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Xbox has reportedly ‘shut departments dedicated to bringing games to physical retail’
(www.videogameschronicle.com)
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Microsoft doesn't want your money now.
Microsoft wants your money every month until the day you die. That is their end goal.
Don't buy games, pay for GamePass!
Don't buy Office, pay for Office 365
Don't save to your PC, save to OneDrive! Would you like to hear about our storage plans?
Are you interested in our Windows 12 premium subscription? It comes with CoPilot Plus!
GamePass right now doesn't make money (FTC leaks state this, plus MS financials obscure GamePass by putting it in with another business segment for a reason). They will 100% be upping prices. That's the business model. Tried and tested by the likes of Netflix and Adobe.
And you may say "I don't care, if it gets too expensive, I'll just stop paying - I already have a large games library"
And that's right. For you. Little Timmy in 10 years time will be saying "damn, another GamePass price rise? It's so expensive now", and what will his choice be? To continue paying, or immediately shell out hundreds, possibly thousands, on buying games to rebuild his catalogue? It's obviously what he and most others will do.
MS's dream is to trap people in this situation and squeeze money until death do you part. Companies and investors want the continual revenue stream that subscriptions provide.
Those subscribers will also have kids, and guess what? Their kids will want to play games too. They'll need a subscription. They'll get hooked on the same business model. And with luck, so will theirs. It's insidious.
Kill this shit in its infancy.
Agreed with everything you say, and I don’t have any solutions you haven’t said. I would like to add, buy your nephews, cousins, kids, students, etc physical games. Buy them the games they want, too, not just the ones that you think they should have. Get them used to going to the store to look at games and game boxes. Take them to the retro game store and let them pick something out. Encourage gaming to be more than passive consumption, and try to instill more positive associations with ownership. Avoid lecturing, or trying to create negative associations with digital or subscription products, and just help them share in your passion, it’ll take you a long way.