games, but increases the sales and reach of B tier and A/AA games. Microsoft should adjust their strategy to suit the benefits and strengths of gamepass while offering a better deal to developers.
You've made your bed, now lie in it.
I don't like these services yet they inevitably make me buy less games, because since online is already paid upgrading to Extra doesn't cost very much. Now it only makes sense to buy those truly special games because otherwise there are plenty of game I want to play on PS+ still and good games are being added at a faster pace than I play.
I don't like these services yet they inevitably make me buy less games, because since online is already paid upgrading to Extra doesn't cost very much. Now it only makes sense to buy those truly special games because otherwise there are plenty of game I want to play on PS+ still and good games are being added at a faster pace than I play.
That is basically saying they have to change how they do games to fit Gamepass.
That is another issue of the model several talked here.
Imagine focusing in having a good start presentation and after the quality just go downhill.