Xbox Game Pass is the best value in gaming, and it’s not even close

In February of 2017, we were introduced to the Xbox Game Pass. A service set upon the concept of giving all players instant unlimited access to a vast library of Xbox One and Xbox 360 games all connected to $9.99 a month subscription. Upon its release, Executive Vice President of Gaming Phil Spencer stated that they were aiming to create the “Netflix of Video Games“. At first, Game Pass felt more like something that would cycle through older titles, however, in recent months, Microsoft has added more features to bolster this already ambitious service. Game Pass was a prevalent feature at E3 for Microsoft, and they made the best value in gaming even stronger with new announcements.

[Razzer]

Debatable. Game Pass is a great value. There is no doubt. But I don't think I would give up Humble Bundle Monthly for Game Pass. Origin Access may also be giving Game Pass a run later this year. Glad to see lots of competition.

[cain141]

Love seeing the competition :)

[uptownsoul]

Best value in gaming, not even close…Not even close???

Define "value"

Game Pass - $10/month - 180 games

PS Now - $20/month reg price ($8.25/month in USA & Canada if 1yr is bought by Sept 25) - 650 games

(even at full price PS Now offers over 3x the games for 2x the price)

So again I ask, Define "value"?

[itsmebryan]

@uptownsoul
I glad you enjoy your PSnow. When PSN is down can you still play ? Does it allow you to download the games like game pass now?

[Mr_Writer85]

@itsmebryan

Re: Downloads.

Not yet, but it may become an option for the PS4 games on the service in the near future.

http://www.pushsquare.com/n...

[uptownsoul]

@itsmebryan

The way I see it, GamePass has 3 distinct value advantages over PS Now (price per month, download vs stream & newer titles)…

The question is: Do those 3 distinct value advantages mean that PS Now is "not even close" (even though PS Now has 470 more games)?

[Gravesinger_]

@Mr_Writer85

.....So no..?

[lxeasy]

Humble Bundle Monthly is great but I wouldn't put Origin in the same league as Game pass. I think Game Pass is definitely one of the better values in gaming right now, especially since they are nearing over 200 games on the service.

[Razzer]

Definitely not yet for Origin. I’m talking about when their new Premier service is launched. We will see.

[Snakeking33]

But those new games are only Microsoft exclusive games is assassin creed or will Red dead redemption two or Battle Field or the new call of duty game will it be on game pass day one

[Monster_Tard]

No one seems to ever talk about the quest feature of GP, which adds more value to it, I've gotten plenty 1 month gold codes from it.

[mark_parch]

for me it's outstanding value, me and my friend who I game share with stacked 12 months each when it was half price so basically costing me £2 a months for the next 2 years. That is just ridiculous value for money especially when we're getting games like horizon 4, ashen, crackdown 3, gears 5 and motorosport 8 thrown in. I'm really hoping for a few more good indie games in there like below and the last night and maybe ori.

[Razzer]

Yeah, the big appeal to me is that every new Microsoft first party game will be both Game Pass and Play Anywhere. That is pretty awesome that these new game will be available day one on Game Pass and available for Windows 10 gamers like myself. For Forza Horizon 4, I'll probably take advantage of the Game Pass discount and buy the game outright.

[mark_parch]

I've already got more than my moneys worth as a didn't waste money on sea of thieves after trying on gamepass thought it was shit lol, got nearly 70 hours in sod2 absolutely love that game and with horizon 4 and ashen just around the corner

[PhoenixUp]

Services is the best value instead of receiving the most games?

[Goldby]

Paying for something you don't own is clearly the best value for one's money.

Why sell it or own it forever when u can keep paying to play the game

[chiefJohn117]

Lol you must hate movie theaters and car leases huh?

[ElementX]

It's no different than renting movies or games and you actually have time to complete the games

[showtimefolks]

Gold

There are 2 types of gamers one like us who like owning. The other digital

Chief

Movie theaters got nothing to do with this when you can wait and buy the movie on bluray

[Goldby]

@Cheif,
Car leases are one of the worst ideas in my book, why pay soo much for something you drive around and not own, you still have to pay for repairs yet you cant sell the car.

as for movie theatres, well when you ahve a movie theatre experience from a game pass then we can bring that up.

i could easily wait till movies are out on blu ray to [pick them up, but even with a home theatre with a 100+ inch projector its no where like the experience at the movies.

good try though john, its nice to see you branching out a bit

@elementX
i havent rented a movie or game in probably 10+ years, when t elast block buster went out of business in my old town was the last time i "rented"

[ShottyatLaw]

I've been renting video games since the 80s. Same thing with GP except it is a much better option.

Nothing stopping you from ignoring GP and just buying your physical games.

