Are PS Plus And Xbox Game Pass Worth It In 2023? | Spot On

Subscription services are abundant and content is increasingly being centered around them, but the value proposition of these services is questionable in 2023.
Check out Ethan's article on Kotaku here: kotaku.com/game-pass-ps-plus-...
In October the price of PlayStation Plus went up and, earlier in 2023, Microsoft also increased the cost of its Game Pass membership. We live in a world where there are an abundance of subscription services in both the gaming space and beyond it. While many of these services have offered valuable benefits and features, that may not be the case now.
More specifically, what you're getting may not be what you're paying for. So, it's time to ask the question: are subscription services worth it? On this episode of Spot On, Lucy and Tamoor ask themselves that question and discuss whether the value proposition is still there for the various gaming subscription services.
Spot On is a weekly news show airing Fridays in which GameSpot's managing editor Tamoor Hussain and senior producer Lucy James talk about the latest news in games. Given the highly dynamic and never-ending news cycle of the massive video game industry, there's always something to talk about but, unlike most other news shows, Spot On will dive deep into a single topic as opposed to recapping all the news. Spot On airs each Friday.

[@Forced_Drama]

I think online play should be free and each company should offer an extra subscription based on their own merit, with the games and services they offer not make online play locked behind a pay wall

[@themajesticspider-man6116]

yeah I miss the PS3 days

[@videogameobsession]

Yeah, it would be nice, but they have server fees, and people to pay to help maintain these services. They were doing it for free when Microsoft was charging, which was nice of them, but it wasn't sustainable if they wanted to continue to improve. And now inflation is just a part of life. It held out on gaming until recently, but we all knew it was coming.

[@Magnisus]

The only thing i never liked about consoles is that you pay to be able to use your internet connection.

[@YouTubeCensors]

Phenomenal insight from a woman "played" starfield but doesn't know what Ammo containers look like or knows enemies carry ammo, Amazing!!!

[@themajesticspider-man6116]

@@KZbinCensors ?

[@massimoaiello8765]

One thing I think is very difficult here in this specific conversation, is there’s a bit of a disconnect from content creators and the regular people who have these subscriptions in that you all get codes for games or if you don’t you get games when they come out because your job depends on you playing these games so you can talk about them. So when you make a comment like “who’s going to go back and play Collistol Protocol”, well maybe someone who saw the mixed reception at launch from content creators like you, so decided against paying full price but is still interested enough to play it. I don’t know. Just my thoughts. Great video!

[@dkaneria8987]

Couldn't possibly agree more. For me, the value of free monthly games is immense. The only game that I've paid full price for at launch in maybe 4 or 5 years is Ragnarok, but because of the free monthly games, I still have an insurmountable backlog of great games. The only big title that I haven't been able to play yet is Elden Ring and even that has had deals for both xbox live and playstation plus subs (the basic tiers no less). It's really frustrating hearing nearly all major gaming outlets bad mouth the subscription services in the way that they do. It comes off as completely detached from the ordinary gamer and I hope that Sony and Microsoft don't hear these much more vocal criticisms and think that this is the reality for most people. The recent price increases for sub services are really frustrating, no doubt, but in the end the base tiers still cost about the same as buying one (1) game a year, except you're getting 36... from which you'll definitely find more than 1 game that you'd want to play.

[@PushStart_YT]

Yep, especially in today's climate where $60-70 gets you betas at launch. Why would anyone in the right mind want to pay the most amount of money to be a beta tester. Wait for them to come to subscription services in a more playable form, especially single player games. There is really no rush for the average players with average income,.which are the majority.

[@gregorybentley5707]

Well said dude, exactly. One way or another they'll be playing the newest games on the regular. Most normal people with these subscriptions aren't forgetting and not utilizing the gaming catalog at all. I think his comment of "Colisto Protocol is such an old game whose going to go back and play it now?" Shows the disconnect perfectly. Your comment is amazing and took the words right out of my mouth as I was watching this. These are journalists and game reviewers at Game Spot. The way they access and obtain new games and a regular consistent flow of games is completely different than the use case of a normal gamer.

[@Marcthegeek]

I canceled PSPlus years ago, and I haven't missed it. Xbox Game Pass I pay when there's great game releasing. Being able to play a game like Starfield on DAY ONE is totally worth paying $10, $15 or even a little more for 30 days.

