I often see people say, "Phil made a lot of mistakes, but but Game Pass..."
But is Game Pass really that attractive to the average casual gamer in general? For example, here is a list of the top 20 best-selling games of 2022 in North America according to NPD, and how many of these games can you play if you subscribe to GP?
- Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare II
- Elden Ring
- Madden NFL 23
- God Of War: Ragnarök
- LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
- Pokémon: Scarlet/Violet
- FIFA 23
- Pokémon Legends: Arceus
- Horizon II: Forbidden West
- MLB: The Show 22
- Mario Kart 8
- Call Of Duty: Vanguard
- Gran Turismo 7
- Kirby and the Forgotten Land
- NBA 2K23
- Sonic Frontiers
- Gotham Knights
- Minecraft
- Nintendo Switch Sports
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Only a few, including Minecraft, are playable on GP. (But I don't think anyone would be stupid enough to pay $15/month to play a $20 game...) So for the majority of casual gamers who only play FIFA, Madden, Call of Duty (or the occasional blockbuster like Elden Ring) every year, GP seems to have little appeal. Needless to say, it also has little appeal to the majority of Sony and Nintendo first-party game fans, who make up a large portion of the gaming community.
Also, you may hear some non-casual gamers say "but but indie games...". But I’m skeptical about that as well. For example, many recent well-received indie games such as Stray (which won Best Debut Indie at TGA last year), Sifu, Neon White, Cult of the Lamb, Rogue Legacy 2, Not For Broadcast, The Case of the Golden Idol, Dead Cells, Vernal Edge, and many others are not included in Game Pass. Also, because indie games are relatively inexpensive, it is often cheaper in the long run to just buy and own them than to keep paying $15 per month for rent. So I doubt it is as good as an "Indie Pass".
I think Phil's only saving grace, GP, should also be examined to see if it's actually that attractive to many gamers other than Xbox fanboys.
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