Ed Fries, who had previously served as the CEO of Microsoft, has voiced his concern regarding the possible effects that Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass subscription service may have on the video game industry in the near future.
Fries, who was part of the first Xbox launch team before leaving in 2004, was asked what he would do if he was still part of Microsoft’s gaming team at the moment, and although his answer wasn’t direct, however, he is “afraid” of the impact that Game Pass could have, if it becomes as dominant a business model as Spotify is in the music industry. He was speaking as part of an interview with Xbox Expansion Pass.
Fries continued:
The only thing that makes me nervous is Xbox Game Pass. It scares me because there is something a bit similar called Spotify that was created for the music sector. Spotify has destroyed the music business. It has actually cut the annual revenue of the music business in half. It has succeeded in making many people not buy. songs so far.
So we have to be careful not to apply the same system in gaming. These markets are more fragile than people realize. I saw the gaming industry destroy itself in the early ’80s. I saw the educational software sector destroy itself in the mid-90s, they literally destroyed a multibillion dollar market in a few years.
Fries continued his statement:
Game Pass makes me nervous. As a customer, I love the service and I love Spotify, I have all the songs I want, it’s a great deal as a customer. But it’s not necessarily great for the industry as a whole.
There are industry concerns about what might happen if subscriptions become dominant. As in music and TV, the subscription model doesn’t have to generate the revenue that AAA games, especially single games without purchasing systems, need, and because of this, you can see why Sony is reluctant About the release of its latest releases on PS Plus.