[@O-o-Azazel-o-O]

You do understand that xbox pay a fortune to secure games day 1 and its unsustainable? If they gain the majority mindshare we will all lose in the future

[@videogameobsession]

Why not both.. I'd at the very least keep Plus Essential for only $6.66 a month, or closer to $4/month when bought during various sales. (I actually stacked 14 years when it was $22-$25 a year for Black Friday 2015 and 2017) so I'm still riding that out, and I have a few more codes to enter. :) The great thing about PS Plus Budget (Essential) is that you get to keep those 3 free games each month as long as you remain a member. If you've been there from the start you will not have access to over 800 free PS3-PS5 games in your library. Unlike GamePass they don't randomly take them away from you. Another nice thing is that they are giving us free PS4/PS5 versions of PS1 Classics that were given to us over 10 years ago, for free, and to keep, regardless if we have Plus or not.. That was a nice surprise to see.

[@joshuamcneely3028]

​@@O-o-Azazel-o-Oor they have to keep raising the prices.

[@spiritrealmking9416]

That’s only one game tho

[@El_duderino87]

I don’t play online so my ps plus got canceled years ago to. I don’t need the free games from ps plzs, most of the games i‘m intrested in i‘ve already played and I don’t have a lot of time to try a lot of games. I only subscribe to PC gamepass when there’s a game i want to play and unsubscribe as soon as i‘ve finished it.

[@ttn-gr4fv]

It's always funny when a bunch of rich kids complain about the cost of living in an attempt to be relatable to the audience. Lucy's dad has been a CEO for the last 10 years. Literally born with a silver spoon in their mouth. Get outta here.

[@EETEE-eb8km]

not to mention them making 6 figures from this job alone (i think it''s between 120,000-140,000USD)...

[@LuciusAugustusRex]

The amount of inaccuracies in this video about Game Pass are actually astounding.

[@qualitygamingchannel5051]

For someone who doesn't buy games often and want to try new games out, yes. Worth it.

[@evanolmstead7959]

I just got starfield, lies of p and cocoon in a single month on gamepass. I won't be cutting it out anytime soon

[@funkysloth2902]

Tamoor is talking like everybody buys AAA games when they release. A lot of people have to wait until they are on sale to play them.

[@OptikRvB]

Part of the conversation should include the fact that , least under GamePass, you're offered discounts on games you want to buy completely

[@solidkwon]

So does PS Plus so I dont understand your point here

[@amitkumar77172]

@@solidkwon He's just mentioning that it's a factor that wasn't considered in this video when thinking about gaming subscriptions.

[@solidkwon]

@@amitkumar77172 ah gotcha

[@andyscoming4919]

@@solidkwonlmaoo smh 🤦‍♂️

[@allenantonio4389]

same for Sony

[@treeboyproductions]

PS Plus was a fantastic value add for a guy who has finally got his hands on a PS5 (me) and wanted to catch up on exclusives like Ratchet and Clank, FFVII Intergrade, Demon Souls, etc The novelty wore off once I caught up and now I just need the basic package because PS doesn't hook you up with new releases. Game Pass gives you all of the classics, the exclusives you may have missed out on, the new releases from all first party studios, AND the ability to play on PC with cloud saves / crossplay. The value Xbox provides is just head over heels better than PS and is absolutely still worth it.

[@phillyjackson45]

PS Plus gives you classics and exclusives as well

[@mikeuk666]

​@@phillyjackson45day 1?

[@deadlyx]

@@phillyjackson45 i heard ps plus dont have that many classic games and what exclusives? september they gave out saints row :/

[@phillyjackson45]

@@deadlyx Well you heard wrong since you don’t know much about PS

[@librast]

Fr im just like you when i got my hands on ps5 last year i sub to extra to play those exclusives

[@tomfromtoonami3269]

Gamepass is. Also the comment about waiting for another game after starfield. Forza is literally in like a week and a half

[@deterdetz]

Agreed! This whole Xbox has no games narrative is crazy, especially this year

[@All.Gravy96]

As someone who games at most 2 hours a day, I find a lot of value in these subscriptions, knowing that I can download games and play them without having to buy every title. There seems to be a bit of a disconnect between content creators (who have access to tons of new games because the job requires) and regular people about the value-add of these subscription libraries..

[@jumpmatt151]

The biggest problem is that you need PS Plus just to have cloud backups of your game. So just to make sure you don't lose all your save data, you're paying $80/year.

[@jessep5280]

Cloud saves and cross platform saves are free on Xbox. Always has been.

[@serkany5905]

I’ve never been into subscription services. After finding out that Sony doesn’t allow you to transfer PS5 games onto external storage like you can with PS4 games put me off getting the console.

[@ChrisLT]

100%, I've played so many smaller games because of it. Even with the increase, I'm saving a ton of money over the annual period if I buy a couple games that'd be full priced otherwise. I hate to say, but games media gets codes all the time. So the value might not seem as apparent if you folks don't use them as often.

[@breadboi8747]

I would definitely say I see gamepass as being more than worth it given that this month alone, I’ve gotten starfield, lies of p, cocoon, party animals and pay day 3 and next month we get Motorsport.

