How do you get people excited about your system when the other guy (PlayStation 4) is kicking your ass? By offering a collection of games for gaming console at a reasonable price. The Microsoft’s new Xbox Game Pass is not a proposition. It is the future of gaming and where the industry has been heading for some time now. It started with DLC (Downloadable Content) and expanded with services like Games with Gold and PlayStation Now. Soon systems will only be subscription based. Publishers would save on overhead and can offer continues updates on their games. The new subscription service from Microsoft will give Xbox One owners Xbox One and backward compatible Xbox 360 games for $9.99 a month. They say 100 but I’m betting at least 30 of them will suck and 20 will be sports games that are out of date so really 50 games.
Unlike Sony’s subscription service PlayStation Now, the Xbox Game Pass will let you download the full game so there is no lag from streaming. (Good call) PlayStation Now only gives you old PS3 games, while Xbox Game Pass will have some Xbox One games. We are not sure of all the games but the press kits flying around show Halo 5: Guardians, Payday 2, NBA 2K16 and SoulCalibur II. The official landing page for the Xbox Game Pass also shows the covers of Fable 3, Terraria, Mad Max and Gears of War: Ultimate Edition. If you really like the game and want it forever ou you will be able to purchase the game for 20% off its retail price. Best news out of the announcement was that you don’t need an Xbox Live Gold subscription to sign up for Xbox Game Pass. Microsoft Preview Program members (that’s me) have access to Xbox Game Pass now. The public will get access in sometime this spring.