Cloud Gaming:
Generally on old school, we buy a raw gaming DVD at $5 for one game and play till it gets succumb but now with the same $5 we are getting access to unlimited games through cloud based subscription service.
Consider the good, that instead of a small indie developer trying to snake through the weeds of the subscription, they now have a platform to showcase their wares and with dedicated support. No more reliance on bogus micro-transactions - sometimes $100 or more for in-game currency or worse but a stable income on a platform designed to grant said developer the public eye.
Then the flip side, one where for $5 a month, people can access hundreds of games long term, essentially giving each game the value of… nothing, really. It’s the Netflix model, the same one that sunk the perceived value of movies and TV. The death of DVD or disc media is a sob story, maybe not in the sense of billion dollar media giants, but those indies who might rely on $10-$15 DVD sales at stores, now stuck with needing to be “discovered” by Netflix in hopes of finding a bargain-centric audience.
Consider a developer interested in selling their premium game for $5 direct in a time of Apple Arcade - suddenly $5 takes on a different value to consumers. Why spend $5 on one game when hundreds wait in the Apple Arcade for the same price? It’s a dangerous path in a market that already seeks the word “free” as a litmus test to whether something is worth their time. The value add of gaming subscription doesn’t change the perception; it’s just another cheap way to play video games.
Apple Arcade isn’t the first. Things like Xbox Live Game Pass and PlayStation Now seek to undercut the $60 premium market by offering games direct through a subscription. But the final conclusion is up-to the consumers, they are the one whose going to choose which suits best for them. Hey maybe who knows, these subscription services might bygone when it replaces with better service provided in future.