[@MrKnowledge0014]

I said the same thing, too many people only look at the big blockbuster AAA games and forget about the rest like there hasn't been 8 games come to gp since Starfield.

[@davidkirby26]

Darktide

[@dipannath9319]

Starfield

[@doktorcito2629]

It really depends on your needs. If you for instance, don’t buy any game at all and don’t care to play necessarily the most recent games, subscription like PS Plus can be highly valuable. The same applies for GamePass but with this one, although higher yearly price, you can access some day one games

[@usedfuzzbox]

Whilst i have largely been with Sony, apart from a brief bout with the 360, I am totally with Xbox this gen BECAUSE of GamePass. The value is just too good for me personally, there are at least 2-3 games per month I'm into. and I have a PC, so apart from the odd Sony exclusive I don't feel like I'm missing out.

[@wujekbandzior]

So true. I find I play only a scratch of what is available on gamepass or ps plus extra and I still pay for them. Apparently, for no reason. It is also a very overwhelming experience to be able to play some many but to have so little time to do so. Also, having a huge backlog of games that I actually pay for makes it even more difficult to comprehend and make up for.

[@focabox5594]

God, the big media really hates Xbox. Girl said you have to pay monthly for Xbox game pass. Not true! There are three and six months variants you can buy with discount Also, even if Starfield is the biggest release Xbox had in a few years, please, let's not forget Age of Empires 2 and 4 on Xbox. Not to mention all of day and date releases like Wo Long and Lies of P. You never seen these kind of people making these "mistakes" towards Sony. They are always so correct when it comes to PlayStation... 🤔

[@nielsmichiels1939]

She said that xbox didn't have a YEARLY option that slightly annoyed her.

[@RedDogX]

Game Pass is extremely worth it. I don't know what Lucy meant when she said regular game pass is 30 games because that is incorrect. Regular game pass has all of the games Ultimate game pass has minus the ea play games. Also Tamoor said he's not sure if game pass is helping or hurting because the economics don't make sense to him... I leave that to Microsoft. They aren't in it to lose money. My concern is my pockets. Is game pass helping my pockets? Yes. People start worrying about the wrong things and dig too deep into something when they don't have all of the information. He and all the others questioning game pass don't see the actual numbers Microsoft does, yet they steadily try to analyze it. Worry about yourself and if the economics make sense to you and your finances as an individual

[@investmentking4022]

Honestly just depends on the person and how many games they play per year.

[@wowomg1980]

Digital nowadays is very convenient and easy on the wallet. I got game pass for one month so I could try Starfield before I uninstalled it after 20 hours and I only spent 11 bucks. Twenty years ago I could’ve rented one or two games for no more than a week at that price plus driving to Blockbuster and driving back to return it on time and not to mention the times you get a scratched disc and have to drive all the way back as long as it’s in stock otherwise you gotta call them and ask to hold the disc for you

[@dotty1774]

You both miss out that there are many players who aren't playing games that come out fay and date. I've only just finished Returnal so Im up to mid 2021 so calisto protocol being given in Ps plus is great!

[@stewarde17]

Ya was thinking same thing they forget not everyone work for gaming blog and get most there games for free or can business expense them.

[@simplymincy]

This is the biggest disconnect. If you have money to buy every new game that comes out then yeah its insane to buy a subscription service

[@RevivedSaiyan]

Gamepass is currently worth it. Along with it's rewards points you get by without buying the subscription by saving up and doing challenges. Then buying any games also adds up to your rewards points, which can go to a variety of different things. Like gas cards, restaurant cards, Microsoft points, gamepass or live subscriptions, etc. I bought lies of p because it was a good game and the devs should be rewarded for it. I have the ultimate tier of gamepass and I don't see a problem. Age of empires and sea of stars are what I'm getting out of it. Lies of p aswell but I bought it anyways

[@jochemcasier6974]

I bought a 3 year game pass subscription for about a 100 euro's and been playing almost exclusively game pass games for the last 2 years so personally, it's been really worth it. Saved me tons and tons also on games I would have spend money on just to realise they weren't really my cup of tea after all.

[@lofi1598]

sept and october lots of day 1 gamepass games crazy

[@vhsodre]

That's the problem of owning multiple platforms. The ideal scenario, at least for me, is having a console and a portable device. I think owning every single one of them would compel me to spend more than I should that, obviously, I would never have time to play.

[@ronmar4517]

Probably has been mentioned, but there is 2 tiers of game pass, of which the first tier has three offerings. The base game pass does not give access to only ~40 games but I see where that issue is found with the merging of Gold into it. Instead, now, one base tier of game pass does that, another base tier gives access to console game pass games, and the final one is game pass on PC.

[@danischannel]

and ultimate includes all of it am i right ?

