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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.