I take pride in my physical game collection. Doesn't mean I don't recognize a good deal in the digital renting space.

@showtime

I can rent a digital movie from Google/Prime/iTunes/etc., I can rent the physical copy from Netflix/Redbox, or I could walk into a store and buy it.

It's nice games are finding new and cost effective ways of delivery too.

[Sitdown]

So should we assume that you are on free WiFi, because your statement would be very contradictory if you made that post on internet service that you are paying for.....and I say that as someone who fully believes in purchasing physical copies of both games, movies and music.

[Goldby]

@sitdown

Except you can't own the internet....

[darthv72]

@showtime... but sony says nobody buys movies anymore. At least that's what they alluded to as to why the pro had no UHD support. They are all about the 4k streaming.

[FloydianAndroid]

Yeah because Sony’s streaming service is awesome.................

[Profchaos]

I don't own my Netflix library either but I still enjoy new and classic flix on it. I'm not going to go out and buy a DVD for each and every movie I want to watch

Same with Spotify and music

Also the bulk of games are fast becoming online only or require a check in to the server.
So in reality those games are useless once the servers are shut down and this can be done at any point within a90 day notice period

[ElementX]

@gold I haven't rented a movie or game in a long time either, but I never complained about not owning the game or movie

[Goldby]

@element

i was about 12 at the time so i didnt fully understand the importance of ownership as well at the time i was renting games like cTR and stuff, while im more into single player narrative strong games that take more than 2 days to beat

[Raiden]

Sorry, but you are wrong, you are so against this because it's MS, so what you are saying you to all us gamers that game pass is crap, look GP, ££/$9.99 100+ games VS any game that you buy at full price £60, you play it for bout hate it now try returning it to the shop, this is where the shop say £20 for it or take another pre owned and £10, so you waste £40 in GP you would already now you don't like the game

[Goldby]

@raiden

Excpet I also don't subscribe to ps now.

This is about a service to pay to play games that you don't own. Not my bias towards sony.

[Kavorklestein]

Here's a list of all the games I wpuld actually "Play" on Gamepass, and this has plenty of games I removed from my list since they are games that didn't really interest me, or was on the fence about.

All

[lazyboyblue]

There's nothing like buying a Game, especially boxed, but how many do we ever go back to after they're done? A handful? Gaming increasingly about the next new game because there's just so many released now. Who has time to dip back into an old game that's anything less than amazing when there's so much new content weekly to keep up with?
Playing devils advocate a little but Game pass is pretty good value and the business model is here to stay I wager.

[Profchaos]

I agree and there are some past gen games I always go back to but when I do they are normally the digital version up scaled for the new tv tech. Eg vice city looks horrible when played on a 65" 4k hdr TV even usining a hdmi adapter.

Solution is playing the backwards compatibile version so it's designed to run on the tv and maintain a hd res.

Its not the games fault it looks so bad it was meant to be played on a CRT TV which not many people still have.

Game pass is meant for these games to you can play the obscure titles you missed for a low monthly fee you don't own them sure but I don't own my Netflix library either

[Christopher]

I still see ownership of sales titles as the best value. It's cheap, you buy exactly what you like, you keep it.

I think Game Pass is a great alternative, but it depends on what you value as far as 'best value'. I do value ownership, others may not.

[chiefJohn117]

$60 for a 6 hour game is cheap? Nah I'd rather pay $10 get that plus 100s of other games too. Lol remember when everyone complained gaming is getting too expensive?

Beside if I wanted to buy the game.....I GET A DISCOUNT THAT EQUAL A MONTH OF GAMEPASS LOL you can't go wrong. Best value hands down

[Christopher]

So, just so I can understand you, when I say I buy "games" while they're "on sale" translates to you that I only buy "6 hour long games" for "$60"? I'm not sure how you get any of that from what I said at all.

[Goldby]

its cheif, if its a sp game its not worth buying cuz its a one and done game, yet he was proabblyone of the more vocal people when MS bought Ninja Theory (a sp game developer)

its a shame that chief still uses the flawed dollar per hour approach instead of what the game actually does.

in his eyes Journey, one of the best games of last gen would be a waste of money at 20$ for a 45 minute experience (after multiple playthrough)

[Ristul]

chiefJohn117: You get that we don't pay 60 dollars per game right, even if physical? There are SALES of physical games too, I mean, this is a thing you are aware of, I hope?

The difference is that we own the games and can play them whenever.

[Profchaos]

I'm seeing a digital library as a preferred model more and more since lots of games from last gen and this gen will slowly become useless as servers shut down.