[@ronmar4517]

@danischannel Ultimate includes everything. You have game pass core, game pass console, game pass pc, and cloud.

[@coletrainhetrick]

You dont seem to recognize that when older games are put on, not everyone played them. Now that it is free with the service, a person who would n3ver have played it because it cost too much now can.

[@ZedKhanShan]

As a family of 4, PS Plus works great for me. I used to buy games for what I like, some my wife likes which I just backseat 😅 and loads for my kids. I usually buy games on discount sale. So this subscription service is perfect for me. I used to spend $500 a year before subscription.

[@user-gt8yv8nz6f]

The same Situation with me, 😂

[@andrewcovell9692]

Nintendo online is the scummiest of all of these they give you like nothing for it and then lock half of almost every games features off for those who don't have it

[@TransmitHim]

I really think it's better value to just buy what you want to play (especially for me when I'm mixing in lots of retro games and not fussed about immediately playing new releases so am more likely to buy them when they're discounted). Game Pass reminds me so much of when people get those mini consoles or emulator boxes full of ROMs and they'll go "look at all the games I have!" but then just dip into a few without really playing any in depth. As Tamoor said, as a tasting menu, that has some value, but as a monthly subscription, I don't see that it does.

[@andyscoming4919]

All I play are GP games lol

[@TQT1995]

Depends on your situation, I can see from the perspective on people that want to play the latest games and being more convenient from just simply downloading a game. However I like to value my games and ownership much more so I rather buy games that I do like on a disc and keep them safely for years to come whenever the servers go offline. I don't like to have a company to depend on if their servers go offline.

[@junichiimoto16]

I do this but I wonder would these games be still playable in the future without the updates 😂

[@ReapsVsTheWorld1]

Absolutely love these conversations. The ps+ increase really bothers me. I usually tend to pay yearly for that one, and now I am really considering cancelling. For xbox, I usually get the 3-month every now and then, but I don't keep it monthly. Had to get it for Starfield but then after that I will end up cancelling it.

[@stewarde17]

It seems like alot but if you look actual breakdown it make sense why they changed it you was saving tremendous amount with the old plan just wish they would made monthly dollar or 2 cheaper to compensate. Premium is still $215.88 for 12 month by month payments 199.99 for four 3 month plans that same price pre-Sept. The new 12 month price is $159.99 from $119.99. So you went from saving $96 by going with old 12 month plan to saving $55.84 on new plan and $39.97 over the four 3 month plans. Extra is $179.88 for 12 month by month payments $99.96 for four 3 month plans that same price pre-Sept. The new 12 month price is 134.99 from $99.99. So you went from saving $79.89 by going with old 12 month plan to saving $45 on new plan and $25 over the four 3 month plans. Essential is 119.88 for 12 month by month payments 99.96 for four 3 month plans that same price pre-Sept. The new 12 month price is 79.99 from 59.99. So you went from saving $59.89 by going with old 12 month plan to saving $39.89 on new plan and $19.97 over the four 3 month plans.

[@BONES9972]

Game Pass is Superior and it's excellent if you don't constantly buy new games. You cash always pause or stop.

[@in.edieudonnesworld3167]

It's not. Good games on are only cloud play. You can't download them and the rest come and go out of that service

[@kayrakaanonline2615]

I live in Turkey where games are REALLY expensive. PS Plus is also not cheap but one year of Premium is equal to 2 new full priced games. I can only afford 2 or 3 newly released games per year so Plus allows me to catch up on the other stuff. For example, this year I got Hogwarts, Spider-Man 2 and Alan Wake 2. Nothing else from the new games because I simply can’t afford it. However, I know that Dead Space or Jedi Survivor or Resident Evil 4 will get to a subscription service sometime. In fact, Dead Space is probably pretty close to coming EA Play. So subscriptions allows me that. And yes, I am that person who said “This is my time to get into Callisto.” I will play it, hopefully enjoy it and I don’t have any problem with playing it now. BTW, I may have sounded angry but I’m not. Just wanted to show a different perspective. I love you guys both ❤

[@TwilitKage]

GamePass is absolutely worth it with catalog and day 1 releases. PS+, not at all after the price hike. NSO has a better retro library and its like a quarter the cost.

[@IgnatiusAlpha]

This series is right next to the Kurt Locker as my favorites on this channel. Always look forward to Lucy saying "Let's talk about it". I also have had PS+ Premium for the past year or so and have barely used it. As a result, I'm going to go back down to the Essential tier next year due to the price hike.

[@tyjones9864]

Gamepass releases a lot more than JUST 1st party games day 1 into the service and that was completely overlooked.

[@waterprincess6444]

On purpose , these ponies can’t get off their high hourse.

