A question for Playstation fans from an Xbox user

CinemaGuy45

I am no spring chicken but I still enjoy playing a few games and I have had all the consoles starting with the 8bit ones from Sega Nintendo Sony and Microsoft.

I enjoy Forza and Halo games but I will admit Sony is strong on exclusives however here comes my question.

I decided to stick with Xbox into this new generation to use Gamepass which I think is great value for money I could not get my hands on a Series X for launch but I settled for a Series S and a ITB expansion after that I am done I will just use gamepass unless I really want a purchase game.

The price of the new games on all of the new systems is insane and even if I can spare the cash I will spend it on something else.

Does the idea of buying some games at up to €110 not give you pause in your mind?
We have streaming services for video and most people will find something to watch on Netflix does the same idea for games not seem like a great money saver?

As far as console specs go the Series S will not match the PS5 or Series X but it will still be by far the most powerful console I have ever had and it will be good enough for me and a big upgrade for the current gen console I have.

I am old enough to remember dial up internet charged by the minute and broadband with usage caps in my opinion gaming has been lacking value for money up until this point.

johnny_ultimate

CinemaGuy45 wrote: »

Does the idea of buying some games at up to €110 not give you pause in your mind?

Eh?

McFly85

This question comes up a lot, and it makes it sound like the Xbox is a subscription service only, whereas your being forced to spend 100+ for PlayStation games. PlayStation also has a subscription service, and when AC: Valhalla comes out the ultimate edition will be over 100 on both consoles.

I play most games on PlayStation(but also have an Xbox one X), and have been buying digitally for the whole generation. PlayStation store sales can be very good. If you’re willing to wait a few months, you’ll be able to get that game most likely for 40 or under(especially if you have ps+). In a lot of cases I’ve paid 10 or 15 euro.

Gamepass is good, but I don’t find too much value in it myself as there’s very little on it I’m interested in playing. I find it actually gets overhyped a fair bit. I would get more value out of 4 PlayStation games on sale then I would paying for a year of gamepass.

CinemaGuy45

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Eh?

I seen a game on the Xbox Store today ultimate edition of something but it was €110.

Other games just under the €100 mark.

Oat23

I always compare game prices to other forms of entertainment people enjoy.

Going to a LOI match will cost you €20 per game.

The cinema is probably €20 per movie.

Both will give you around 2 hours entertainment. €10 per hour.

Over the past 7 years I've put at least 500 hours into GTA V and bought it twice. €60 originally and then another €60 on PS4. That's €0.25c per hour of entertainment.

I assume your €110 figure is for something like AC: Valhalla ultimate edition. You'll probably spend 50 hours completing that game. You can do the math yourself but again it's nothing when you break it down.

Gaming is dirt cheap when you consider how long the hardware lasts and how many hours of enjoyment you get out of one €60 game.

CinemaGuy45

McFly85 wrote: »

This question comes up a lot, and it makes it sound like the Xbox is a subscription service only, whereas your being forced to spend 100+ for PlayStation games. PlayStation also has a subscription service, and when AC: Valhalla comes out the ultimate edition will be over 100 on both consoles.

I play most games on PlayStation(but also have an Xbox one X), and have been buying digitally for the whole generation. PlayStation store sales can be very good. If you’re willing to wait a few months, you’ll be able to get that game most likely for 40 or under(especially if you have ps+). In a lot of cases I’ve paid 10 or 15 euro.

Gamepass is good, but I don’t find too much value in it myself as there’s very little on it I’m interested in playing. I find it actually gets overhyped a fair bit. I would get more value out of 4 PlayStation games on sale then I would paying for a year of gamepass.

I suppose it depends I am a pretty casual gamer I still have the same user name from the early days of the Xbox 360 and I have just only reached 10'000 achievements some people have racked up some serious numbers.

I agree with you waiting and getting the game you want when it is much cheeper is a good tactic also.
Fifa 21 for the guts of €100 forget it.

johnny_ultimate

‘Ultimate editions’ and such nonsense are not representative of the actual cost of games on any platform.

CinemaGuy45

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

‘Ultimate editions’ and such nonsense are not representative of the actual cost of games on any platform.

I am guessing somebody must be buying these editions.:D

CinemaGuy45

Oat23 wrote: »

I always compare game prices to other forms of entertainment people enjoy.