Once the ps5 rolls around all the titles that require constant server checks ins like destiny will be slowly shut down and that's a smaller number last gen but this gen that's a giant number

[Christopher]

1. I think library is a misleading term as it infers ownership.
2. I totally get that, but the con is that it doesn't confirm that what is available is something you will want or that it will update with new content you find acceptable often enough. I'm having this issue with Netflix now as I'm finding less and less on there that I haven't seen or want to see. When Disney pulls out in the future, I wonder how much more of the fatigue may set in, but I'm already feeling it now and have considered removing it from my streaming services (I only have prime because I order enough to justify it).

[DerekTweed]

One of the things I like about Game Pass is it let's me try out games that I normally wouldn't buy. I may love it or I may dislike it.

Happened with Rise of the Tomb Raider. I played it for a few hours, didn't like it. Now I can try a different game that I may enjoy more. If I had payed $60 or even $30 for Tomb Raider I would have regretted that purchase.

[Christopher]

Subscription models are perfect for game demoing.

[rainslacker]

I miss the game trials that they used to give you on PS+. Get to try any game free for an hour, then you either pay or move on. Was nice to try out things you were on the fence about.

Think this should be brought back, particularly since it could maybe be done through streaming so you can try it out without waiting for the download. I'm sure people wouldn't mind trying streaming just to try out a game for a bit.

[Mr_Writer85]

It's good for multi console owners like myself.

I'm getting an X1 at crimbo, and whilst PS4 is my main (and Switch 2nd) game pass is a huge bonus as it means I get to play most of the X1s exclusives at little additional cost.

[Cmv38]

I think game pass is a good value for the consumer if your getting quality day 1 games. If the games are games you didn't care about and don't like after trying and this happens often....well that's not his value. If the great games aren't coming day one but a couple months down the road, for me and how i game, its not a great value for me as I would already own the game.

[Spurg]

If you want to own a game then no one is stopping you from buying it. Game pass gives gamers access to many games at a low cost. Most gamers see buying a full priced game as a barrier and will always opt to the popular franchises and won't try the niche titles out there. Game pass lets people at least try those games which may eventually lead to a purchase.

[Christopher]

None of this has anything to do with what the article is talking about at all. No one is questioning whether you own it or not. The only question is whether ownership is more valuable than rental to the individual. Everyone already knows how game pass works, re-explaining it doesn't answer the question of value at all, which is subjective, btw.

[rainslacker]

The value will always be subjective. Just like Netflix, what kind of value you get out of the service is highly dependant on if you care for the offerings on the service. Not that there isn't value there, and likely, with the number of games available one can find at least a few things they want to play. However, if one only finds a few games they want to play, then their perceived value of the service is going to be less than someone who finds 10 games they want to play.

I'm sure the number and quality of games will increase, or vary over time, but I also expect the cost to go up at some point which will again shift the value perception of the service.

As it is now, I can see the value in it, I just have no need for the service since i have a lot of games to play before ever considering having what I play being provided ad hoc from a 3rd party service.

[showtimefolks]

More power to you if you that way I like owning my games but I do understand everyone has their own preference

[leeeroythe3rd]

With bing rewards you can buy gamer pass with routine activity ... the same can be done with live. Microsoft provides the best value and best platform to enjoy aaa gaming. May not have same level of aaa exclusives but the quality and quantity is undeniable

[Razzer]

Rewards is an awesome way to get Game Pass. Doesn’t really take much to get 400 points a day. That is enough to get Game Pass completely free.

[Teflon02]

To be honest, Value as in what you get. Playstation now destroys all these services with the quantity. BUT, that's in quantity which is where value is more likely to be seen. Gamepass is better for 2 things specifically, downloading the games and that you can get new games like apparently forza horizon will be on it. Why buy the game when I can just rent a month and done. It saves alot of money on games I don't care to physically own. Useless for gears as I'd buy gears day one whether I hear it's good or bad. Lol Gamepass if a more appealing option compared to likes of EA PS etc. But not the value factor. It's just the BEST one. Not the best value.

[Atticus_finch]

If i was to pay for a service like this I would go with the one offering 600 games.

[FloydianAndroid]

I think gamepass is awesome. Especially if you don’t have a lot of disposable income.

[Christopher]

This I can 100% agree with. If you want to play games, don't have too much to put towards it and aren't picky, Game Pass has you covered.

[Razzer]

Yeah, and also great if you just picked up an Xbox One. You have a hell of a list of games to choose from for $10 a month.

[Angerfist]

You get to play the latest Microsoft games at launch for 10 a month. That's great value.
I already own so many games that gamepass has little value to me right now as I don't care about Sea of Thieves or State of Decay

[Kavorklestein]

It's not "perfect" but it sure beats wondering if Review scores, patches, Post launch Content, and general Replay-ability are gonna make me regret Dropping 60 bucks!