[@labrats3d]

If we could pick only the things from our subscription that we really want / need and only pay for that it, would be great. I have PS+ Essential and just uses it for online playability. If I could cancel the monthly games and the cloud Save files to cut the price to half, I'm on it! Or add something new like "Indie Title Subscription" so that small indie games are "free".

[@anayosmith9505]

I think it's worth it depending on which one you buy

[@BurtonGuster57]

How else would we play on line?

[@drumroll7552]

I got an Xbox 2 years ago and I bought only 1 game since. You get codes for games, most people don't. Game pass covered me and my son's gaming needs for the approximate cost of 2 AAA games a year

[@jnee]

Subscription models - while great business practices for companies - are just BAD for me. The choices stress me, I feel like I'm throwing money down the drain when I get busy and don't use them. I much prefer something like a steam library that grows occasionally and never shrinks

[@tonyrivera8996]

This month The Quarry is leaving ps plus extra, so I put it on the top of the list and is about 10hours and I loved it. I kinda like that my backlog has some dynamic forces like that. I just to play the games leaving game pass as well when I had an xbox. Also Callisto Protocol was something I was waiting for and thanks to the premium trial I saw that I liked that game, was waiting on a cheap used copy and then it just fell on my lap with the monthly games. But I do see the point of the video that for people that keep up with most new releases and has the time to play them these services don't offer the same value.

[@rafaelo1013]

Ps plus price increase was outrageous, and then don’t adding new features or something to justify it, was like giving the finger to every PlayStation user. PlayStation has become such a bad, mean, and abusive company with their users.

[@richardhawkes4719]

And here's me having just joined PS Plus Premium for the first time... XD As a gamer who has always been way behind the latest releases, being able to access those "older" games with my subscription a year or two down the line is pretty awesome. Horizon Forbidden West, newer Assassins Creed, Doom and Doom Eternal, the Dark Souls remake, Far Cry 6, Ghost of Tsushima, Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart - there are a lot of big ticket titles, most of which I haven't touched. And the classics catalogue is appealing too, though I'll admit that streaming is not. I honestly didn't really know what PS Plus was before it was in the news recently but the new price still sounds worth it for a first time subscriber.

[@markh351]

And the good thing about playing established games for the first time is that they are fully patched generally speaking. Could never understand the Day 1 hype. If you haven't played a game, regardless of what it is, you haven't played it.

[@willuigi64]

I find the library access type of services to add a lot of value. I've kind of been suckered by my game pass ultimate trial. Plenty of EA, Xbox, Indie and other games to play at a whim. It's got a lot of games I'm interested in but don't have the coffers to purchase all of them outright. The base plans for these services are essentially stripping out basic functionality that I expect to be offered for free with my account by literally any PC launcher, but bundled with some monthly free games.

[@PLightstar]

Definitely worth it. Had game pass and ps top tier at one point, I've only got GP now as I get enough Microsoft points so I don't have to pay for it. Great for checking out Indie titles. I still will buy some games after playing them on Game Pass to show my support.

[@javierper3z]

This seems more like a “reviewer” problem. Most of us don’t have the luxury of playing everything we are interested in and/or have access to anything we want to try, so putting $120 into games means you’ll end up with a bunch of stuff that’s just not for you or, most likely, just ignoring anything not AAA. I love the Yakuza series, but I would’ve never tried them if they weren’t on Gamepass. Same with Immortals Fenyx Rising. And would’ve absolutely wasted cash on Lies of P.

[@sonicsean34]

It did pop into my head how many of these “old games that I’ve already played” that Tam and Lucy dismissed were review codes or stuff they bought themselves just to keep up as part of their job. Most people’s use cases are different than that. They aren’t playing 5-10 different games a month either due to time constraints or cost. I’ll be trying Callisto next month since I couldn’t afford it at the time of realise but as part of Plus Essential is cheap enough (and that sub gives me access to all the other games I’ve claimed over the years) I can agree with them on the higher price tiers tho. Even if I had the money for them the lack of classic games on the highest PS Plus catalogue is shocking after all this time.

[@Mikefishable]

I sat down watching this to see how they can paint Xbox in a bad light. Didn’t take long. As soon as they mentioned Xbox they immediately went to the new gamepass core (which is just an updated games with gold that nobody asked for) and didn’t mention the regular, original gamepass that does include all the games. Just not cloud and pc (like ultimate). How do games journalists not know this but gamers do? Also I haven’t played Callisto protocol so I’m looking forward to trying it out. Same with saints row last month. Games I’d never buy but will defo try. These journalists always seem to have a different approach to regular gamers.

[@Protea_RSA]

Less than 30 seconds…. The marketing is strong on these droids.

