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CBR: Its the End of an Era for PlayStation and Xbox

Do you think the console wars are over?

  • Total voters
    142
Orbital2060

Orbital2060

Member
No winners or losers, just their idea of what the situation is like for Xbox and PlayStation at this point in time.

It seems like the days of the “console wars” are starting to come to an end, as both Sony and Microsoft start to take different approaches to how they release their games. Where traditionally, each studio would compete to outsell the other with their console sales, exclusive titles don’t hold the same kind of weight that they used to. This has caused each company to rethink and change the way that their “exclusive” games are released.

With technology improving at a rapid pace, and gamers diversifying their method of play, Microsoft and Sony have recognized, for different reasons, that exclusivity might not be the boon that it used to be. However, each company has different approaches to how its games can be played, one that might lead them to the same destination. Exclusivity might be a thing of the past in a few years' time, and both companies could instead bank on their published titles, rather than console sales.
Click to expand...

X B O X

Microsoft Needed to Change Its Strategy

Losing Two Generations of Console Sales Shifted the Focus to Quality Games

  • Xbox needed a way to bring back customers.
  • Brand recognition and loyalty was not enough to keep players invested in Xbox consoles.
Click to expand...
It is no secret that Microsoft is second to Sony when competing in console sales for the previous two entire console generations. While Xbox might be having trouble finding its footing with their consoles, the company has slowly been changing lanes into a different focus. Game Pass has been the biggest saving grace for Xbox since it was first implemented, and has only become more popular for Xbox as time goes on.

While technology in consoles used to be one of the major selling points to differentiate from a competitor, that has changed in recent years. Having a technologically advanced console can be a great thing, but the more important factor in getting a console to sell is having games that people want to play. Xbox struggled in this department for a long time, with the exclusive titles on PlayStation consoles driving a large playerbase to Sony instead.
Click to expand...
Xbox has spent a long time trying to remedy that situation but might have finally cracked the code. Microsoft’s acquisition of many different studios such as Activision-Blizzard and Bethesda has allowed the company to bounce back from the losses it suffered in the “console wars.” While at first, this may have been in an attempt to sell more Xbox consoles, it became clear that the damage had been done. Instead, it became the main selling point for Game Pass.

Almost every Xbox “exclusive” is available on day 1 with PC Game Pass, and some titles, such as Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, are only timed exclusive and will be coming to PlayStation later. Some of Xbox's most valuable titles are also released day 1 on PlayStation such as Call of Duty titles, or the upcoming Doom the Dark Ages. It seems like Xbox has given up on the console wars, and instead is focusing on publishing games to increase game sales.
Click to expand...

P L A Y S T A T I O N

Sony Wants to Expand Its Audience

PlayStation Has Almost All But Abandoned Exclusivity

  • Many developers have cited exclusivity as the main reason for poor sales.
  • Almost all of PlayStation's games are now available on PC.
Click to expand...
Sony recovered in a big way after the disappointing era of the PlayStation 3 with two console generations of domination. Building a massive library of exclusive titles made PlayStation a force to be reckoned with. However, technology in gaming consoles has slightly stagnated in recent years. The large jumps in technology don’t happen like they used to, so many players have yet to find a reason to purchase a PS5.

Many of the games available on the PS5 are still available on the PS4 and the ones that are not have become available on PC either on release, or a timed release at a later date. The PS5 has a small list of games that are truly exclusive to the console, leading many fans to joke that “the PS5 has no games.” While it is a joke, there is a good amount of truth to it, as there are not many games that players cannot get elsewhere.
Click to expand...
Instead, PlayStation has similarly shifted to focusing on publishing games over selling console-exclusive titles. PC gaming has always had a huge market of players who don’t own a console, and missing out on those sales is something that Sony doesn’t want to continue to lose. This has led most PlayStation exclusives to be released on PC, even the most coveted in the PlayStation catalog of games like God of War or The Last of Us.

Even some third-party developers, who have typically made exclusivity deals with Sony, are starting to learn that they are missing out on sales by staying exclusive. Square Enix has even stated that the next installment of the Final Fantasy VII Remake saga will no longer be PlayStation exclusive due to missing out on potential sales. While Sony has not quite decided to release games on Xbox, the groundwork is there, and the console wars might be over in the near future.
Click to expand...
Meanwhile, Nintendo has been doing pretty well for itself, set entirely apart from Xbox and PlayStation. The company has been able to maintain an air of exclusivity with franchises like Pokémon and The Legend of Zelda, which executives at Microsoft and Sony are no doubt envious of. There's always a chance that the migration toward PCs could swing back to the consoles if gaming hardware prices spike like some suspect they will in the coming weeks and months, but for now, the future for Xbox and PlayStation is anybody's guess.
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www.cbr.com

It's the End of an Era for PlayStation and Xbox

With just about every console exclusive getting a PC port these days, it looks like the console wars are officially dead.
www.cbr.com www.cbr.com

I dont think this will mean the end of the console war just yet, at least not the shape it has taken online and some people are too invested in their "side" to just let it go. But perceptions of how to play videogames are changing, and in a few years I think the idea of stanning for a favorite plastic box is going away once people get used to playing games on whatever device they got.

