Subscriptions Don t Guarantee the Content You Want Experts Say
Subscriptions Don’t Guarantee the Content You Want, Experts Say GA S REGULAR Menu Lifewire Tech for Humans Newsletter! Search Close GO News > Streaming
Many of the problems customers have with subscriptions and how content disappears is that they don't always know when it will happen. Xbox does warn players when a title is about to expire, but it doesn't give gamers more than a week or so. Apple "I get that it's part of the model, but I think being more upfront from day one would be a huge benefit. If this show/game/album is only available for x months, say so when it's listed," Devine suggested, pointing to a lack of communication as a big problem for subscription providers and their customers. That's a stance that's difficult to argue against. Xbox is far from the only company that strips content from subscribers, though. Netflix is notorious for how content comes and goes on its streaming service, and songs have been known to go missing from Spotify with alarming regularity. We can now add Apple Arcade to the list of services that will have waves of games become unavailable at a moment's notice.
Subscriptions Don’t Guarantee the Content You Want, Experts Say
It’s all about who’s in control of the content
By Oliver Haslam Oliver Haslam Oliver Haslam is a freelance tech reporter for Lifewire, having written for iMore, How to Geek, Macworld, PC Mag, and many more for more than 10 years. lifewire's editorial guidelines Published on August 8, 2022 02:55PM EDT Fact checked by Jerri Ledford Fact checked by Jerri Ledford Western Kentucky University Gulf Coast Community College Jerri L. Ledford has been writing, editing, and fact-checking tech stories since 1994. Her work has appeared in Computerworld, PC Magazine, Information Today, and many others. lifewire's fact checking process Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email Streaming Mobile Phones Internet & Security Computers & Tablets Smart Life Home Theater & Entertainment Software & Apps Social Media Streaming Gaming We listen to music, watch TV shows, and play our games via subscription services from Spotify, Netflix, and Xbox Game Pass and others.Subscriptions mean we don’t have to buy content outright, sometimes saving money and making things more affordable.But the subscription model means we don’t have control over the content we consume. Subscriptions are everywhere and many of us use them to consume games, music, and TV shows, but we can't expect that content to live forever. As promising as the subscription world can be—pay a small fee every month, gain access to a large library of content—it has its downsides. Apple Arcade, Apple's iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV game subscription service, recently made some titles unavailable for the first time after the contracts with their developers expired. It shocked subscribers but probably shouldn't have been because it's nothing new. Netflix, Spotify, and other streamers routinely remove content from their services. How big of a problem is disappearing content? That depends on your point of view. "Removal of content doesn't necessarily concern me, but it does a little more as a parent," Richard Devine, a long-time game and technology journalist at XDA Developers, told Lifewire via email. "[Xbox] Game Pass has already lost a couple of games the little one hadn't finished yet, so naturally, he wants me to buy them now so he can."It s All About Communication
Many of the problems customers have with subscriptions and how content disappears is that they don't always know when it will happen. Xbox does warn players when a title is about to expire, but it doesn't give gamers more than a week or so. Apple "I get that it's part of the model, but I think being more upfront from day one would be a huge benefit. If this show/game/album is only available for x months, say so when it's listed," Devine suggested, pointing to a lack of communication as a big problem for subscription providers and their customers. That's a stance that's difficult to argue against. Xbox is far from the only company that strips content from subscribers, though. Netflix is notorious for how content comes and goes on its streaming service, and songs have been known to go missing from Spotify with alarming regularity. We can now add Apple Arcade to the list of services that will have waves of games become unavailable at a moment's notice.