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Xbox All Access: The Future of Gaming?


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This week Microsoft announced a new subscription based program called Xbox All Access, which you can find the full details on here: https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2018/08/27/xbox-all-access/

 

The short version is that for $22 a month you get a brand new Xbox One S system, 24 months of Xbox Live Gold, and 24 months of their Game Pass service (which is much like Netflix for video games). Alternately, for $35 a month you can get an Xbox One X instead of a One S. The catch is that you're locked into a 24 month contract, but once the 24 months is up you own the system and get to keep it; similar to the way mobile phone companies sell phones these days.

 

Personally I think it's a brilliant idea, as there's probably quite a few people who would like to play current generation video games but might not be able to plunk down hundreds of dollars up front for a system. The only hitch in the plan is that it's pretty common knowledge that Microsoft and Sony plan to roll out their next gen systems in a year or so, which makes being locked into a 2 year contract for an aging system a little less attractive.

 

On the flip side, I know that if Nintendo offered the same kind of deal where you got a Switch with their own Game Pass type service that had 100+ current generation games to download for $22 a month I'd run out and sign up today. So I'm curious what you guys and gals think of this new service? Is it something you'd be interested in and could it be the future of console and game distribution?

Edited by Jin
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The short answer is I have just as much intention of getting a xbone now as I did before their announcement. Meaning it still sits firmly at 0. If they pay -me- 22-35 bucks a month for two years, maybe I'll take one off their hands and let it sit in a closet somewhere.

 

Of course, this is just my opinion based on the fact I have no interest in Microsoft's xbox line. If Nintendo or Sony did this, I'd likely consider it - except I already have both.

 

*addition*

 

Also, as you say if Microsoft does release their next console in the next year, this might bite them in the ass. The people paying 22-35/month for an aging xbone at the time of release of the next console will simply be even less able to purchase a brand new launch console up front compared to those who don't dabble in this program. Meaning a possibility of even fewer preorders or early 1-2 year adopters. That is of course unless they do the same thing at similar price points for their next console. (I don't think they'll get many people ponying up for a new console at 50/month for 2 years for instance.)

Edited by Mord
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I don't think you got the games, but they did something similar for the 360 and you got two years of live gold last generation.

 

It's a good idea, like a rent to own store, which you could do for decades now, minus an online service, granted online really started last gen (yeah it's been around longer, but not nearly as integrated as it is now)

 

I'd do it for a switch. Knowing what I know now, due to having an xbone now, there's no way in hell I'd do it for an Xbox now (even if I didn't already own one) I'd probably even do it for a ps4, mines over 3 years old now. It's really a great idea.

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Also, as you say if Microsoft does release their next console in the next year, this might bite them in the ass. The people paying 22-35/month for an aging xbone at the time of release of the next console will simply be even less able to purchase a brand new launch console up front compared to those who don't dabble in this program. Meaning a possibility of even fewer preorders or early 1-2 year adopters. That is of course unless they do the same thing at similar price points for their next console. (I don't think they'll get many people ponying up for a new console at 50/month for 2 years for instance.)

They're doing this to try to sell at least a few more consoles than they would otherwise. And once they get people to subscribe to their services, they can keep a good number of them to boost the divisions profits. But I think this is really a trial run for next gen. If the pricing on the X is any indication of the future, then this will mitigate some of the sticker shock.

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No doubt Microsoft would love for it to be the future. Much better to have a "cable tv" model with guaranteed revenues every month than the people who buy a box (sold at a loss) and just a few games and nothing else. Add in business practices that make it easy to start, but hard to quit, and business terms that make the health of the "rented" console the responsibility of the renter, and you might have the workings of a much higher value per customer than just outright purchases.

 

It's like free-to-play gaming, but with hardware too. I think it's innovative, and if I were younger and had more time than money, I'd go for it. At this stage of my life, I prefer to buy stuff outright.

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This is being tested in the USA only i assume?.

 

As a European owner who went through 4 classic Xbox consoles at various times and who's 360 never died on him...

 

Had this been announced in the UK, it would of done nothing to tempt me into getting back into Xbox.

 

I've only just found enough to get back into on the PS4.

 

There simply aren't the games i want to play appearing on PC/PlayStation or Xbox formats to see me invest the time in gaming i once did.

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I don't think you got the games, but they did something similar for the 360 and you got two years of live gold last generation.

 

It's a good idea, like a rent to own store, which you could do for decades now, minus an online service, granted online really started last gen (yeah it's been around longer, but not nearly as integrated as it is now)

 

I'd do it for a switch. Knowing what I know now, due to having an xbone now, there's no way in hell I'd do it for an Xbox now (even if I didn't already own one) I'd probably even do it for a ps4, mines over 3 years old now. It's really a great idea.

Games with Gold on the 360 worked differently. You got to keep them even after your subscription ended. And when Xbox 360 back-compat came out, the back-compat games didn't expire, either, which is hella cool.

 

OTOH, the 360 and OG Xbox games on Xbone that are part of the Xbox Games Pass do expire, though. When a game leaves the service, you'll supposedly be warned, and you can buy it at a 20% discount while your sub is active, as long as it's part of the included library. Even if you keep the Xbox, you need to either keep the subscritchin' up or be sure to be buying games at the discounted price.

 

The problem with this is that the reach is extremely small. You can only get on this deal at a physical Microsoft location. I don't live anywhere close to one.

 

OTOH, if you have an Xbox One (which I did recently get one) you can get the sub for as low as ~7.50 a month if you search for "Xbox Games Pass deals" on Google. I bought 4x 3-month codes for $85 today, as a matter of fact, because I see this being useful for a year or more. I rarely buy games these days, but I like to sample stuff. Also, Microsoft is running a deal where if you've never had it before, you can get the first month for $2, and if you allow them to do recurring billing you'll get a second month free. I wound up with a total of 14-month subscription this way.