[@MrWolfPants]

I tend to pay for any subscription on a use basis. If I haven't touched it for a few weeks then I cancel. When something big comes up again I resub, and usually catch up on some smaller things I've missed along the way. Do this for all movie/TV subs too. Always have. The way they make money out of this is by people just subscribing and then not thinking about it and paying for months without use.

[@DarkP1]

short answer: No, they find ways to induce believes that it improves the online experience (which is false) and competitive players wants to pay for the smallest edge

[@mikeuk666]

Single player games....

[@DavidBrant]

As a fairly casual gamer i sub to ps+ premium. For the cost of ~1.5 full price digital new release, you get hundreds of games to try, mixed in with some decent premium and vintage games. It’s when all these online subs add up plus the price creep - games, TV / movies, and other monthly subs do add up.

[@Aarsal_SoulBlazerz]

If you're completely alone? Then sure, I don't think any sub more than 16 bucks monthly is worth it. But one of the biggest strengths of gamepass (which is just 11 if you don't play online) is in giving access to everyone in your house to a ton of games. And that's not even counting a super easy game share setup. Couple that with the sheer amount of great games (small or large) releasing on the service, and gamepass is absolutely still an amazing service. Especially when, again, it's only 11 dollars a month. Not 16.

[@simplymincy]

I think you have to realize for people like me who buy the big first party games but is willing to wait a bit for other games, the Playstation subscription is great. Especially with the notion I can share it with my 7 year old

[@mrbudodan]

So many times I’ve thought about cancelling gamepass for a while. Not because it’s bad but because I’m not using it. Then I remember I’m sharing it with my kids and also it’s not that much more expensive than gold, which I need for online play. If I didn’t need to pay for online then I would cancel it I think. But I do feel a bit stuck.

[@joshuamcneely3028]

It's so simple dont pay for something you dont use or like.

[@KevanRGammage]

PS Premium is just not worth it . . . I'm riding with Essential for now, but IF I upgrade at all it will be to Extra only.

[@user-zv7fz2ch4p]

The only reason i pay for ps+ is because you have to have it in order to play online w/friends. Otherwise I wouldn't even own it. It's only going to get worse/more expensive now that every game has to "always be online" it's becoming a baked in fee just to game.

[@bgmvalerio]

The thing is... those of us on console always have to pay some kind of subscription just to play online... it's about time that ended.

[@Tenchi10]

This all makes sense. Right now, I am divided between canceling all services and keeping some of the lowest tier, because I don't utilize everything. You play 3 games per year, is it enough? Probably not, to be honest. Ask yourself how many games you actually play per year on console. If it's on the lower end, you might want to cancel your subscriptions before they jump in price. Microsoft has already shown before they are willing to do this, and they will attempt to do it again. Sony has already done this, and Nintendo is never too far behind both of them in terms of pricing.

[@ytm23ak]

Journalists don’t get it. They receive codes and are by the nature of their profession have to play new games. Great value for normal people

[@AllDayWong10]

I think I’m done with game subscriptions, the value is there but my time isn’t. If I have time I’m likely going to play the latest and greatest or a game that I missed that is now on sale (ex rn RE4R or Cyberpunk).

[@coletrainhetrick]

That's nonsensical AF. You're quite literally paying 70 dollars for a single game that you are basing whether or not you'll like on critic scores

[@Ninjachickenfingers]

Price isn’t going up to bring “better” content. It’s going up to keep doing what they’re already doing. That’s inflation

[@matthewhardwick8208]

I've cancelled my Game Pass subscription at least until the ABK deal is cleared and most of their content is available on the service. I really want the yearly option like PS Plus has. You can't deny the value for money both services have if you pay yearly. A price of 2-3 triple AAA games for over 1000 titles on both services combined is a no brainer. And you can still buy games traditionally whenever you want to. We've seen the data that subscribers buy more games than non subscribers do.

[@P.Rick316]

It's pure greed

[@gamingwithgrief4307]

I've been thinking about this a lot lately and the writer's strike has made me think about these game subscription services more. I was one of the 10 million people who played Starfield, but it was only for two hours. The game didn't click for me and I bounced off it. How many people bought Starfield? Microsoft is just like all the big streaming services(Netflix, Disney +, etc) they share data when they want to and use really weird metrics. I actually purchase some physical media now because I'm afraid if I like it, it will be pulled down and I'll never see it again. A writer (I'm sorry I don't remember his name) was talking about the strike and said that the big streamers don't care about narrative, characters or the art of the show they are making they are there to deliver content. They want to have more then the the other streaming services. That isn't a model for quality. It just means more. I'm old it's so hard now to keep up with things. I reduced all my subscriptions and buy less games, because I have less time now. I don't even have a top ten game of the year list. It'll be like two games. I love the three(BG3, ToTK, and maybe Spider-Man 2, the first one was great). I just don't have endless resources to dump into those services.

