Question Of The Week [August 13th 2024]

B: Does Subscription Games Make You Less Likely To Complete A Game?

A: With the rise of subscription services for gaming, such as Xbox Gamepass and Playstation Plus, these services have given gamers a huge library of games to play with at a whim. You can try out a plethora of games with no real commitment to finishing them, or even get past the tutorial stage. As there are far more games, than you have time.

I believe that it’s not a question of quantity, but quality. I don’t believe I’m inherently going to just randomly drop a game, just because it’s on Gamepass and there might be a better game I could play at the moment. I might be in the minority on this one, but I view gaming as one of my main hobbies, and I value the quality of a game, more than the quantity of a library. Maybe because I’ve been around the emulation scene since 1999, when I already had access to every Nintendo, Super Nintendo, Genesis and Game Boy game ever, even before I finished my freshman year of high school.

The initial lure of having “Every Game Ever” at your fingertips is exciting, and it’s what blew my mind initially when getting into emulation. But that quickly faded as there are so many awful and poorly made games, but on the flip side, there are a ton of great experiences and games I never heard of before. I ended up using the large library as a testing ground. Loading up a game that interested me, and seeing what it was like. Then, if it kept my interest past 15 or so minutes, I’d make the choice to play through the game. Most of the time with the older games, requiring the use of save states and cheat codes/game genie codes to finish, just so I could move on to the next one. (Remember, most older games preyed upon either artificial length or predatory coin guzzling mechanics to bloat the game to make it appear as a full fledged game).

These new services are basically that type of scenario to me… but with more modern games. Originally it was mostly newer games that were offered, but lately it’s become more watered down with less appealing games. Even so, there is plenty to choose from, and I see so many people trying out games and not finishing them. I think it is that they are overwhelmed with the choice of having so many games to choose from (even though emulation gives you a infinitely larger selection). But that choice cripples them, and they suffer from decision paralysis in the process.

When you spend your hard earned money on a game, you are inclined by nature to finish the game regardless of the quality. We’ve all made those bad gaming purchases before, and now with “returning” games being nearly impossible past a very short 2 hour play time window, we’ve suffered through many games, just to get our money’s worth. But that isn’t to say that ethics aren't bad. Most of the time, when you dig your heels into a game, you are able to find the parts that aren’t enjoyable at the outset, become more enjoyable over time. Since you already spent the money on the game, and you aren’t getting it back, you might as well enjoy the game, right?

I do think for the majority of the people out there, that a game subscription service, like GamePass or Playstation Plus would give so many options to most that they just get overwhelmed and play everything on the service without much care. But if they spend the money on a game, they will finish it regardless.

However, I’m in a different bracket. I use those services to test out games that pique my interest, but I’m not sold on for one reason or another. If I find myself enjoying the game that I was interested in I will finish it. Gaming is serious for me, and I like writing reviews and podcasting about my experiences with games. I can’t speak or write a review about a game with authority if I have barely played it. And I do value my time as well, so I’m more selective about even starting a game. I know what games I’ll never like and won’t even bother most of the time. It’s all about the balance of choosing wisely, some games value your time, and others don’t. If a game doesn’t value my time, I don’t value it.