Going to a LOI match will cost you €20 per game.

The cinema is probably €20 per movie.

Both will give you around 2 hours entertainment. €10 per hour.

Over the past 7 years I've put at least 500 hours into GTA V and bought it twice. €60 originally and then another €60 on PS4. That's €0.25c per hour of entertainment.

I assume your €110 figure is for something like AC: Valhalla ultimate edition. You'll probably spend 50 hours completing that game. You can do the math yourself but again it's nothing when you break it down.

Gaming is dirt cheap when you consider how long the hardware lasts and how many hours of enjoyment you get out of one €60 game.

The Graphics on that AC: Valhalla look stunning even on the Series S but some of those games that you have to sneak around in are very easy to get stuck on.
However this is a game I will splash out on not the ultimate edition the vanilla edition with no flake or sprinkles will do me.:D

Penn

CinemaGuy45 wrote: »

I am no spring chicken but I still enjoy playing a few games and I have had all the consoles starting with the 8bit ones from Sega Nintendo Sony and Microsoft.

I enjoy Forza and Halo games but I will admit Sony is strong on exclusives however here comes my question.

I decided to stick with Xbox into this new generation to use Gamepass which I think is great value for money I could not get my hands on a Series X for launch but I settled for a Series S and a ITB expansion after that I am done I will just use gamepass unless I really want a purchase game.

The price of the new games on all of the new systems is insane and even if I can spare the cash I will spend it on something else.

Does the idea of buying some games at up to €110 not give you pause in your mind?
We have streaming services for video and most people will find something to watch on Netflix does the same idea for games not seem like a great money saver?

As far as console specs go the Series S will not match the PS5 or Series X but it will still be by far the most powerful console I have ever had and it will be good enough for me and a big upgrade for the current gen console I have.

I am old enough to remember dial up internet charged by the minute and broadband with usage caps in my opinion gaming has been lacking value for money up until this point.

Sony have PS Now. It's not as good as Gamepass, but in terms of being a Netflix of games, it's at least an Amazon Prime. For me, while it doesn't get Day One First Party exclusives, I don't think the majority of MS's first party exclusives are worth it compared to Sony's. While PS Now might not have the full back catalogues like Gamepass does, I don't particularly want to play older games anyway. Plus multiplatform games on both PS5 and XSX/S will still cost money anyway until you wait for them to come on PS Now/Gamepass, so that's irrelevant.

For me personally, Gamepass doesn't have that much more value than PS Now (and I don't even use PS Now either).

I'm happy to pay full price for game as and when I feel the desire to, in the same way that even though I have Netflix, I'll pay to go to the cinema.

CinemaGuy45

Penn wrote: »

Sony have PS Now. It's not as good as Gamepass, but in terms of being a Netflix of games, it's at least an Amazon Prime. For me, while it doesn't get Day One First Party exclusives, I don't think the majority of MS's first party exclusives are worth it compared to Sony's. While PS Now might not have the full back catalogues like Gamepass does, I don't particularly want to play older games anyway. Plus multiplatform games on both PS5 and XSX/S will still cost money anyway until you wait for them to come on PS Now/Gamepass, so that's irrelevant.

For me personally, Gamepass doesn't have that much more value than PS Now (and I don't even use PS Now either).

I'm happy to pay full price for game as and when I feel the desire to, in the same way that even though I have Netflix, I'll pay to go to the cinema.

I will pay full price if I really want a game I just won't be building up a big collection of full price games.
That Crash Bandicoot 4 I just had to buy it and I am really enjoying it and if I was on Playstation that Ratchet and Clank game looks well worth a full price purchase.

However if I want to play a racing game or a shooter there are plenty of them in Gamepass and when the new Halo arrives it will be in Gamepass from day one.

And I love retro games especially the platform games.

Hey_Listen

Some things I've observed owning Nintendo and MS consoles ...

If you have a load of time to play games and you play games a lot then subscription services like gamepass are great.

If not, it's cheaper to just wait a year or two and get the best rated games at a low price e.g. the witcher or red dead 2 e.g. for 20 something quid.

BUT, gamepass seems to be getting much better value. e.g. EA games included + a lot of first party studios being bought by MS. So, maybe it'll be cheaper and better value in a year or so. Plus you can stack up 3 years gamepass for around 100 - 150 quid at the moment ...

