A recent report suggested that Sega, the Japanese gaming giant, could produce a standalone game subscription service based on the extensive library it has built up over the years. This would likely see its games withdrawn from similar subscription schemes live today, capitalising on the growth of the operating model.
The gaming world is no stranger to such service. Today, Ubisoft, Electronic Arts, Rockstar Games, PlayStation, and Xbox all offer gaming-based subscription programs.
Undisclosed
In a recent interview with the BBC, Sega’s president, Shuji Utsumi, explained:
We’re thinking something – and discussing something – we cannot disclose right now.
He was talking about subscription-based products, and reportedly mentioned that they’re ‘very interesting’ and that Sega is ‘evaluating some opportunities’.
These days, the average gamer is surrounded by subscription-based schemes, and the rise of the live-service game has meant that we’re all putting money into a pot every few weeks over a long period, rather than paying for something once and then never again.
It’s one of the most common operating models in the gaming world right now.
Between Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus, some 80 million gamers worldwide are subscribed to a service that delivers free games every month and gives them access to repositories filled with games both old and new.
Ubisoft has a service that operates in much the same way, as does Electronic Arts with EA Play.
Sega entering the subscription market might not be the move everyone had on their cards, but why shouldn’t it? It’s free game and the market is wide open for such schemes right now.
Sega has been running since the 1960s, and in the 1990s, it really dominated the gaming industry. There are a lot of classic franchises sitting in that Sega library that would flesh out a subscription service quite nicely.
What do you think? Would you pay for a Sega subscription service? Let us know on the GPlayr forum.
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