[@lofi1598]

ok pony stop crying starfeild great game and gamepass lots of day 1 games

[@hugoku]

Gamepass Ultimate is the best thing MS has ever done. I have played tons of games, countless hours, and the cloud is great if you play rpgs or non twitchy games. And the PC stuff is great as well.

[@aarojpoll]

After the PlayStation Plus price hike not really because the price just went up and they didn't add anything of value At least Xbox has revolving games so if there's nothing there right now wait a month or two and there might be something there that justifies the price

[@AdmiralBison]

'Games as goods' >>>> 'Games as a service' Own your games (Physical or DRM-free digital) and keep playing not keep paying.

[@RJ_____________]

in my opinion Microsoft Game Pass is the best subscription service that exist. i played Lies of P on the Game Pass and i loved. i liked the character interaction between the characters in Starfield and there are so many other games there. i love Spot On. thanks for another great video, Lucy, Tam and Gamespot Team. i think that you both are pretty good hosts and i like to hear your thoughts.

[@travisr9839]

Same. I justify GamePass as the cost of 3 first party Xbox games (Starfield/Forza/Sea of Thieves/etc) spread across a year and everything else is a bonus. This year alone I played Lies of P, Sea of Stars, Payday 3, High on Life, Hi-Fi Rush, & Need For Speed Unbound. Many of those are full priced games.

[@travisr9839]

And GamePass Ultimate includes both Console and PC GamePass. Many of those games now work with GeForce Now (which I already had) so I can stream games like Starfield at max PC settings as part of my subscription instead of buying and streaming them from Steam.

[@jimmytimber7074]

Lies of p is really good. Starfield can be good it can also drag. I think starfield has alot of potential. Hopefully they fix it like cd project fixed cyberpunk. I'm really liking cyberpunk right now.

[@mikeuk666]

​@joceja23if they are a shill that makes you an attention seeking kid

[@caprise-music6722]

I’ve had Xbox live gold since Xbox 360. Never really needed gamepass. The games I really wanted to play I bought happily. But now I have game pass core and it’s awesome. Playing Ori, vampire survivors etc. I like it. I still have my important online subscription but I can play some awesome games I always wanted to play in addition to that

[@captainzib]

Even though I have plus extra, and gamepass ultimate, I mostly just play games I own. I think I’ll be canceling both and going back to buying games when they’re discounted like I always used to.

[@librarygary1618]

I paid just an extra $10 on top of my normal yearly ps plus subscription before they raised prices and got to play ratchet and clank rift apart, returnal, miles morales, the ghost of tsushima DLC, Devil May Cry 5, and a few others and every one of those games I feel like is absolutely worth full price so for me it was an insane deal. I think it just depends on timing and person to person. I can see myself not renewing the more expensive tier next year depending on what they add that I don't get around to playing.

[@wujekbandzior]

I mean, the deal is good if you haven’t purchased the games such as those already. I usually buy them before they’re on ps plus and if I don’t, then I probably won’t play them anyway.

[@budstarvedbeast9221]

PSA to anyone looking for an alternative Libraries have current gen games. I have Super Mario Wonder and Avatar on hold right now. I May have to wait a few extra week or a month but it’s free. And they have new movies on blu ray as well.

[@beekyiscoolio]

I’m still on my day one PS4 and still have a huge back catalogue of games that have come out over the years on PS Plus so for me it is good value

[@jackali5014]

Bought 1 year of game pass last month

[@mozdeepmwas1467]

Agreed 100%. Only makes sense this day if you are a multi-player gamer

[@noulo973]

Both ps premium and game pass ultimate is great but its highly based on a month to month basis. For me, the past 3 years ive only subscribed to both for 3 months in each year and there was almost never months worth subscribing back to back. Its also based on the state of the industry, there aren't that many great online games to play and the games that are good several of them are F2P.

[@KINGDAVID0624]

I have been thinking about switching to Xbox from PlayStation however, the problem I’m coming to you is the fact that in order for me to play online games I have to have game pass even if I don’t use any of the games from game pass I have to pay for it in order to play online and it is vastly more expensive than PS plus Because I would have to pay $120 a year versus only $80 a year in order to play online. I don’t care about getting free exclusives or a huge library of things to play. I just want to be able to play online games.

[@oscarwestbrook1155]

Exactly their should be a $30 a year ONLINE ONLT TIER!

[@paulrodriguez4394]

Entitled to your opinion but gamepass offers the best sub service in gaming and is well worth it. 3 or 4 1st party games a year plus day one drops of other games including brand new ip. You get more value then purchasing an individual game or two. Just saying.

