So, I was flipping through some game news, not even sure why I do this sometimes, and stumbled on this whole spiel with Shuhei Yoshida chatting about game subscription services—or, ya know, just another Tuesday in the gaming world. Dude’s got some thoughts about the whole Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus vibe, especially for the indie folks out there struggling to get a piece of the pie.
Caught something about him talking at Gamescom LATAM with Game Developer. Yoshida described these services like a, what was it, “walled garden”? Sounds kinda fancy but a bit exclusive, right? He tossed around this idea that as the bigwigs expand their reach, it’ll get tricky for the little guys. Makes sense, I guess. Or maybe I’m overthinking it—who knows.
Now, here’s the real kicker—he’s worried if the only way to grab games becomes these subscriptions, it’s like putting creativity in a straitjacket. Picture the subscription overlords deciding what types of games get made. I mean, sounds a bit dystopian when you think about it. Like, what about all those quirky, offbeat games that come out of nowhere to steal our hearts? Kinda risky for the industry if you ask me—or don’t, it’s just my two cents.
Oh, and he was totally waving the PlayStation flag—a little biased? Yeah, for sure. Comparing Sony’s approach to Xbox’s, he seemed to think Sony’s got it figured out. Xbox promised those big releases on Game Pass right away, and now, not so much. Meanwhile, PlayStation’s doing that, wait-a-couple-of-years deal before throwing games into the subscription mix. Think it’s meant to keep things from getting stale.
I’ve been feeling that push of subscription services making those big AAA games feel less… premium? I mean, prices are climbing, and who’s trying to pay out if they can game-hop on Game Pass? Makes me see where Yoshida’s coming from, with the risk of folks skipping out on big-name and indie titles that aren’t part of the package deal.
Anyway—wait, lost the thread there. Let me know what you make of Yoshida’s take. Is he onto something, or just another industry shake-up? Drop your thoughts, I’m curious!
