The economics are against PS Now being a success.

Streaming/Subscription services need to accomplish 3 things to be successful in the long run:

1. Be profitable enough to be sustainable for the platform

2. Fair compensation for content creators

3. Sustain enough content at a low enough price to drive the necessary user base

Almost every service has failed at one of those.

If you don't have all 3, your subscription service will fail. Sony with PSNow has the content even if putting their 1st Party on the platform. But the profitability and sustainable content at a low price is a big problem that cannot be overcome due to PS business being a core business. Game Pass has sustainability at a low price and fair compensation for content creators and they can ignore profitable enough to sustain the platform. But they don't have the 1st Party atm. But lack of good 1st Party content is easier to overcome than say sustaining the service.

Since Microsoft has a lot more revenue streams outside of Xbox, the impact to the company is minimal and therefore it allows MS to sustain content even at a low price.

Which is why I think long term I expect Game Pass to become 'The Gaming Subscription Service' that everybody knows and associates with subscription gaming.

Streaming != Subscription.

First they need to surpass PSNOW. last reported it has a 52% marketshare.

@sakaixx: Game Pass already has millions of subscribers and likely more than PS Now. Since Game Pass is going to become a streaming service this year, I think GP has most likely surpassed PS Now market share.

In revenue? That's hard to do with constant $1 deals.

@BenjaminBanklin:

High revenue doesn't guarantee you a userbase.

Whenever someone predicts something is inevitable, it generally doesn't come true. Let's wait and see.

I’m more surprised that Valve/Steam hasn’t made a similar service to my knowledge.

I reckon that Valve's library is too large and their catalog of developers and publishers too diverse to make that profitable, or even practical.

I've thought about this as well and while it would be great to have a Steam subscription that let's me access every single game I want through Steam (which is, for all intents and purposes, essentially any game ever made for PC in the last 20+ years or so), I also think that someone needs to stand their ground, remain the dominant storefront, and above all else remain impartial.

Steam is a place to get games--all games-- from large publishers, to one-man development teams; if they went the sub route, they'd have to change things up, start picking and choosing who they let on. I wouldn't like that half as much as I like the current situation.

@mrbojangles25: or more like Valve can't afford to pay every developer.

@daniel_su123: Nobody could afford that, it would be an illogical money pit.

How can it be dominant when PSNow has already dominated it?

Only reason it's been hyped is because of the promotions MS has been doing. No way I'm paying $180 a year for Ultimate just go rent games.

@daniel_su123:

You have a source to back this up? Or you just talking out of your butt?

Game Pass as a subscription service has been the best value in gaming for me in the later half of 2019.

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2019-10-30-playstation-now-hits-1-million-subscribers

1 million for PS Now

https://www.videogameschronicle.com/features/xbox-scarlett-inside-microsofts-plans-for-the-next-xbox/

9.5 for GP

What about the 100 million ps4 owners how can it dominate the market when it's at 30 million xb1's???

You need to stop posting

Considering that you have to pay 60 for Xbox Live Gold and each new game is 60 dollars on its own makes game pass ultimate a very good value for 180 dollars a year. Plus now that Redbox is no longer offering games for rent means where will you go to rent games now? Most brick and mortar stores like blockbuster have been gone for a while. Gamestop still overcharges for used games too. Game Pass is terrific for playing single player games that are only good for 1 play through which are the majority of single player games.

From second the article

"

Microsoft recently unveiled Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which combines Xbox Live Gold with Xbox Game Pass for a $14.99 monthly charge. This deal was also predicted by one source, who suggested that the service could be ready to go live imminently, but would also allow for data-streaming when the time comes for the Scarlett generation.

Microsoft has not revealed exact subscriber numbers for Game Pass, but we have learned that there are currently some 9.5 million monthly users."

So you don't really know. And any numbers you have are skewed with the bundle with gold. PSNow is a stand alone subscription. Direct comparison can't be made right now

Getting in on a cheap sub doesn't guarantee people will pay the full price toll either.

People need to stop quoting these third party guesstimates when it comes to Xbox. This is why they hide their numbers on everything because they know other people will do their dirty work when it comes to spreading misinformation.

Bro it was at like 42 early last year. More like 50 million XB1's lol

There's nothing to back it up, MS gives us nothing. That's why we always assume the numbers are bad because they're likely worse than we think. All those discounts tell us that the struggle is real.

@BenjaminBanklin: I'm aware of that but to say 30 mil is just reaching lol