Het was vroeger de normaalste zaak van de wereld om games fysiek te kopen, te spelen en vervolgens op te bergen in de kast. Voor velen is dat nog steeds het geval, maar net als de film en muziekindustrie, is er een verandering gaande.
Zo denkt ook Ubisoft+ baas Philippe Tremblay. In een interview met GamesIndustry.biz heeft hij aangegeven dat abonnementsservices zoals Xbox Game Pass, PlayStation Plus en Ubisoft + zorgen voor een verschuiving. Volgens Tremblay is er zeker een verschuiving gaande, maar is deze langzaam. Daarom brengt Ubisoft zowel fysieke games als abonnementsservices zoals Ubisoft + Classic en Ubisoft + Premium uit. Gamers zijn volgens Tremblay nog altijd gewend aan het bezitten van games, wat niet echt meer het geval is bij het nemen van diensten.
Ubisoft-baas Philippe Tremblay over de verschuiving van games bezitten naar games ‘huren’ via online services
“The point is not to force users to go down one route or another. We offer purchase, we offer subscription, and it’s the gamer’s preference that is important here. We are seeing some people who buy choosing to subscribe now, but it all works.”
“I don’t have a crystal ball, but when you look at the different subscription services that are out there, we’ve had a rapid expansion over the last couple of years, but it’s still relatively small compared to the other models.
One of the things we saw is that gamers are used to, a little bit like DVD, having and owning their games. That’s the consumer shift that needs to happen. They got comfortable not owning their CD collection or DVD collection. That’s a transformation that’s been a bit slower to happen [in games].
As gamers grow comfortable in that aspect… you don’t lose your progress. If you resume your game at another time, your progress file is still there. That’s not been deleted. You don’t lose what you’ve built in the game or your engagement with the game. So it’s about feeling comfortable with not owning your game.
I still have two boxes of DVDs. I definitely understand the gamers perspective with that. But as people embrace that model, they will see that these games will exist, the service will continue, and you’ll be able to access them when you feel like. That’s reassuring.
Streaming is also a thing that works really well with subscription. So you pay when you need it, as opposed to paying all the time.”
