https://twitter.com/Wario64/status/1680733391464071169
@Wario64: Xbox Live Gold will apparently transition to Xbox Game Pass Core on Sept 1st
-includes online multiplayer and various benefits -same price as XBLG -Existing XBLG subscribers will convert to Core -includes 25 Game Pass titles -GWG offers will end
There isn’t a single game on gamepass you can’t also purchase if you so choose.
For now. We’ll see how that plays out in the future. It makes sense they’d offer both during a transition period, but in the game of control and ongoing revenue, I could see where they’d want all games to be steaming only.
I had Game Pass for a little while to see if it would be worth it to stream games on a PC that isn’t really up for local games. GTA V was one of the few games that was actually playable, as it was more forgiving of input lag. I started playing, then after a couple weeks… poof… gone. I guess their license for it was only temporary. That’s a bad experience; I cancelled the service shortly after. Sure, I could go buy a better PC, or pick up an Xbox or Playstation along with the game, but I’d lose my progress and be spending a lot more money (at least in the short-term). If/when that other option isn’t there, pulled content will just be gone. It’s not like movies where people can do web rips. Game streaming only provides the result of the code, not the code itself.
We’re already seeing this happen with games that were only available for digital distribution via Nintendo’s eShop that is being shut down. https://www.keengamer.com/articles/news/every-3ds-and-wii-u-eshop-game-were-about-to-lose-forever/
For what it’s worth GTA 5 is back on the service. It’s definitely not great when a game you’re in the middle of drops off gamepass. I think that’s in part why Microsoft is buying so many publishers; they want the games on the service in perpetuity. I will say that I don’t expect a move to fully streamed games any time in the near future, the internet infrastructure is just not there for it to be the only option any time soon.
Fool me once, shame on Microsoft, fool be twice, shame on me.
I had this happen with Amazon Prime Video as well. I was watching a series, got 5 seasons in, and turned it on to find out they now wanted to charge something like $4/episode. Nope.
Every time something like this happens my resistance to these services grows. I’m in the process of moving back to a manually maintained music library, instead of using a steaming service. I just don’t trust that the music I’m going to want to listen to in 20 years will still be there. I have the same fear with TV, movies, and now games. I went and bought an external optical drive so I could rip physical media again. Something I never thought I’d do after ripping everything I had 15 years ago. I thought I was done with optical media back then, but nope. Now it’s just a question of how much longer that will still be an option.