As the increasingly digital transition of the games industry continues, both PlayStation and Xbox have ventured into methods of subscription-based gaming. Both console makers implemented very different methods of game streaming and downloading, framed in a monthly rate similar to that of media streaming services. Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass in particular often finds itself in the spotlight for its value proposition and marketing, whereas Sony has taken a comparatively subtle approach with PlayStation Now. By May 2020, PlayStation Now had around 2.2 million subscribers, whereas Xbox Game Pass had around 18 million subscribers by January 2021.
Despite offering relatively similar pricing models, subscriber counts on Xbox Game Pass nearly triple the amount of subscribers on PlayStation Now. There's a reason for that: On a surface level comparison, the two services may seem largely identical, but Xbox Game Pass has the advantage in several key areas. At the end of the day, these are two subscriptions with similar feature sets, but PlayStation Now can be particularly limiting in terms of how games are played, what games can be played, and for how long. Pair that with pretty significant differences in library content, price, services, and more, Xbox Game Pass still has the edge on PlayStation Now in 2021.
Differences In Library Variety and Availability
Firstly, comparing the two game libraries together, it's clear both subscriptions are aiming at two very different purposes. PlayStation Now has a larger library of around 680 or so games, ranging from relatively new PS4 exclusives to legacy titles from the PS2. However, the ratio of older titles to newer titles in comparison to Xbox Game Pass is significantly different.
Xbox Game Pass gets first-party exclusives day-and-date on the service, and they stay there forever, among several other more recent third-party game releases. That's without even counting partnerships like EA Play, which brings even more third-party games exclusively to Game Pass. It's clear PlayStation Now acts more as a vehicle for backwards compatibility on PS4/PS5, as a majority of the library includes older PS4/PS3 titles.
Xbox Game Pass also has wider availability and convenience for playing games, whether that's downloading directly or streaming to mobile devices (and browser support coming later this year). When it comes to game streaming, Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Now are basically polar opposites of one another. Every title on Game Pass is downloadable, but only a certain amount of Xbox games are capable of streaming via the cloud on mobile, with browser-based streaming still in beta. PlayStation Now streams all games available on the service to PS4/PS5, as well as PC, but only a limited amount of games are downloadable and playable offline on PlayStation (not PC).
Two Very Different Player Demographics
One particular area that PlayStation Now has nailed down over Xbox Game Pass is pricing. Assuming players are subscribed to both PlayStation Now, as well as subscribed to PlayStation Plus, that's around $120 a year for both services. Assuming players on the Xbox side are opting-in for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, bundling Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass together, that's $180 a year for both services. However, the aforementioned feature and library differences between Game Pass and PlayStation Now could arguably justify the higher price, depending on player preferences. That's where the key difference lies between both services.
Even if PlayStation's service is theoretically more affordable compared to Xbox Game Pass, that hasn't slowed down the huge disparity in subscriber counts between both. The accessibility and availability of Xbox Game Pass, paired with more enticing and recently released titles in its library, has made it a far better value compared to PlayStation Now. In April, PlayStation Now added significant games like Avengers and Borderlands, but the three prior months saw much less recent games like Infamous: Second Son (a PS4 launch title) and The Crew 2 added to the service.
Xbox Game Pass added over 50 games in 2021 so far, including a ton of high profile releases: Several of the now first-party Bethesda games were added on March 12, Outriders launched day-and-date on Game Pass, the rest of the Yakuza franchise, Octopath Traveler, Undertale, Final Fantasy 12, Dirt 5, among many more were added to Xbox Game Pass.
To be fair, both services are appealing to two very different demographics of players, but it's pretty clear one gaming subscription is doing much more than the other. Even the free games on PlayStation Plus are arguably more enticing than the dedicated gaming subscription's library updates are. Are Sony and PlayStation suffering without making PlayStation Now more ambitious? Absolutely not, but unless the service receives a more ambitious revamp, Xbox Game Pass will always be more popular.
