Microsoft Intended To Release Xbox Game Pass On PlayStation, Sony 'Blocked' It

So no offer to nintendo? Or did they refuse it as well? If so then there must be reasons why Sony and nintendo refused it.

For all we know Microsoft were asking for ridiculous terms or percentage of sales etc.

But to me playstation have missed a big opportunity to kill xbox consoles off with that decision, to those who game on both or to casuals there would be no need to buy an xbox at all, they could play every game on playstation 5. Surely xbox would of thought of that.

@UltimateOtaku91 No concrete info on Nintendo but you'd assume Xbox wanted it there too. Yeah, it'll have probably been blocked because neither Ninty or Sony want competition with their own sub services, makes sense.

@Kezelpaso I get playstation refusing it as they have a similar subscription model, but Nintendo's subscription is majorly different to gamepass/ps plus, the sales of the switch would of skyrocketed with gamepass on it due to its handheld design.

They were right to do so. I dont buy any games on MS platforms because of GP, and I noted even on here that 1/3 of repondants to the poll did likewise. What possible reason would Sony have to offer GP, full of first party advertising for another system?

@UltimateOtaku91 Im not so sure. Portability is not the great usp for nintendo now that the cloud works ok. We may be dissapointed to stream in 1080p, but thats still pushing more than the switch pushes on a lot of titles...

@UltimateOtaku91 if you provide a service for $10 a month with over 100 games where you get a fraction of that revenue and then release a $60 game, do you think as many of your customers will pay for your game? Nintendo would rather get 30% off all their products rather than lump sum to allow a competitor's app on their hardware. Gamepass changes the established gaming industry and ruins the status quo.

What an insane time we’re living in. Possible nuclear war and MS wanting Gamepass on PlayStation. Why would I ever buy an Xbox if I could get the best of both worlds on PlayStation? Seems like a bizarre thing to me but I’m guess MS don’t care about their hardware all that much. Crazy times.

The only bad thing about gamepass on other devices is it is cloud based and when you have rubbish internet that is no good.
Also I like to experience the full power of the game 4K etc etc. So gamepass being on PS5 or any other device where you can’t download the full experience like my series x is a total waste of time to me.

Gamepass has no home to me on any other device I cannot fully download the game and play it, in all it’s top end glory.

@UltimateOtaku91 From interviews my understanding was Nintendo didn’t want the live portion. They were cool with the cloud game side but didn’t want you know voice chat being there.

It’s simple what Microsoft want.
Gamepass on every single device via cloud gaming.
For the top end premium download 4K etc experience you have to have an Xbox console or pc.
That’s the future Xbox want.

@Dezzy70 yeah I guess it’s as simple as that.

@Fenbops I don't think the amount of money xbox would gain from convincing a small number of playstation gamers to switch to xbox or buy both consoles would be as high as the money from the number of subs they could sell if the app was available on PS.

Why the hell would Sony want Game Pass on PlayStation and give Microsoft a helping hand? They compete against each other, Sony don't owe Microsoft that. PlayStation is a PlayStation, not a PlayStation and Xbox in one.

@Fenbops
Also with Sony now joining in on the PC front would the future be just a PC and no consoles.

Not sure about Nintendo though.

@BartoxAbrasiveness I agree and I’m glad Sony blocked it. It’s just utterly bizarre to me.

The only thing I disagree with you about is being locked into a recurring payment, it’s easy to end your sub at any time, as it should be.

@Dezzy70
Why would I want a pc.
When only streaming and pc is available is the day I stop gaming.

@Titntin

They were right to do so. I dont buy any games on MS platforms because of GP, and I noted even on here that 1/3 of repondants to the poll did likewise

Thats all good and is up to Sony to refuse,- they duly obliged according to the information here.
The problem is that Sony keeps complaining but they have been given the options and refused.
The more information comes to light, the more I think regulators will approve the deal, Sony are doing their best, they have to but ultimately I don't see them succeeding.

@Snake_V5

They compete against each other, Sony don't owe Microsoft that

That's exactly what Microsoft are doing, but on different scale and way..

@mousieone Thats really interesting!
Makes a lot of sense too, I cant imagine them wanting the chat.

I would imagine organising a service across multiple incompatible devices would be a nightmare to organise, conceptually im having a hard time imagining how it could work...

@BartoxAbrasiveness They are obviously using Sony's stupid logic in their argument against them. Sony was complaining about this first and Microsoft is simply throwing it right back in their hypocritical faces. Not hard to understand.

@RedShirtRod

Gamepass changes the established gaming industry and ruins the status quo

If by status quo you mean that I no longer have to buy 3 plastic boxes to play the games I want, then I'm absolutely fine with ruining that.

i get it, they wanted to bring Game Pass to other consoles via XCloud. Not a native app to download the games to, that would be detrimental to Xbox's sales without a doubt. Mind you, that said, I wouldn't have a Playstation, I prefer Xbox hardware, always have and always will.

@Neverwild
Well if you can download gampass games and PlayStation release their 1st party games after a year or maybe even sooner in the future you could have one console(PC) does all, games downloaded full 4K all effects no streaming.

While I agree that MS is pushing GP so much, I’d like to remember that you can still buy the games you liked. I don’t agree with the idea that MS will just remove the ability to buy games… don’t forget that retro-compatibility was one of the hilighted features of the Xbox marketing campaing.

