Featured Blog | Is Game Pass underperforming?
www.gamedeveloper.com
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An attempt to reframe the discussion about Game Pass and other game subscription services.
coyotino [he/him]
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Really, if any game in your Steam library has a playtime of over 500 hours, you may be getting enough value from the games you buy that a catalog service actually becomes worse value by comparison.

I fit in this bucket, and so do a few of my friends. I’ve gotten so used to the Steam gamer lifestyle of waiting for games to go on sale, buying them on sale, and then slowly building up a massive catalog of games that I think I will enjoy gaming. It’s very rare that a hot new game will entice me to play it without waiting for a sale, because I know what it feels like to be disappointed in a $70 purchase.

If there is a hot new game that I am interested in, Game Pass might be appealing because it allows me play a new game for cheaper. But I also don’t play games very quickly, because I’m busy. A narrative single-player game usually takes me at least two months to get through. If I play that game via PC Game Pass, that’s at least $24. Most of the time, I can get a game on sale for $24 or less within 2 years of that game’s initial release.

I also think about how, if I go the Game Pass route, I will feel a pressure to play that game quickly, because I feel like the meter is running and I don’t want to waste my money. This makes it harder to enjoy the game because I am forced to play it at times that I don’t really feel like it. If I instead buy the game on sale, I can pick up and put the game down at my leisure, which just fits my life better. Sometimes waiting for the sale sucks, but I have my backlog to keep me warm.

@xavier666@lemm.ee
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If there is a hot new game that I am interested in, Game Pass might be appealing because it allows me play a new game for cheaper. But I also don’t play games very quickly, because I’m busy.

Steam allows us to avoid FOMO. I’ll wishlist it, meanwhile I’ll play my massive backlog. By the time I complete one single player game, the wishlisted game is already on sale and the game has matured with updates. It’s perfect for the adult gamer.

@stardust@lemmy.ca
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Yeah, when I did the 3 month trial I felt pressured to make the most of the subscription so I put aside some games I had planned on playing that I already had. I didn’t find myself needing game pass since I already had enough games so I never renewed once the trial ended.

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