So a yes from me, but not quite yet.
 
Last edited:
mckmas8808

mckmas8808

Mckmaster uses MasterCard to buy Slave drives
Orbital2060 said:
No winners or losers, just their idea of what the situation is like for Xbox and PlayStation at this point in time.



X B O X





P L A Y S T A T I O N





www.cbr.com

It's the End of an Era for PlayStation and Xbox

With just about every console exclusive getting a PC port these days, it looks like the console wars are officially dead.
www.cbr.com www.cbr.com

I dont think this will mean the end of the console war just yet, at least not the shape it has taken online and some people are too invested in their "side" to just let it go. But perceptions of how to play videogames are changing, and in a few years I think the idea of stanning for a favorite plastic box is going away once people get used to playing games on whatever device they got.

So a Yes from me, but not quite yet.
Click to expand...

The fact that they wrote that it's true that "the PS5 has no games" is one of the dumbest things ever. And some of these people want me to feel bad for them that A.I. will take their jobs.
 
RetroGamingUK

RetroGamingUK

Member
The true console war is still on, and has been since 1994…

GNhmvMQ.jpeg


…Microsoft was just a sideshow that never won a single generation.
 
Bond007

Bond007

Member
Exclusives dont hold weight because why?
The failing competitor with none or milked ones says so. Im going to say the reason this "war" has gone this way is due to their lack of prioritizing them.

Atleast at the moment its clear that Sony PC method is a means to attract people to the consoles while making a quick buck on a game later in its life cycle.
 
Last edited:
Zacfoldor

Zacfoldor

Member
Wrong.

1. Sony went to PC because it jived so well with their gaas push
2. Gaas push failed, it ain't coming back
3. Non-day 1 games on PC are selling like shit and giving Sony a worse rep due to bad ports and bad sales

We will be pulling single player first party sony games back from the PC. We will stop those releases soon and get back to the business that brought us to the dance.

Nintendo isn't mentioned and they are not dropping out. Their current console will be the best selling of all time and generate the most revenue for the industry of any Nintendo console. PCs are copying the Switch by releasing things like the Steam Deck, so consoles must not be completely irrelevant. Even Xbox isn't able to go full PC because they know that PC players will not buy gamepass at console gamepass prices. Think of this, if MS drops Xbox then gamepass goes from unsustainable to an absolutely money burning pit with no hope of survival. Why do you think we are getting another Xbox? It's gamepass subs at console prices. We also know that most PC gamers don't buy single player games at the full 70 dollar price tag or even play new single player games at all. PC gamers do not want the spotlight with prices raised and the weight of the industry falling on them to buy, to pay. PC gaming would change for the worse if the dog ever catches this bus. PC gamers also hate buying the same game over and over again, do they not? Something the console market is open to doing. I just do not see it, and I do not see how the PC audience is going to sustain where a console audience cannot.
 
Last edited:
Orbital2060

Orbital2060

Member
Skifi28 said:
Here we go again.
Click to expand...
I thought about posting it in the Kotaku thread, but I didnt want to feed into who is winning or losing, because I want all platfroms to do well. And I think its true that times have changed enough in terms of how you do business that you can say its the end of an era at least for Xbox and PlayStation.
 
Topher

Topher

Identifies as young
reinking said:
It appears that the new marching orders have gone out.


Microsoft had to pivot and change their entire strategy to focus on software.
Sony is shifting strategy for profit but what people keep ignoring is they are still focused on consoles first and foremost.
Nintendo isn’t changing a thing.
Click to expand...

Really only the "end of an era" (if that's what we are calling it) for one of the platforms and we all know which one. But misery loves company.
 
Last edited:
rodrigolfp

rodrigolfp

Haptic Gamepads 4 Life
Last edited:
Edmund

Edmund

is waiting for Starfield 7
Microsoft paying for all these articles to downplay their failure and save them from embarrassment. And also to downplay the success of Sony.

To think that Phil said that Sony isn't Xbox's competitor anymore. The truth is playstation lives rent free in Phil's head.


Also, saying that Playstation has no games means that exclusives DO matter. It's contradicting to what the marching orders are over at MS that exclusives are bad for the industry isn't it?
 
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