As we are all familiar now just less than two months away from the next wave of console hardware shipping this November, it should be reflected on the strengths of both Microsoft and Sony for this current platform generation. It is that what both firms managed to achieve successfully will be implemented coming the Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5’s arrival.
In terms of Sony, the Japanese firm has provided a stunning library of blockbuster, first-party developed properties which illustrates to be the major selling point for the PlayStation 4. Entries such as Days Gone, Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, and The Last of Us Part II are all instances of Sony’s ambitions to provide its users and potential customers with content uniquely provided on its platform.
But in regards to Microsoft, while there are certainly users that appreciate the projects that arrived to the Xbox Store since late 2013, many did not meet the same anticipation as those available on PlayStation 4. However, the firm has turned that around with consumer-friendly initiatives like backwards compatibility, the Xbox Adaptive Controller, and Xbox Play Anywhere. But its major investment is Xbox Game Pass.
Although its first-party network of studios are still working to bring AAA experiences worth purchasing an Xbox for, the real seller is its monthly subscription program. The service offers a plethora of titles ranging from developers and publishers across the globe structured similarly to Netflix. And since the launch of the new initiative back in 2017, Xbox Game Pass has accumulated an outstanding 15 million subscribers.
When looking ahead, Microsoft is certainly planning to double-down on the service as illustrated by the permanent perk of adding EA Play for free to console and PC owners of the Xbox Game Pass set to go live this holiday. Alike this generation, Sony also looks to be furthering its first-party projects on newer hardware with by bringing Insomniac Games aboard its first-party network of studios.
Already doing so with Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, there is more to be expected well into the lifespan of PlayStation 5. Granted, Microsoft is also determined to bring a stronger first-party lineup with the recent acquisition of Zenimax Media and subsidiary firm Bethesda, Sony is not covering all fronts on this new venture ahead.
It isn’t that Sony hasn’t already pursued a service-based subscription offering a selection of games, i.e. PlayStation Now, but that the firm does not prioritize it like its competitor. And as the number continues to climb for Xbox Game Pass it further brings the question as to why Sony does not attempt to emphasize on the business model. Ultimately, the firm does not understand how to effectively market the program.
Following the recent PlayStation 5 showcase this month, Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO & President Jim Ryan when speaking to gamesindustry.biz told that the structure of Xbox Game Pass on the PlayStation platform is not “sustainable” in terms of offering first-party titles at arrival. But illustrated by the performance of PlayStation Now, it simply shows that Sony does not understand how to harbor its own service for more players.
These games cost many millions of dollars, well over $100 million, to develop. We just don’t see that as sustainable.
We want to make the games bigger and better, and hopefully at some stage more persistent. So putting those into a subscription model on day one, for us, just doesn’t make any sense.
Coming to a close for this console generation, PlayStation 4 will sit at roughly 130 million units sold. In contrast to the Xbox One, Microsoft’s unit only breaks 48 million. However, despite the near 3:1 ratio of consoles sold between Sony and Microsoft, Xbox Game Pass outperforms virtually 700 percent to PlayStation Now. The most recent numbers of PlayStation Now subscribers were revealed to only be 2.2 million as of this past May.
Noted, PlayStation Now was originally launched back in January 2014 right at the start of this console generation. And despite the three-year head start on Microsoft, its platform stayed fairly vacant. The most traffic it received was in early 2020 thanks to digital means becoming a commodity during the age of COVID-19 as tangible purchasing was withdrawn for the time being. In that, the PlayStation Now userbase grew just over 50 percent since October 2019 as it overtook one million subscribers then.
But compared to Xbox Game Pass then, PlayStation Now still did not come close to Microsoft’s service. In May 2019, Video Game Chronicles reported that about 9.5 million users were already indulging in Xbox Game Pass at the time. But despite the standstill for Xbox Game Pass for a year, the platform still overtook its competitors by nearly ten-fold.
Microsoft has not revealed exact subscriber numbers for Game Pass, but we have learned that there are currently some 9.5 million monthly users. Game Pass is an attractive proposition for publishers and developers because Microsoft pays out to developers each time a game is installed.
As Microsoft plans to further its expedition with Xbox Game Pass with marketing rights, acquisitions, and other agreements for the approaching generation, Sony is looking the other way. Although the firm is offering a counterpart – PlayStation Plus Collection – it does not embody the potential it could reach if properly executed.
Do you believe Sony could bring PlayStation Now around if effectively implemented?