Last month’s headlines were dominated by the reports that Microsoft is planning to bring Xbox Game Pass to Nintendo Switch. That said, it doesn’t look like Microsoft is planning on stopping there, meaning, we may very well see Xbox Game Pass on a PlayStation console in the near-future. And if you would have said that even two years ago, I would have thought you were a crazy person, but here we are.
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Speaking to Geekwire, head of Xbox Phil Spencer once again reiterated that Microsoft has grand plans for Xbox Game Pass and wants to bring it to any device players want to play it on.
“We want to bring Game Pass to any device that somebody wants to play on. Not just because it’s our business, but really because the business model allows for people to consume and find games that they wouldn’t have played in any other space.”
Of course, some say that bringing Xbox Game Pass to every device cannibalizes Xbox hardware sales, which is true. But this point misses the bigger picture. The big money isn’t in hardware sales, it’s on the back-end with software sales.
“That is not where you make money. The business inside of games is really selling games, and selling access to games and content in means like that is the fundamental business. So if you open it up, the more often people can play, the more they’re enjoying the art form. It increases the size of the business.”
As you can see, Spencer believes Xbox Game Pass can open it to huge markets that it currently can’t reach. And he’s correct. From other consoles, to PC, to mobile, there’s a huge slice of the video game market Microsoft is currently not tapping into. And no matter how good its next console is, that really isn’t going to change. Xbox Game Pass may hurt Xbox console sales, but it opens Microsoft to mine huge new markets that will more than make up for the money lost on console sales. Or at least that’s what seems to be the thinking over at Xbox.
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