Current Events > Gaming as an online subscription service is so much worse than digital only game

(+) Yeah! (+)

Even if every game that ever existed was part of literally any of these crappy online subscription services it would still not be a good deal.

People used to complain about the death of physical media in the wake of digital only gaming and how it's nothing more than renting a license to play a game, but even that is way more preferable to constantly needing to be not just online, but online with fiber level internet speeds to play something as interactive as video games, compared to just passively watching a movie or show on netflix
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I just think it's down to money and what gamers percieve as value. If you only have to pay like $10's a month but get to play a crap ton of quality games, it's going to catch on like gamepass. If you try to monetize it the same way Google did with Stadia, it's a recipe for disaster.

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I went digital only a few years ago, subscribed to Game Pass a few months ago, and both are honestly great. I greatly underestimated how much it would improve my overall gaming experience not having to juggle a bunch of physical media, and my internet goes out so infrequently that I honestly can't think of any instance in which it prevented me from playing.

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You don't need to have great internet to use Game Pass though. Those games aren't streaming (unless you want them to be)

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eston posted...

I went digital only a few years ago, subscribed to Game Pass a few months ago, and both are honestly great. I greatly underestimated how much it would improve my overall gaming experience not having to juggle a bunch of physical media, and my internet goes out so infrequently that I honestly can't think of any instance in which it prevented me from playing.

Can you download games too? My internet is too crappy to stream them.

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I mostly dont mind it. Although music licensing can be lame when you start playing an older game and realize the soundtrack is all wrong. Even with physical copies they can still change all that with updates now. I went to boot up GTA V recently and noticed it.

Shablagoo posted...

Can you download games too? My internet is too crappy to stream them.

I was under the impression they are all installed, with xcloud being its own thing for phones and pc that comes with game pass.

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Shablagoo posted...

Can you download games too? My internet is too crappy to stream them.

hold on this is 2021 do you not have high speed internet? Surely you cant still be on dial up?

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Shablagoo posted...

Can you download games too? My internet is too crappy to stream them.

I install the games just like I would if I had the disc

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Agreed...I actually prefer buying my games digitally. it's easier for me, more convenient, and it doesn't pollute the planet with more plastic or involve shipping things around the world.

But I hate when companies don't offer the chance to buy and keep a thing. They want me to keep paying and never own it. I do resent it. I'm the kind of person who only occasionally wants to play a game, so I might only want to play a retro game every 2 years or so, and I should be able to spend ~$8 to get the game and play it whenever I feel like, maybe in 5 years, without having to go and renew my rental when I want to pick it up again. barf

If they just gave us both options then nobody would mind.

sabrestorm posted...

hold on this is 2021 do you not have high speed internet? Surely you cant still be on dial up?

Its a geographical issue.

eston posted...

I install the games just like I would if I had the disc

Ok sweet, thanks. Thinking I might go for an Xbox/PC if the new Fable turns out well. GamePass seems like a great deal.

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Shablagoo posted...

Ok sweet, thanks. Thinking I might go for an Xbox/PC if the new Fable turns out well. GamePass seems like a great deal.

It really is. I'd recommend also getting into Microsoft Rewards

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For actual game streaming, yeah that still needs some work. But I have Gamepass for PC and that's great. I download a game, play it, then move on to the next game when I'm done. There are several amazing games that I would not have played if I had to buy them

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Also I've found streaming games via Xcloud to be shockingly smooth, but your mileage may vary given internet speeds and whatnot.

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Oh wow I just did a speed test and its worse than I thought: 0.58mbps download lol. Im surprised Im able to run streaming services at all (and sometimes I cant, in fact).

Will def check out MS Rewards if/when I get GamePass.

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Antifar posted...

Also I've found streaming games via Xcloud to be shockingly smooth, but your mileage may vary given internet speeds and whatnot.

The stadia stability is also really good, but that was just me using the free monthly trial.

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With games since they're more of a time investment, it's more about quality than quantity. Instead of playing 20 minutes from a bunch of games, I tend to focus on one game for 20+ hours. If the game later leaves the service in a year, 2, hell 5, that's still hella annoying if I want to pick up something and play from many many years ago
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Welcome to console plus where we scam our cystomers while the pc master race get off scot free.

Join us in a world beyond games

the world of your dreams

near-reality

Wetterdew posted...

Agreed...I actually prefer buying my games digitally. it's easier for me, more convenient, and it doesn't pollute the planet with more plastic or involve shipping things around the world.

But I hate when companies don't offer the chance to buy and keep a thing. They want me to keep paying and never own it. I do resent it. I'm the kind of person who only occasionally wants to play a game, so I might only want to play a retro game every 2 years or so, and I should be able to spend ~$8 to get the game and play it whenever I feel like, maybe in 5 years, without having to go and renew my rental when I want to pick it up again. barf

If they just gave us both options then nobody would mind.

Yeah this is what bothers me. Simply downloading a game the one time and having it for as long as I want is perfect. Especially if I have it set up where my console doesn't have internet access for whatever reason so I don't have to worry about being always online, I can just play and if I need to go online, I'll get a router for it
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