Subscription services are great for trying out stuff you'd not normally try. e.g. "indie" games. Or stuff you can't buy easily anymore. Looks like gamepass and new Xboxes are on to a big win here with a lot of backward compatibility.

Xbox is currently very heavy on the FPS and driving games exclusives. Really, if you don't like these, it's less appealing.

PS seems to have way more variety than XBox in it's exclusives. e.g. spiderman, god of war, horizon zero dawn, the last of us, demon's souls, bloodborne, ratchet and clank, ...

Nintendo is very expensive and the first party titles are rarely discounted. But some of them are absolutely video game classics. e.g. breath of the wild, mario odyssey, mario kart 8 ... Really, nothing compares. Nintendo still seems to be the only company able to generate games that everyone can play ( and together couch play). MS and Sony still targeting late teen, adult males.

Xbox was way ahead hardware wise last generation (better designed, more powerful quieter consoles). But it looks like PS5 has caught up here.

That is all.

TheIrishGrover

I have all three current (last?) generation machines and have barely turned on my Xbox. I find the interface is very poor and designed to try to get you to guy stuff you don't have rather than play the games you actually own.

As mentioned previously, Xbox seem to concentrate on online FPS/driving games and I'm more of an RPG fan which is why PS and Switch are my primary and secondary machines. I have also PS Plus and PS Now.

But here's the think I hope someone can clarify: All I hear about Xbox is gamepass gamepass gamepass gamepass. They keep mentioning the deal with EA and Bethesday and keep mentioning Day 1 exclusives.
What does this mean? Does this mean that EA or Bethesday's latest games will be included with Gamepass at game launch or simply that they will be available (year/18 months/whenever later) before Sony (Or exclusive to Xbox?).

I mean will EA Insert-sport-here 2021 be available, say, March 2021 in the shops/online but also be part of gamepass on the day the game launches? Or is it simply the same as Playstation Plus?

Penn

TheIrishGrover wrote: »

I have all three current (last?) generation machines and have barely turned on my Xbox. I find the interface is very poor and designed to try to get you to guy stuff you don't have rather than play the games you actually own.

As mentioned previously, Xbox seem to concentrate on online FPS/driving games and I'm more of an RPG fan which is why PS and Switch are my primary and secondary machines. I have also PS Plus and PS Now.

But here's the think I hope someone can clarify: All I hear about Xbox is gamepass gamepass gamepass gamepass. They keep mentioning the deal with EA and Bethesday and keep mentioning Day 1 exclusives.
What does this mean? Does this mean that EA or Bethesday's latest games will be included with Gamepass at game launch or simply that they will be available (year/18 months/whenever later) before Sony (Or exclusive to Xbox?).

I mean will EA Insert-sport-here 2021 be available, say, March 2021 in the shops/online but also be part of gamepass on the day the game launches? Or is it simply the same as Playstation Plus?

With Gamepass, games from Microsoft's 1st party studios are on Gamepass from Day 1. So if you have Gamepass, you get those new games free at launch.

After having bought Bethesda, its likely their games will be the same, so the next Fallout, Elder Scrolls etc if you're already on Gamepass will be on Gamepass from day one. We don't know if those games will come to PlayStation at all now.

Games from third party studios will still cost whatever they cost at launch. Over time, they might end up on Gamepass or PS Now (Sony's version of Gamepass), but thats down to individual deals between MS/Sony and those publishers.

quokula

TheIrishGrover wrote: »

I have all three current (last?) generation machines and have barely turned on my Xbox. I find the interface is very poor and designed to try to get you to guy stuff you don't have rather than play the games you actually own.

As mentioned previously, Xbox seem to concentrate on online FPS/driving games and I'm more of an RPG fan which is why PS and Switch are my primary and secondary machines. I have also PS Plus and PS Now.

But here's the think I hope someone can clarify: All I hear about Xbox is gamepass gamepass gamepass gamepass. They keep mentioning the deal with EA and Bethesday and keep mentioning Day 1 exclusives.
What does this mean? Does this mean that EA or Bethesday's latest games will be included with Gamepass at game launch or simply that they will be available (year/18 months/whenever later) before Sony (Or exclusive to Xbox?).