I personally think if MS had revealed Gamepass as it is now, with plenty of GREAT games included, Backwards Compatibility being functional, (which would mean Free Last Gen Games etc) With plenty of Cheap stuff to enjoy at first, and then Simply build the service From there... Add in the fact that 1st party releases could have been a part of the Xbox One for cheap, since Day ONE... If they had shown this in 2013 instead of TV crap-
I guarantee the Market would look VERY different.
Sony would still likely have the lead, but MS would have probably double the XB1 Owners.

It's pretty cool and it's all good for Sony and Nintendo being able to sell hit after hit of 1st party games that are well reviewed and offer great stories. You're not gonne see me bagging on them or being a hater...

But, we gotta remember, Not all games or devs can get away with charging full price... IM, MS has a few games that proven this is the case.. but they are still decent enough to be played and enjoyed, so why not make it Affordable???

So Now, moving forward, I think it's time to Celebrate the fact that it's freakin AWESOME that MS has found a way to give us a BETTER DEAL instead of ripping us off for Indie caliber games or for AA - AA.5 Titles.
I for one, Commend them for NOT Staying Traditional, and NOT Charging prices they either don't deserve, or would be fools to expect us to pay.

Everyone wins with Gamepass. Case Closed.

Anyone arguing otherwise has their own Opinion/Agenda. And the logic in that argument essentially stops at the point where folks think people should "DO what THEY do, and like what THEY like, regardless of the Cost $$$, for reasons that don't matter enough to them, all the while, spitting on people and programs that are GETTING & GIVING- MORE for LESS.

[Profchaos]

Its a matter of personal preference. I find the content limited but there are a number of real outstanding titles in the mix.

Sunset being my absolute favourite game exclusively for xbox this gen, tomb raider, fallout 4, gears 4 etc are my outstanding titles but they are all mostly single player meaning in these quiet months of few releases I can subscribe and play more obscure games while the months with action packed releases like September October etc I can ditch it because I know for the remainder of the year I'll be playing red dead and spyro.

That's the beauty of game pass

[joab777]

Hate how it ends though and they remove games. Then ya have to go buy it to finish it. You can easily knock out a movie etc. But some games are much too long. Or you want them.

[BizarroUltraman]

i dont feel bad as you have over a month to beat a game.

[King_Lothric]

If it is the "best value in gaming" then...

How is it this is not helping the Xbox brand at all? How is it that Nintendo, without this subscription model and with an underpowered hardware is selling more than Xbox?

Where is the evidence that this subscription model is having an impact against the competition?

What game pass tells me is that even with all those games at 10 a month, people still doesn't care enough about Xbox.

[Razzer]

Saying is the “best value” and making the claim that it is a system seller are two different arguments entirely.

[starchild]

This is faulty logic. The mainstream doesn't always buy what has the best quality. They don't even always buy what offers the best value. Sometimes there are products that offer better quality at a low price, but average consumers still opt to buy something else based on brand recognition.

Many consumers are ill informed. They aren't enthusiast gamers that stay informed on game related topics and therefor you can't assume they even know about all their options.

[ILostMyMind]

In fact, XBO sales tend to decline due all of its games being on PC. There is no reason to buy an XB console anymore.

[welly300]

It's good value no argument. Needs more of Microsoft back catalogue, then just maybe they won't take game of service before you finish it 😳 folk say you don't moan when netflix take off movies, GAMES ARE NOT Movies 🙄

[thesoftware730]

I agree with the thread title!

[gazgriff2k12]

LOL!

[dumahim]

Unlimited until they decide to pull it.

[Gaming_Guru]

$120 / year on top of a $70 / year online service fees making it roughly $190 / year which is like my gym membership. I’m not on board as of yet, I’m good with just the additional free downloads with the online fees.

[optimus]

What? Can you explain your logic. Game pass retails for $10 a month (I say retail cause it can be found for a lot less if you know where to look)... Aside from that, most of the games on there can be finished in 3 months or less. Assuming you want to play 3-4 games in the library you wouldn't need a year to finish them would you? Also Xbox Live is $60 (also can be found for less) not $70 and you don't need it for game pass unless you wanted to play online. It appears that you're not much of a Gaming Guru after all. 😄

[NotanotherReboot]

Yep. Well done MS

[Snakeking33]

There are way more games on PlayStation now and most of these games are old just like PlayStation now

[ILostMyMind]

The value is real if the games you like are available on the service. A bunch of games that do not please you, has no worth.

[chobit_A5HL3Y]

game pass is good(i have it now), but xbox as a whole is lacking games that makes me want to actually play the xbx1. i found myself playing payday 2 the most over the past 3 months...