[@fourthhorseman04]

It varies from person to person . If I download 3 games it pays off, if i download 5+ games I consider it a steal. I stopped buying almost all games since it seems all the ones I buy go free anyway

[@markh351]

First, you don't need to buy and play games the day they come out. You pay full price and have to endure a buggy experience and the least amount of content. Over time I have built a library of games by buying used physical games and also by watching the ongoing sales on both the Xbox and PlayStation stores. I have gotten a lot of games for under $20 and under $10. Stuff that I had not played previously. You are right though, between game, movie, and music subscription services, the cost adds up fast!

[@Stingcourger]

I like to buy games on discounts when they drop to 20 eur. I don't feel the need to play new games most of the time but I will make an exception from time to time. At the end of the day I have little time for games as an adult and I cannot justify paying for subscriptions.

[@latch21]

I had this exact conversation when PS+ went up. I had been subbed since mid PS3 days. Cancelled it. I went out when Nintendo credit was 20% off in my country (Australia) and stocked up then got 20% back in gold points. I buy 3 months of gamepass for 47 bucks.

[@retrosean199]

It really comes down to how much spare time do you have? As soon as you pour a lot of time into one game you purchased, all your 'rental' subs are worthless. But at least you could cancel temporarily and come back later.

[@livibam]

Stopped both my subscriptions a couple months back.

[@AJJJ-co2vd]

I like game pass but I usually end up playing games I own way more then the amount of time I use games on the service

[@StormtrooperV2]

I legit payed for PSplus for YEARS without really using it as I primarily play on PC, this most recent price hike though was exactly what I needed to cancel it. I don't own a PS5 and have a ps4 collecting dust as Id rather wait for Ps4 "exclusives" to come to PC before jumping in. PSplus cut the free vita games, giving us less value, never have had first party stuff, and after this price increase they added nothing to the service, I'm out.

[@batsukamuro]

Bought Weird West on sale some weeks ago.

[@JeffHawthorne]

I stopped PS+ 2 years ago. Felt like Haven’t missed out on anything. I have 3 months of gamepass vouchers sitting there, but haven’t even turned my Xbox on in over a year. I’ve played everything I want to play.

[@TrulyMade]

The only reason why I watched this video was to see if gamespot was going to be honest 🤦🏽‍♂️

[@901Wes]

Game pass is great if you play a few games a week or have kids, but for me, I’m not bouncing between games enough to justify it . Rather buy the games I truly love

[@mateuszmichalak1463]

That table knows how to do ray-tracing 👍

[@henrikasteberg1218]

5:00 I totally see your point, but I don't think the Game Pass options were explained correctly. Regular game pass (console or pc) has hundreds of games, it's only game pass core that has 30 (or something like that). And then on top of this you have Ultimate (with even more games + cloud + online gaming), so there are three tiers where two of them (regular and ultimate) have a huge library. So you don't need to cash out for ultimate to have the larger library, you can have the regular console/pc-version.

[@user-kr5vm8nk1d]

I have Essential for the online multiplayer, but compared to Nintendo’s yearly price for online it’s rather expensive.

[@agent95_]

i got absolutley nothing from this video.. start to finish i have no additional information on if game pass is worth it. This was great info.

[@nbaumg]

the trick is to just buy gamepass for 1-3 months at a time then cancel it. I will let things build up and play them all at once

[@derheadbanger9039]

I love Game Pass! I just used it to play Lies of P, Sea of stars and Lamplighters League are next. After that, I will most likely cancel my subscription again for a short time, to work on my Steam backlog. And every time I resubscribe to Game Pass again, I get another month (or more) for free!

[@brandonwoodward9515]

My older take on subscription services is the price per year is not worth it. Now my thinking is similar to Greg Miller: the value of the subscription services will be specific to personal choice. If you mostly play free-to-play online games, then the none of the services are needed. If the you mostly pay other online games on consoles, then you need the cheapest service. If you like perusing a catalog of games to play as well as cloud streaming, online play, and other benefits, then the highest tier is what you would need. If you want a service for only a few months, then you would pay the monthly rate and cancel when needed. Don't trust you will remember ro cancel or you want it more than a few months, then maybe the yearly or quarterly rate is better for you. I would probably add one more thing: timing. This year has presented many games the wider audience felt were day one games. Some of those games are not coming to any service day one. So for this year, it may be more prudent to not have any service (except when you want online or the new game is coming to a service). However, this only helps those who didn't pay for the majority of the year. It is hard to predict if you will use the service in 2025 when purchasing in 2023 because games don't have release dates or get delayed.

[@fernguti1095]

Just last month alone I played Starfield, Lies of P, Party Animals, Pay Day 3, and Cocoon, all day one releases. This month Dark Tide and Forza Motorsport are the big ones along with smaller titles. Weird West on PS Now was a day one a year ago and so on Game Pass (good game btw.) So was that Sim game I believe. Game Pass is well worth it.