I mean will EA Insert-sport-here 2021 be available, say, March 2021 in the shops/online but also be part of gamepass on the day the game launches? Or is it simply the same as Playstation Plus?

EA's subscription service, which already exists on both consoles and costs about €2 per month, will now be included for free in the €15 per month Microsoft charge you for gamepass. It doesn't include new games. FIFA 20 goes onto it when FIFA 21 goes on sale, the same for the other sports games. It does give you a discount though, if you have EA Play you can get a fiver off FIFA 21 (I subscribed for a month and cancelled, it worked out cheaper than just buying FIFA 21 outright) and you also get exclusive demos and stuff.

I agree with your point in general. As someone who bought an Xbox One, and PS4 at launch, and a 360 and PS3 at launch before that, Sony just produce a much wider variety of much, much higher quality first party games in a far broader range of genres. I have no interest in generic space marine shooters which wipes out three quarters of Microsoft's exclusive catalog. Microsoft's UI is also a complete confusing mess, and I find it bizarre that their controllers still require me to buy AA batteries like it's the 1980s (I'm aware you can buy a rechargeable battery pack but I don't use the console enough to spend more on that). I do however love the Forza motorsport series which singlehandedly justifies the console for me. I also bought Watchdogs Legion which I think is my first non-Forza Xbox purchase of this generation, just so I have something shiny to play when my Series X arrives next week.

My Xbox has gone from nearly zero use in its first few years to a reasonable amount of use with Gamepass, but it's still very much a secondary console. There's probably one or two times a year a new game comes out that I really want and it's actually on Gamepass. None of the big third party multiplatform games go on there at launch, it's mostly a mixture of indie games and old games, many of which are good games, but almost all of which can be purchased for less than a single month's cost of gamepass on other platforms if you look out for them.

With that said, I'm subscribing to it, it just about justifies i's price, but it's a long way from some kind of panacea. If I were to list my top ten games this year, I think maybe one or two of them made it onto game pass at the most, and that's including games that I played when they arrived on gamepass this year but actually came out years ago. If I limited myself to only playing gamepass games I'd be overlooking a hell of a lot of great titles.

CinemaGuy45

quokula wrote: »

EA's subscription service, which already exists on both consoles and costs about €2 per month, will now be included for free in the €15 per month Microsoft charge you for gamepass. It doesn't include new games. FIFA 20 goes onto it when FIFA 21 goes on sale, the same for the other sports games. It does give you a discount though, if you have EA Play you can get a fiver off FIFA 21 (I subscribed for a month and cancelled, it worked out cheaper than just buying FIFA 21 outright) and you also get exclusive demos and stuff.

I agree with your point in general. As someone who bought an Xbox One, and PS4 at launch, and a 360 and PS3 at launch before that, Sony just produce a much wider variety of much, much higher quality first party games in a far broader range of genres. I have no interest in generic space marine shooters which wipes out three quarters of Microsoft's exclusive catalog. Microsoft's UI is also a complete confusing mess, and I find it bizarre that their controllers still require me to buy AA batteries like it's the 1980s (I'm aware you can buy a rechargeable battery pack but I don't use the console enough to spend more on that). I do however love the Forza motorsport series which singlehandedly justifies the console for me. I also bought Watchdogs Legion which I think is my first non-Forza Xbox purchase of this generation, just so I have something shiny to play when my Series X arrives next week.

My Xbox has gone from nearly zero use in its first few years to a reasonable amount of use with Gamepass, but it's still very much a secondary console. There's probably one or two times a year a new game comes out that I really want and it's actually on Gamepass. None of the big third party multiplatform games go on there at launch, it's mostly a mixture of indie games and old games, many of which are good games, but almost all of which can be purchased for less than a single month's cost of gamepass on other platforms if you look out for them.

With that said, I'm subscribing to it, it just about justifies i's price, but it's a long way from some kind of panacea. If I were to list my top ten games this year, I think maybe one or two of them made it onto game pass at the most, and that's including games that I played when they arrived on gamepass this year but actually came out years ago. If I limited myself to only playing gamepass games I'd be overlooking a hell of a lot of great titles.

The last few posts really answered my question.

Again from my perspective if I really want a game I will buy it I just don't want to be buying loads of games.

