A new report says that Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass subscription service added $8,763 worth of games in the US during 2023, compared to paying $203.88 for 12 months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.
I don’t know about any other users, but I use game pass knowing I don’t own the games and they can be taken away whenever. I’ve used it to play games to see if it’s worth buying to own, or games I’m interested in trying out but not interested enough to buy it until I try it
That’s exactly how it is and always has been. And games on Game Pass usually have discounts if you want to actually purchase them. Nothing in Game Pass says you own the games, it explicitly makes it clear you do not… it still has a purchase button right next to the Play/Install button.
Game Pass means being able to give a ton of games a try or even play through entirely without having to purchase every single one. It also means a fairly steady stream of new titles to play.
Epic games says I own a game but it’s the same where I don’t actually own it, I just own a license to download the game from their servers. Pretty sure it’s the same on PSN, too
you get access to the “claimed” monthly free games as long as you have subscription
you can’t download or keep playing the “claimed” games if your subscription expired.
those claimed game will shown as “in library” and can’t be purchased even if there is a on-going sale.
if you paid for a plus member extra bonus discount game, it’s still yours if your sub expired.
Epic:
you can download the game and keep them somewhere, as long as the auth token can verify you own the game and not expired. (similar to Steam I think the token is valid for a week if your internet goes out. it will ask you to go into offline mode as well. )
this works for both free game they gave out and the one you paid for with money.
I don’t know how the higher tier of PSN and GamePass works regarding the access of game you “played”.
In case I misunderstood, yes, you can buy them on the platform and then you own it the same way as any other platform. You can get a 20% discount on games that are still in game pass too.
You don’t own it on most platforms though, that’s my issue. If they decide to update it, break it, and stop releasing it they can, because they own it and we’re are just renting it.
With Game Pass you have access to the entire catalog to play. If you want to purchase a game, the purchase button is right next to the Play/Install button and you also have a discount on that purchase.
There is nothing preventing you from purchasing a game you want to own instead of relying on it not being removed from the catalog.
And you can sell or trade that game with whoever you want? You can have it hosted by someone other than Microsoft? They let you run it on whatever hardware you want and they try and stop you or put up artificial barriers to do that? Right? You own that game right?
Ah, you’re one of those people. Got it. No point in continuing this conversation.
You go ahead and buy your physical copy, if one is even released, and others will buy digital as they like. Philosophical arguments of ownership on social media don’t make a difference.
For the people following the chat
If you can’t own it it’s not stealing.
Btw I hate that physical ownership is seen as an exclusive place for consumer rights. Companies saw a gap in collective knowledge and law and drove the wedge as far as they could.
The problem is with DRM owning a physical copy of a recent game doesn’t mean squat. It also wasn’t a gap for older generations since CDs were a terrible medium to store and verify games since they scratch easy.
The fight will always be you want to own the thing you buy, and companies will want to stop people who didn’t buy it from using it. This fight has been going on since the original DOOM was freely passed around.
Is it possible to back-up any digital games that you purchase? Could PlayStation decide your purchase is no longer available to re-install at some point in the future?
I think they could revoke licenses in the same way that MS or Valve could also technically do but have not because it would threaten their business. The disks that you can buy these days are rarely full games so you need to download patches. To my knowledge Sony didn’t revoke access to PT but at a certain point you could only access it on an account that had already downloaded it and you could only reinstall from backups.
It isn’t ownership, but it does have value, a lot of value for many people.
I’ve been able to play so many games I otherwise wouldn’t have because of it. I can’t afford even one $60 game a month, so getting access to hundreds of them for $10 is awesome. I’ve also been given codes for 3 months of free playpass to give to friends several times, and have played many games with those friends that I otherwise wouldn’t have.
And I don’t care about owning the games, I played them, had fun, finished them, and don’t have a use for them anymore. Why own something you don’t need more than “once” (the time it took to finish or get bored of it) when you can spend way less money for something that gives you access to that thing for what is still longer than you would need?
I buy any game I do want to own, but for the vast majority of games, I’m absolutely fine with not owning forever.
And with the subscription, you’re also free to play any game for however long you want and not have to worry about losing refund rights. I have several games on Steam that I would rather not have spent money on, but it took more than two hours to figure that out, so now I can’t get the money back.
Considering the price you pay compared to even a single full priced game, it’s pretty damn consumer-friendly. It’s especially valuable for full price games that you’re going to play through once and never touch again, not so much for games you’ll want to keep returning to.
Does that mean they can’t delete the games you download and install? If not, the “value” they provide can be restricted at any time.
