Original Xbox exec says Game Pass makes him ‘nervous’
Ed Fries, who worked at Microsoft until 2004, has mixed thoughts on the company’s big gaming subscription program.
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Xbox Game Pass is often seen as an incredible deal for customers and an easier way for Microsoft to get more people playing different games, but the service continues to have its skeptics, including Ed Fries, a former Microsoft executive who worked on the original Xbox as vice president of game publishing until he left in 2004.
Speaking with Luke Lohr onepisode 132of the Xbox Expansion Pass podcast, Fries shared insights into his career, as well as his thoughts on where Microsoft is taking Xbox right now.
While Fries praised Microsoft’s newfound investment into gaming, making multiple major acquisitions including ZeniMax Media in 2020 and the recentannouncement of Activision Blizzard, the former executive did explain that the direction ofXbox Game Passis concerning to him.
“The one thing that they’re doing that makes me nervous is Game Pass,” he said. Fries went on to compare Xbox Game Pass to Spotify, stating that Spotify destroyed the market for purchasing songs to the point people “just don’t buy songs anymore.”
Fries does acknowledge that the situation isn’t exactly the same, as Xbox Game Pass represents only one fraction of the gaming market. While not a direct competitor, as it lacks the day-one arrival of first-party games, Sony has notably planned a revamp ofPlayStation Plus with multiple tiers.
Speaking at aGDC Fireside Chatearlier in the year, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer noted that the idea game sales aren’t important is “…absolutely not true,” while adding that he doesn’t see Xbox Game Pass as a direct equivalent to services like Netflix because of the options available.
“This is where I sometimes contrast against other forms of media that we get compared to whether its music, whether its videos, I fundamentally believe a strength for us in the video game business is the diversity of business models and the strength of those,” Spencer explained.
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Samuel Tolbert is a freelance writer covering gaming news, previews, reviews, interviews and different aspects of the gaming industry, specifically focusing on Xbox and PC gaming on Windows Central. You can find him on Twitter@SamuelTolbert.
