Jim Ryan, President of Sony Interactive Entertainment has expressed that it is not concerned about the growth of Xbox Game Pass, Microsoft’s subscription video game service. The subscription video game model has grown a lot in recent years and some companies intend to make it the new industry standard, although we’ll see if that goal is achieved.
In recent years we have seen quite a few twists in the business model of the video game industry, which have not always been well received by users. Now it’s up to the subscription services, which have left the community somewhat divided gamers. This new model seems to have found its reference in Xbox Game Pass.
The fact that Jim Ryan has said that he is not worried about Xbox Game Pass does not mean that from Sony they ignore the issue, since the video game division of the Japanese giant has introduced various changes to PlayStation Plus so that it more closely imitates the model of its competitor, adding value through access to tons of video games with monthly, quarterly and annual rates.
The reason for the position of the Sony manager is based on some statements made by himself in an internal memo to which Insder Gaming had access, in which he said the following: “When we consider Game Pass, [el número de suscriptores] seems to be declining. We have sold more PS5 in two years than they have subscribers, and they have been doing it for 6 or 7 years”.
Jim Ryan’s statements They clash with the arguments put forward by Sony before the CMA against Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision-Blizzard: “Game Pass leads significantly over PlayStation Plus. Microsoft already has a substantial lead in multi-game subscription services. Game Pass has 29 million subscribers combined with Xbox Game Pass Console and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, and is expected to grow substantially in the future. PlayStation Plus multi-game subscription levels are significantly delayed, with less than [ELIMINADO] the number of subscribers.
Is Xbox Game Pass a threat to PlayStation or not? Here we enter a scenario with many different interpretations and readings, since Sony could be using the allegedly dominant position (without abuse) of Xbox Game Pass as a ruse to torpedo the acquisition of Activison-Blizzard by Microsoft. And it is that although video games via streaming are growing steadily, the sector does not seem to be the revolutionary and disruptive explosion that some predicted.
On the other hand, Jim Ryan’s words could be an attempt to calm other directors, shareholders and investors and that the reality could be different: the fact that market circumstances are beginning to make it difficult for Sony in the future.
