@cosmicturtle it’s the same point which is subscription services are amazing deals compare to spending 70 on just one game even if you get a discounted deal $15 beats any other one game deal out there.

I hear this all the time that subscription services ruin media. Please explain how because this is based on nothing. Netflix and all the other streaming services put out many great movies and tv shows that I can’t keep up with watching all of them. So that’s a moot point. As for games charging more like micro transactions that’s more so blamed on mobile not the subscription model. At the end of the day cost are rising so I’m not surprised developers are seeking more money. They know the value of money. You seem to be getting your ideas about where things are headed from thin air. You even said “it might” affect it you are not even sure yourself. The point is people take a subscription model like game pass for granted and what a great value it is. People have been saying single player games are dying for the longest time and yet here we are with plenty of single player games to play. Everything can coexist.

I am most likely amongst the few but I don't mind buying games at $70. I have both services but I often want to play the latest experiences over convenient ones.

People also focus way too much now on the starting price. Unlike in the PS3/360 era, when a game would release at $60 and then even a year later you were lucky to find a used copy of a game for $45, now games are routinely placed on significant sales even a few months after they launch. Putting aside the fact that $70 now is actually a much lower price than $60 was in 2006 due to inflation, games also drop to $40 and below much sooner.

I still use GameFly to rent most new releases. Yes, GameFly still exists. And they have a new feature called Game Lock which guarantees you a new release as long as you put it in your queue a few weeks ahead of time. They shipped me Saints Row yesterday so I should get it by release day.

They also have another new feature called “self return” which lets you tell GameFly you shipped a game back before they receive it and they send you your next game right away. As long as they receive it within 14 days, you’re good, so you can “self return” before you’re even done with a game. I think it’s only for members who’ve subscribed longer than one year, though.

Wow, this sounds like a GameFly ad, doesn’t it? Anyway, it’s only $15 a month if you buy the 12 month gift certificate for 2 games out at a time. So the only games I buy new are ones I know 100% I will love or want to play for a long time. I can’t imagine paying $60-$70 for all these new releases.