Games with Gold is Microsoft’s answer to Sony’s PlayStation Plus subscription service. Despite some discrepancies between the two, they’re mostly comparable: both offer a number of free games to service members monthly, exclusive deals on online content and other added bonuses. However, the free games promotion has undoubtedly been the biggest draw for both services, and Games with Gold has been criticized for its questionable offerings on that front. At a panel at SXSW, Microsoft’s Vice President Phil Spencer addressed some of those concerns.
While he’s not heavily involved in the Games with Gold program, Spencer says that he has been “… sitting down, monthly now, with that team — some of the earlier months were already programmed — and playing a more active role in picking franchises that show up in Games with Gold,” adding that their goal is “… something that feels, at least, more true to what [he thinks] Games with Gold should look like.”
The hope is that Games with Gold can distinguish itself with, for lack of a better term, better content; so far, most of the service’s offerings have been marginalized games or older titles. The service came under fire when it offered the original Gears of War, first released in 2006, as one of December 2013’s free titles (the other was Shoot Many Robots, a tepidly-received Xbox Live Arcade shoot-’em-up). Even March 2014’s Games with Gold lineup, Civilization: Revolution and Dungeon Defenders, is already having a hard time competing with PlayStation Plus’s offerings (the critically-acclaimed 2013 Tomb Raider reboot and indie games Thomas Was Alone and Lone Survivor, along with two PlayStation Vita titles).
Despite the apparent weakness of Games with Gold’s handouts, Spencer believes in the service, calling it “fundamentally different” from PlayStation Plus. Said Spencer, “One of our issues with Games with Gold — not ‘issues,’ but differences between the other system we get compared to, is the fact that with Games with Gold, you get to keep that game, regardless of whether you continue to subscribe,” referencing the fact that free games downloaded through PlayStation Plus are unplayable if your subscription lapses. He went on to hint at the future of Games with Gold, stating that “For us, in the long run, as an industry, giving away content like that is just … I think there’s some steps and some evolution of what Games with Gold or any of the other systems will go through to their full potential.”
Source: Polygon