Going into 2020 there was a ton of anticipation and high expectations for both Microsoft and Sony. We knew that this would be the year that we got the big unveiling of their next-generation video game console platforms along with the release in the holiday season. Of course, none of us could have expected the big ordeal the world would be enduring with this coronavirus health pandemic outbreak. Still, even with this virus still going on, it wasn’t going to sway either Sony or Microsoft to hold off their console platform release.
As a result, fans were given the big reveal and showcases through online streams and both consoles are slated to hit the marketplace this November. With that said, there may be some deciding factors on what players gravitate to specific platforms. On Microsoft’s end, they are banking more on the game subscription service known as the Xbox Game Pass subscription service. With this subscription service, players could get access to all the first-party Xbox video games at launch along with a slew of different third-party video games.
Sony on the other hand is working on delivering some massive video game title exclusives to drive PlayStation 5 sales while still maintaining the PlayStation Now service. Recently, PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan spoke to Gamesindustry.biz that confirmed there are no intentions to make a service that would offer similar features to the Xbox Game Pass. According to Jim Ryan, the amount of money that goes into developing these games are over $100 million which would make a service like Xbox Game Pass unsustainable.
“Our pitch, as you’ve heard, is ‘new games, great games.’ We have had this conversation before — we are not going to go down the road of putting new releases titles into a subscription model. These games cost many millions of dollars, well over $100 million, to develop. We just don’t see that as sustainable.”
Jim Ryan
It will be interesting to see just how many Xbox owners go for the Game Pass subscription pass model. For just a monthly fee, you’ll have access to all the latest Microsoft titles released which does seem a bit enticing if you find that enough titles available to make it worth the purchase.
