Although basically the entire gaming community, or at least a large part of it, is happy with Xbox GamePassAs it provides an extensive list of games for a modest amount of money, big industry executives have raised a number of concerns when it comes to bringing day one games to this service. Now, To this list has been added the CEO of Take-Two.
During an interview, Strauss Zelnick, CEO of Take-Two, owners of 2K and Rockstar, spoke about the positive and negative points of Xbox Game Pass. Although the executive knows that there is a space for this platform, he doesn’t think that bringing day-to-one games to this service is something that benefits them. This is what he commented on it:
“We have supported several subscription services and we are happy about it. Our skepticism centers on core console products being available on launch day with a subscription.
That doesn’t make any sense to us because, economically speaking, we don’t think consumers are willing to pay for it, and we don’t have the luxury of turning our business upside down in a way that doesn’t make economic sense.
So there’s always an intersection between what the consumer wants and what the publisher is capable of, and it doesn’t make sense to do that for blue-chip properties, in our opinion. I think Sony is minimally in agreement with us, because they have said so. It can potentially be good for catalog properties, those properties that have been on the market for a while. If their price has been reduced, it may make economic sense to offer them on a subscription basis.
This company doesn’t operate based on one person’s opinion, including mine, and when it makes sense we’ll support subscription services, and if that’s where the consumer wants to be, that’s where we’ll be. It’s one of the terrifying things about working on video games, that we’re so far ahead of everything, any prediction will inevitably make someone look foolish.”
In the past we have seen games like GTA San Andreas Red Dead Redemption and more on Xbox Game Pass. Nevertheless, these titles hit the platform years after their original release. This is a sentiment that other companies, including PlayStation, share. The idea of carrying experiences day one is something that is not sustainable for other companies, and it seems that Microsoft is the only one that can afford this luxury.
In related topics, ex-Xbox exec gives a warning about Game Pass. Similarly, a developer defends this service from negative reviews.
Editor’s note:
The idea of bringing games one day at a time to Xbox Game Pass can be a positive thing when it comes to small experiences and indie titles. However, AAA productions would not benefit. It is a subject where finding the middle point may sound more complicated than necessary.
Via: GamesIndsutry.biz