The Xbox brand is going through a rough patch with everyone after the news of changes coming to their subscription service. The price of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate was increased drastically, which drew the ire of many gamers online, who felt the increase was astronomical and unnecessary. Although Xbox justified the reason for the price increase by showing the amount of games coming to the service and the additional features that Game Pass Ultimate subscribers would have, it wasn’t enough to quell the overwhelmingly negative response to the news. And for some who have stuck with the Xbox ecosystem for a long time, it may have been the final straw.
Online threads and forums began flooding with people talking about canceling their Game Pass subscription as a form of protest to the company increasing the price of the service. Things got so bad because of so many people canceling, the web page for the Xbox website to cancel subscriptions started to have errors and become broken. Discussion about Xbox’s commitment to gamers who have continuously supported the company was called into question, especially after changing what many considered to be the best deal and value in the industry, and the biggest reason to engage with Xbox as a brand. But with the price change going into effect and the anger from gamers looming online, some people may be jumping ship to other places to get their gaming fix. Here’s why the Xbox Game Pass price hike will convince gamers to switch over to PlayStation and Nintendo consoles.
New Game Pass pricing hits hard
Too expensive as a subscription for most
Most subscription services within entertainment end up landing on a similar price point that customers have grown accustomed to. Whether you’re watching movies and TV shows on Netflix or HBO Max, or getting a premium subscription to platforms like YouTube, you may end up paying a similar price wherever you go. This was the same thing for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which cost gamers around $19.99 through the digital store or at retail. For most people, it was a good sales price for the amount of games you gain access to on Xbox Series X/S or PC. And while other platforms had their own services with access to games digitally through downloads and streaming, Game Pass Ultimate was considered the best value for gamers who wanted access to new games on launch day, as well as a backlog of titles to explore anytime they wanted.
But with the increase in price for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, that perception has seemingly gone away. It’s very hard to justify someone paying $30 every month for a subscription service, especially if it doesn’t involve a cellphone or brand-new vehicle in some way. The new price is more than most other streaming services that people often use, with the most expensive currently being Netflix and their 4K premium tier for movies and television shows. Despite Game Pass Ultimate having access to so many games to download to a console, the majority of people will not play most of the 400 titles that the service offers through Game Pass Ultimate, making it even harder to justify the new price. And forcing everyone to pay it is not going to help, especially for those who have been subscribers for a long time already.
The announcement from Xbox came with news that in-game rewards for titles from Riot Games and other perks for games like Fortnite would be included, along with unlimited cloud gaming and an assortment of Ubisoft and EA classics. But none of these things are potent enough to convince gamers that the new price is justifiable, or offer enough value to stick with the service throughout the year. Most of the extra perks aren’t helpful if someone doesn’t play Fortnite, or doesn’t play old EA and Ubisoft games. Even with the more than 75 day one releases that are accessible on launch as a subscriber, most of them will not be major titles people would be interested in.
PlayStation Plus looks more appealing now
Greater value over on PSN
The closest comparison to Game Pass would be PlayStation Plus, and more specifically the Premium and Extra tiers of the service. These give subscribers access to an assortment of games from the PlayStation Plus and Classics catalog, which adds more games periodically throughout the year. It’s a very similar approach to what Xbox Game Pass did, but with a very different selection of titles that cater more to PlayStation gamers, rather than just the biggest releases. And the price for the highest tier is $17.99 per month, which gives access to everything and looks much more appealing to gamers looking to be smarter with their monthly budget.
The new price change for Xbox Game Pass gives every reason for players to cancel their subscription and switch over to PlayStation Plus. It’s not only cheaper, but has enough major games to draw the attention of casual players, even if it doesn’t have day one releases. Most of the major games that come out are usually purchased by gamers who were already interested in them, whether they were available through Xbox Game Pass or not. But the benefit that PlayStation has is how many of the major hits for the brand are available in the PS Plus catalog already, offering a pretty substantial list of games someone can get if they just got their console without having to make additional purchases.
But in addition to that, the Classics Catalog on PlayStation Plus is a wide range of exclusive titles that don’t appear anywhere else. If the perks offered with a subscription matter the most for the price you pay, then PlayStation Plus Premium is going to be a smarter option over Xbox Game Pass Ultimate now. There’s no real argument to make against someone paying half the price and getting so much more value. It’s basically the original way that Game Pass operated, but with an entirely different selection of games.
Switch Online appears even better
A low price for the whole year
Although some may still find Nintendo to be very frugal with their games and services, Nintendo Switch Online also looks better with the Xbox Game Pass changes. For some people, it’s hard to jump into the Nintendo ecosystem because third-party games are often better to play elsewhere, despite Nintendo first-party games being as good as they are. But having a Nintendo Switch 2 with Switch Online is the most price-efficient subscription that gamers could get. Paying $49.99 gives access to online multiplayer, the GameChat feature on Switch 2, and the ability to play any of the Nintendo Classics (all platforms) included with the service for the entire year. One payment, for the whole year.
While Switch Online lacks anything involving day one releases, the price point is significantly lower than the other two platforms. And the one-time payment for the Switch Online Expansion gives everything that the service offers for the entire year, which may be more than enough for families who play games together. The entire catalog of classics for Nintendo 64, NES, Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, GameCube, and Game Boy titles is a very big deal, even if you didn’t grow up playing those games on those systems. It’s a much better deal than paying $30 every month, even if you never play most of the games that the classics section offers.
Switching sides after everything
The Xbox Game Pass price hike will convince gamers to switch over to PlayStation and Nintendo