Seems like they acquired a lucrative cholepoint to milk. Fuck them. Subscription-based ownership is not ownership or “value”.
I don’t know about any other users, but I use game pass knowing I don’t own the games and they can be taken away whenever. I’ve used it to play games to see if it’s worth buying to own, or games I’m interested in trying out but not interested enough to buy it until I try it
That’s exactly how it is and always has been. And games on Game Pass usually have discounts if you want to actually purchase them. Nothing in Game Pass says you own the games, it explicitly makes it clear you do not… it still has a purchase button right next to the Play/Install button.
Game Pass means being able to give a ton of games a try or even play through entirely without having to purchase every single one. It also means a fairly steady stream of new titles to play.
Its only “worth” the asking price if I would have paid that for it or even bought it at all.
The day they don’t let you buy games on the platform is the day I agree with you
Can you buy games on the platform or do you rent them until further notice?
Isn’t that how it works on every platform though?
No, PSN once you claim a “free” game you can’t buy them even if they are on sale. You have to cancel sub, wait until sale, buy the game.
Epic games says I own a game but it’s the same where I don’t actually own it, I just own a license to download the game from their servers. Pretty sure it’s the same on PSN, too
Maybe I misunderstood the original question
That’s every platform, except gog, right?
As far as I know, more or less yes
It’s quite different though.
PSN:
Epic:
I don’t know how the higher tier of PSN and GamePass works regarding the access of game you “played”.
GoG and FOSS games are the only two options I know of where you can have ownership of a game
In case I misunderstood, yes, you can buy them on the platform and then you own it the same way as any other platform. You can get a 20% discount on games that are still in game pass too.
You don’t own it on most platforms though, that’s my issue. If they decide to update it, break it, and stop releasing it they can, because they own it and we’re are just renting it.
With Game Pass you have access to the entire catalog to play. If you want to purchase a game, the purchase button is right next to the Play/Install button and you also have a discount on that purchase.
There is nothing preventing you from purchasing a game you want to own instead of relying on it not being removed from the catalog.
And you can sell or trade that game with whoever you want? You can have it hosted by someone other than Microsoft? They let you run it on whatever hardware you want and they try and stop you or put up artificial barriers to do that? Right? You own that game right?
Ah, you’re one of those people. Got it. No point in continuing this conversation.
You go ahead and buy your physical copy, if one is even released, and others will buy digital as they like. Philosophical arguments of ownership on social media don’t make a difference.
For the people following the chat If you can’t own it it’s not stealing.
Btw I hate that physical ownership is seen as an exclusive place for consumer rights. Companies saw a gap in collective knowledge and law and drove the wedge as far as they could.
The problem is with DRM owning a physical copy of a recent game doesn’t mean squat. It also wasn’t a gap for older generations since CDs were a terrible medium to store and verify games since they scratch easy.
The fight will always be you want to own the thing you buy, and companies will want to stop people who didn’t buy it from using it. This fight has been going on since the original DOOM was freely passed around.
Is it possible to back-up any digital games that you purchase? Could PlayStation decide your purchase is no longer available to re-install at some point in the future?
I think they could revoke licenses in the same way that MS or Valve could also technically do but have not because it would threaten their business. The disks that you can buy these days are rarely full games so you need to download patches. To my knowledge Sony didn’t revoke access to PT but at a certain point you could only access it on an account that had already downloaded it and you could only reinstall from backups.
It isn’t ownership, but it does have value, a lot of value for many people.
I’ve been able to play so many games I otherwise wouldn’t have because of it. I can’t afford even one $60 game a month, so getting access to hundreds of them for $10 is awesome. I’ve also been given codes for 3 months of free playpass to give to friends several times, and have played many games with those friends that I otherwise wouldn’t have.
And I don’t care about owning the games, I played them, had fun, finished them, and don’t have a use for them anymore. Why own something you don’t need more than “once” (the time it took to finish or get bored of it) when you can spend way less money for something that gives you access to that thing for what is still longer than you would need?
I buy any game I do want to own, but for the vast majority of games, I’m absolutely fine with not owning forever. And with the subscription, you’re also free to play any game for however long you want and not have to worry about losing refund rights. I have several games on Steam that I would rather not have spent money on, but it took more than two hours to figure that out, so now I can’t get the money back.
Considering the price you pay compared to even a single full priced game, it’s pretty damn consumer-friendly. It’s especially valuable for full price games that you’re going to play through once and never touch again, not so much for games you’ll want to keep returning to.
Well it’s like 1/4 the cost of a game per month. So if you play more than one game a quarter it’s good value.