Funkmasterr wrote:I'm not saying it can't/won't happen, but I don't see it. Like I've said before, all the studios they've bought recently have made at BEST mediocre games. I'm also not interested in a game pass unless it's going to have every game from every developer on it the day they're released, and I can't imagine I'm anywhere near alone on that.
A lot of people have a limited amount of money for gaming, and if the game pass is just going to be Microsoft's first party stuff, I can't see them choosing to spend a chunk of that limited money on a bunch of mediocre games and Halo 49/Gears of War 18.
We'll see. Sony is a greedy company and they'll fuck you over any way the can get away with it. Look at the massive shitstorm that had to take place for Sony to allow a few games crossplay. They still think they are good enough to exist in a closed environment and charge what they want and "do what's best for their gamers". They won't be able to compete with a subscription service. Microsoft has the billions to buy developers and then offer their games as part of Game Pass or the upcoming Netflix-like gaming service.
Lately Microsoft has also been Apple-like in their hardware designs. Nothing second rate about their products. Where Sony adds another layer to it's console and calls it the "Pro" version, Microsoft actually made an awesome tiny, powerful, quiet console more powerful than the triple stack Pro PS4.
While Sony is holding absolutely horrid E3 abstract bullshit events and even cancelled this year because they have nothing to show, Microsoft is doing all sorts of things in both hardware and online
streaming/passes, developer acquisitions, etc.
Project xCloud is Microsoft’s big experiment in making game streaming work at last, and it seems possible they might even release separate streaming hardware to make that concept work on a console that isn’t Xbox. If Microsoft can pull this off and be the first company to truly get game streaming right, they might not win the console war, but end the console war, if suddenly you can stream even the most demanding games to your smart TV or PC or iPad or what have you instead of needing a expensive console to do the job for you. It’s a big reach to say that we’re about to see consoles go the way of the DVD player like we did when Netflix arrived, but this is literally what Microsoft is sinking a lot of time and money into, so I would not rule out a seismic shift in the industry when this arrives.
Microsoft's Neflix-like Project xCloud service can work on any device so it will be fun to watch PS4/5 owners ask to have the app installed on their consoles so they can play all the Microsoft games.
I may not get another console, especially now that Game Pass and the Streaming service will be available on PC. Microsoft is making their games/services available to everyone while Sony is still trying to horde shit. We shall see which strategy wins next gen.
"it seems possible they might even release separate streaming hardware to make that concept work on a console that isn’t Xbox." As long as PS5 allows HDMI in, they won't be able to stop a low cost Microsoft add-on from working on their console unless they purposely prevent it which will be "what's best for their gamers" because they're always looking out for you! Microsoft (check their revenue, it's one of best years ever in 2018) knows what makes money and it's not the hardware. They'll sit back and watch Sony try and save their little closed console world.