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Slashgear has an article with a good section on the math, for those lazy like me. None of this "an Xbox One S for $2/month!" yellow journalism. What I didn't realize but learned from Slahsgear is that All Access is only available at brick-and-mortar Microsoft stores. So, good luck with that.

 

If someone's the type who doesn't shop for savings and are happy with the ~100 games on Game Pass, it's probably a good deal. Xbox One S savings of $130 over buying it outright. Xbox One X is much lower, at $20 savings. My guess is the main appeal is the financing.

 

If one spends even a modest amount of time searching for deals, the XBone X deal evaporates with merely a ~$42/year Gold purchase (instead of $60). I'm sure Game Pass deals can be had--I know they have a $2/2-months introductory offer, so that's another $18 savings; at least for new customers. Or if one spends five or ten minutes per day with Bing Rewards to pay for XBL/GP , then obviously buying the console outright is a much better deal than All Access.

 

While I'm not a Game Pass subscriber, the concept doesn't particularly bother me; it's just a game rental format not much different than Netflix or Gamefly. That is, if one is happy with the game selection.

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If one spends even a modest amount of time searching for deals, the XBone X deal evaporates with merely a ~$42/year Gold purchase (instead of $60). I'm sure Game Pass deals can be had--I know they have a $2/2-months introductory offer, so that's another $18 savings; at least for new customers. Or if one spends five or ten minutes per day with Bing Rewards to pay for XBL/GP , then obviously buying the console outright is a much better deal than All Access.

As I noted above, you can get GamePass 3-month codes for around $7.50 per month instead of the normal $10. I got four from scdkey yesterday. All four codes worked fine and were applied immediately. They also arrived basically immediately.

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Slashgear has an article with a good section on the math, for those lazy like me. None of this "an Xbox One S for $2/month!" yellow journalism. What I didn't realize but learned from Slahsgear is that All Access is only available at brick-and-mortar Microsoft stores. So, good luck with that.

I have two MS stores within an easy drive. I guess that's not typical.

 

Having it only thru their stores would make it more likely staff would be trained and the customer would have a good experience.

 

Maybe they'll expand it to partners with many locations (Best Buy, I would think) if the "lease" idea takes off.

 

Do you get to keep the hardware after paying into it for long enough?

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I have two MS stores within an easy drive. I guess that's not typical.

 

Having it only thru their stores would make it more likely staff would be trained and the customer would have a good experience.

 

Maybe they'll expand it to partners with many locations (Best Buy, I would think) if the "lease" idea takes off.

 

Do you get to keep the hardware after paying into it for long enough?

 

I have one within about a 30 minute drive, but it's marked as a "specialty store". Wikipedia calls that a mall kiosk, so I don't know if they have or can order it. Only around one hundred stores in the USA, including kiosks. Some states have only kiosks: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/locations/find-a-store?icid=XboxAllAccess_CP1_XboxOneX_Store_Locator_Launch

 

The Slashgear article (and a few others) says they get to keep it after the 24 months is up. The Microsoft FAQ says nothing about the subject, but a Dell Preferred Account revolving credit line is required. Also, Time mag says there's the option to pay for the whole thing up-front, which seems to me as the "I have more money than time" choice.

 

BTW, the FAQ says if it breaks after a year you're SOL.

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There's a Microsoft store about 20 minutes away from me at the Mall of America, but I do live in a big urban area. I read the terms and conditions for Xbox All Access on the Microsoft website and apparently you own the console and it's yours to keep from the very first payment, so it's not a "rent to own" situation. It's yours from the get go. The subscription thing is handled through Dell Preferred Credit, so basically Dell pays the entire 24 month cost up front then you spend two years paying off the bill to Dell with 0% APR unless you default on a payment, at which point you still get to keep the console and Dell sends their debt collectors after you for the money.

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It's a little late in the season for Microsoft to be offering a service like this. If they release the successor to the Xbox One any time in the next two years, that's going to make anyone who signs up for this service feel like a big fool. Then again, they could always let you trade it in for the next Xbox, whatever dumb number they're going to give it.

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I'm sure sure that I could feel too bad for anyone having buyer's remorse. You end up paying almost double the cost of the console over time, and I don't see the online services enhancing the value THAT MUCH. If you can do basic math and are clueless that a new console is due soon, then you shouldn't be signing 2-year contracts.

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The deal itself seems particularly good if you planned on subscribing to the extra services anyway. Also, assuming this is handled like traditional financing, users will have the option to pay it off earlier if they want, so it's not like they have to be stuck paying for two full years straight.

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I'm sure sure that I could feel too bad for anyone having buyer's remorse. You end up paying almost double the cost of the console over time, and I don't see the online services enhancing the value THAT MUCH. If you can do basic math and are clueless that a new console is due soon, then you shouldn't be signing 2-year contracts.

How do you end up paying almost dou le the cost of the console over time?

 

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

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Seems like a slow shift into the Digital Only subscription based service they wanted the Xbox One to be at launch that everyone freaked out over and they changed their tack?

 

If we ever saw this in Australia it would no doubt be far more expensive.

All this is, is a way for customers to finance existing products and services as a bundle. The user is still free to buy physical game as they please.

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They once tried this with the 360 (two year contract w/ XBLA by the month) but no one bit. I can see the subscription model work for people who want to try out the latest games w/o having to pay $60 for something they'll play for only a couple weeks, but gamers (like me) are so iffy about "owning" stuff.

 

The Microsoft Store only policy is stupid since they're only in upscale urban areas like Apple's. If they offer it at Best Buy within the MS mini-stores than that's a different story.

 

No I don't think subscription models for console gaming will take off like they did for mobile games, but at least it's an optional option for some.

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