I love the Forza series also racing and platform and a couple of shooters is what I enjoy.
A console is about it's games and as regards Playstation a lot of the story driven stuff is not my cup of tea however the likes of Uncharted and Ratchet and Clank would be a must buy on Playstation.

On Xbox I love the Halo games along with the Forza games plus the large amount of back catalog titles that can be purchased really cheap in the store.

I tend to agree however there are way too many shooters.

Cienciano

Both consoles are good, but I think a lot of people will just stick with what they had last at this stage. When it's 50/50, unless one has exclusives that you must have, you'll get whatever you had before. Microsofts disaster of a launch for the Xbox 1 will still haunt them.

As for games over €100, I don't know anyone who ever bought one. But as Oat23 said, games are the best value for money entertainment out there. My yeary €50 to play PES is the best €50 I spend every year.

H3llR4iser

I have all three of the "2015 gen" consoles, plus a gaming PC - objectively, GamePass is completely unrivaled in terms of convenience and value, especially in the last year or so, when plenty of day 1 "first party" releases were published on it; Also, I personally find that having an huge catalog of games at a fingertip, makes it so that I try out games I wouldn't ever have considered, let alone buy. It will apparently get even better in the future as MS has decided to pursue the GamePass way much more aggressively.

On the other hand, I DO see how it might be seen as either irrelevant or an issue by specific users - if someone only has a liking for specific games, for example. Another issue is that of percetpion in the "uninformed public" - I've had chats with "concerned parents" who where under the impression that Xbox required a mandatory monthly subscription, and they didn't know how to tell their kids they didn't want to pay for yet another service.

TheIrishGrover wrote: »

I find the interface is very poor and designed to try to get you to guy stuff you don't have rather than play the games you actually own.

Couldn't agree more - the most striking feature I noticed when I got the PS4 was the "here are your games. Play some." approach of the UI, compared with the absurdly dispersive nature of the Xbox one.

It used to serve you some "what's new" items, try to force some sad "content" by adult men wetting their pants about a Minecraft character and so on. You had to dig to find your games. It has improved a lot in the latest updates, but not enough.

Penn wrote: »

After having bought Bethesda, its likely their games will be the same, so the next Fallout, Elder Scrolls etc if you're already on Gamepass will be on Gamepass from day one. We don't know if those games will come to PlayStation at all now.

Not a chance of these companies not publishing for PS5, that would be giving up 50% of their revenue (in the very least, probably more if the sales figures will be similar to what they've historically been).

There will be probably a lot of "if you had an Xbox X with GamePass, this game would've been free..." publicity around it, however.

quokula wrote: »

I agree with your point in general. As someone who bought an Xbox One, and PS4 at launch, and a 360 and PS3 at launch before that, Sony just produce a much wider variety of much, much higher quality first party games in a far broader range of genres.

That's probably the thick of it; Now, Sony exclusives get often overhyped and overrated (especially the so-called "story driven" games...), but the fact remains that there is more variety.

One of the most often ignored central point is the lack of Japanese developers support on the Xbox platforms - like it or not, a lot of the "weird, quirky, oddly enjoyable" games come from these.

quokula wrote: »

buy AA batteries like it's the 1980s (I'm aware you can buy a rechargeable battery pack but I don't use the console enough to spend more on that).

Unless you're equipped with a charging stand, I'll take that over the "integrated battery" any day, in anything actually (laptop, phone, controller etc.).

You can just replace the batteries and play if you find them drained, rather than having to play tethered (and taking an USB port on the console, when there are only 2). Also, I found a good quality set of high-capacity, rechargeable AA batteries, to last much longer in the XB1 pads than the internal battery lasts in the DS4s.

Concerns about the internal battery degrading however are mostly irrelevant, as the pads are likely to fall apart before the battery dies anyway (unlike the PS2 and Xbox 360 pads, which will probably outlast all of us and be found in the rubble by Alien explorers!)

WhenPigsCry

The difference between GamePass and Netflix is that Netflix works with my tv, phone, pc and several consoles, all devices I purchased anyway.

GamePass does work with my PC, of course, but I seldom game using that. I'm not going to buy an expensive new console just to subscribe to a games service on top. A true Netflix of gaming would be a streaming service I can use on other consoles/devices, and its still early days on that front.