As for the “fear of losing your stuff”: this is concrete, IN ALL PLATFORMS (except GOG if you backup your games regularly on your own media), but at least I think MS in handling this better than their competitors (but, again, this is due to the retro-compatibility). For example, all the games bought on 3DS are gone when N closed the shop.

Xbox on PlayStation is just one of those things that just feels off.

@Fenbops
The thing is the gamepass on PlayStation was going to be cloud only, people including me still prefer to download the games so here one reason why to have xbox/pc

@jamescrowx that’s true so for the best experience you’d have to have the hardware.

@Titntin exactly it would make no business sense for Sony or Nintendo ti allow it on their platform just like you'll not see ps plus or Nintendo online on Xbox lol

If Microsoft was willing to put GP on its main competitor's platform, why do they still intend to not publish games like Starfield on PS5?

I really don't understand the approach here.

@Ralizah Publishing costs for formatting a game to different hardware would be a large reason. GP would actually just be cloud-based if on Playstation, so it wouldn't be running on the hardware at all. Only Xbox would have the ability to play things in their true capacity, but the option to play anything anywhere is what they offered. For instance, if you have GP & a Samsung TV you would be able to play Starfield when it launches, no gaming console necessary.

What I'm getting out of this is irony. Playstation for years has paid for timed exclusivity. Full games like Deathloop, DLC a month early on Call of Duty, and exclusive legendary weapons/gear/content in Destiny 1 & 2. So many games are PlayStation/PC only with releases for Nintendo on the way yet still no mention of Xbox. They have controlled the gaming market themselves for years, yet panic when they lose a single section of it. I get exclusive & timed are different, but it's not like Microsoft has ever had a ton of exclusive titles on its belt to begin with.

“Company refuses to help competitor.” Breaking News. Tune in at 11 for more.

@Sol4ris Agreed. Changes are usually terrible for market leaders and great for consumers. This situation reminds me a lot of Blockbuster and their refusal to adapt to changes. I highly doubt Sony will end up like that but it's common to see market leaders refusing to adapt.

@Titntin he never outright said it but he vaguely said that they didn’t want to provide a service unless it was the full package. I personally interpreted they were cool with xCloud until live was part of the package. Which makes sense because it would only be the cloud gaming experience which wouldn’t compete with their native offerings.

@Sol4ris You could be right, I think everybody should expect this to go through eventually. COD by value to PS is a big deal, so you wouldn't expect them to watch the competition buy that buisness without a fight, but I suspect the best they can hope for is few concessions - if that.
Im not concerned this will effect me as im always multi platform, but im not sure this level of consolidation is healthy. Buying the odd developer to pad out your internal studios is one thing, but buying a huge multi plat publisher is still more than I think is good for competition. MS make noises, but ultimately this purchase will restrict choice a little. AT least hope the situation improves for workers, Im gonna have a fit when this goes through if they leave Bobby in charge, that would be awful.

It'd be great to see Game Pass on other console platforms. I would imagine via cloud gaming as that'd be much easier than porting Halo Infinite to Switch. Though a different version of GP where different games are available on different platforms (like PC Game Pass) could also be a possibility.

I want more openness so consumers have the most choice without always needing artificial compromises.

Of course Sony blocked a subscription service that bundles games they individually sell for $70 in a $15 sub. They may be abusive, but they're not stupid. Using that as "proof" is just silly.

@Ralizah At first it doesn't make sense. Why bother with "exclusives" if you then offer to put it on competing platforms? With XGP on PS you'd have access to Halo, Forza, everything Xbox on PS.

But...the point of exclusives isn't to sell the exclusives, it's to get customers into your ecosystem for continued revenues. Whether you buy an Xbox or subscribe to GP, the exclusive brings in business into the ecosystem whether it's a $500 box sold at a loss or $180 in annual subs on a PS5. In 3 years a XGP subscriber delivers more profits than an XSX buyer that bought one game.

Plus imagine how much money/time was saved not doing a PS port of Starfield. The time and energy to support an (always bad) PS port could be used to prevent clipping through the world in at least one town!

@NEStalgia Well said, NEStalgia.

@Kezelpaso Nintendo and Xbox should make a deal. That would be incredible.

@Galaqua To be fair during the 360 and PS3 Era Xbox did the same. It wasn't till the Xbone flopped so bad everyone jumped ship to Sony. I like how PC is starting to get all of their games. Pointing me to a SteamDeck.

@UltimateOtaku91
Xbox have stated since the start of the GamePass push that their ultimate aim is to step away from the console market entirely and eventually have GamePass as a streaming service on all platforms.
Sony are the console market leaders and seem like they want to stay that way, then perhaps if they allowed GamePass onto PlayStation, they would get their wish sooner.
Not sure about Nintendo, but this just comes across as petty from Sony.

@Ralizah
It’s really quite simple:
Xbox’s strategy for the last few years is to eventually have GamePass on every platform.
With that in mind, it doesn’t fit Xbox’s strategy to allow their big blockbuster first party titles onto PlayStation.

But Sony are just as guilty of “withholding” games from Xbox owners.
I really like God of War, The Last of Us, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Spider-Man, and Ghost of Tsushima so I have had no choice but to go out and buy a PlayStation 5.

So back to Xbox: if you want to play Starfield, you’re buying an Xbox product either way.