Episode 60 - Microsoft Admits Game Pass Cannibalizes Sales

Microsoft has admitted that putting games on its Xbox Game Pass subscription service leads to a marked decline in base sales. This may seem like a headline written by Captain Obvious, but it's a 180 for Microsoft, which previously maintained that being included in Game Pass resulted in higher sales for games. So does Game Pass actually hurt AAA games? We discuss the pros and cons of going the Game Pass route from a publisher standpoint.

We'll also be talking about the $70 price point for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Nintendo's explanation that the company will evaluate Switch game prices on a case-by-case basis, how the many recent live-service game closures may herald a greater change on the horizon, the official Cocaine Bear browser game, and the debate over whether the golden age of video gaming is actually behind us.

Finally, class is in session with Professor Ryebread in our Gaming History 101 segment. In this episode, we're looking at bizarre video game marketing campaigns from the early 2000s.

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Hosts: @wrytersview, @donniegretro, @retrogamebrews
Opening theme: "Gamers Week Theme" by Akseli Takanen
Patron theme: "Chiptune Boss" by @donniegretro
Closing theme: "Gamers Week Full-Length Theme" by Akseli Takanen
Merch: gamers-week-podcast.creator-spring.com

Chapters

• 4:27 Reviews, Reactions, and Requests
• 5:32 Very Important Poll
• 11:35 Patron shout-outs
• 14:42 Nintendo Says $70 Switch Game Pricing Will Be Evaluated On A ‘Case-By-Case’ Basis
• 20:50 Microsoft Admits Game Pass Cannibalizes Sales
• 27:03 The Live-Service Game Bubble Looks Ready To Burst
• 33:32 Official Cocaine Bear game is like Pac-Man but you're the ghost and the ghost is a coked-up bear
• 39:07 Top 3 New Releases
• 44:05 Giveaway
• 45:05 Main Topic: The golden age of video games is over
• 59:45 Gaming History 101: Bizarre video game marketing campaigns from the early 2000s