Forbes: of course PS5 will win the console war

https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2021/12/23/of-course-the-ps5-will-win-the-console-war-but-xbox-is-fighting-a-different-battle/?sh=58e9490c7b34

I’ve been writing about the ‘console wars’ for years but, up until the last few, the rivalry between PlayStation and Xbox has been primarily all about exclusives and which systems your friends played on so that you could play games with your crew.

Now, with cross-play making it possible to play with friends on other consoles and PC on an increasing number of games, the decision over which console to own mostly comes down to the games themselves.

This is where Sony has the edge in many ways. There is no other place to play a game like The Last Of Us Part II or the Demon’s Souls remake than on a PlayStation console. And even though some of Sony’s exclusive lineup has made its way to PC, it’s typically years after the console release.

This is in stark contrast to Microsoft’s new approach to gaming, which is to put as many Xbox exclusives on PC and into the cloud as possible. Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Cloud Gaming are changing the way we think about console gaming, and repositioning the Xbox itself less as a contender in the console wars, and more as a software platform that makes gaming more accessible and affordable.

This leaves the PlayStation up against Nintendo, but these are birds of a different feather. Sony may have the better and more desirable exclusives when compared with Microsoft, but Nintendo relies on its exclusive content even more. Big, AAA third-party games release on PlayStation and Xbox but often skip over the Nintendo Switch entirely, which is why you won’t find Call Of Duty there, for example.

It’s been interesting to see the two console makers take such divergent paths. Even as Microsoft acquires new game studios—including Skyrim developer Bethesda—the company’s strategy isn’t aimed at roping gamers into a single box, but rather into an ecosystem. Meanwhile, Sony continues to pour resources into big, exclusive games that can only be played on a PlayStation.

I see all of this as a positive. And while Microsoft may be leaving Sony behind when it comes to the console wars, that just ensures that the PlayStation will emerge the victor. And that’s fine, even if it means a lot less than it used to.

Microsoft read the writing on the wall, realized the Xbox couldn’t compete with the PlayStation in terms of exclusive content, and decided to go another route. That’s the beauty of competition.

Thoughts, SW? MS made all of these acquisitions so you would think that they are now on an even playing field. Yet Sony and Nintendo exclusives are still considered the best. I don't think GamePass is enough. It's the games that get people talking. Do you have faith in MS's ability to deliver on exclusives, SW?

PS5 has Horizon Forbidden West, God of War and GT7 in 2022, anything I'm missing?

Doesn't sound like 'winning' to me 🤷‍♂️

"It’s been interesting to see the two console makers take such divergent paths. Even as Microsoft acquires new game studios—including Skyrim developer Bethesda—the company’s strategy isn’t aimed at roping gamers into a single box, but rather into an ecosystem. Meanwhile, Sony continues to pour resources into big, exclusive games that can only be played on a PlayStation."

There ya go, been telling you this for years now, MS is not purely in a console race anymore and went the much more profitable and for the gamerz... Jazz route.

Soon your beloved Phony will be forced to do the same and to some extent they already are doing so. lol :P

If Sony and Nintendo continue to sell consoles and games, they don't have to do anything. It's MS that is trying to get people into the ecosystem. But in order to do that, you need Sony/Nintendo caliber games.

Did you actually read the article itself? It's basically saying what I've been saying all along; Microsoft and Sony are playing different games. While Sony are doubling down on the traditional software driving hardware sales console model, Microsoft are pursuing hardware independence and scaling. They are no longer direct competitors.

Hell it's even questionable if Nintendo and Sony are in the same market either. Nintendo seem to be cornering its own unique niche of affordable hardware sold at profit, tech gimmicks and family-friendly first party IPs. You could argue the Switch has become the ultimate second console.

So of course Sony are going to win the console wars - they are in first place out of one.

@SecretPolice: They've been in dead last every gen, it was bound to happen that they'd bow out of the race.

You mean kiddy and movie-games? lol

No thanks, we're more than happy with all the diversified top tier games library offered by MS.

PC/Xbox/xCloud. FTW. :P

@R4gn4r0k: I'm sure their are a lot of games missing from that list, but those are three giant hitters for Sony, all huge sellers as well.

@vfighter:

Nope, OX Xbox beat Game Cube for 2nd place. 360 beat BS3 at the end of that gen. Xbox One beat Wii U last gen.

Nuttin but the fax mam. :P

Nobody but a few delusional lems (such as the little sealion) ever thought otherwise. At least the Xbox has the Duracell deal, so you have that for your needs.🙃

Too bad they will be relying on PS4 owners.

At the end of the day, a gamer's time is finite. They will play the games they want to play. Playstation and Nintendo games are extremely popular. Doesn't matter if you can rent a million games on GamePass if people aren't into the games on the platform.

So that's a no then.

@gym_lion: I guess you're talking about yourself in regards to my response 🤠

@SecretPolice: PS3 beat the 360, your "facts" are anything but 😂.

The other two you are right though, GameCube was last place as was the WiiU (forgot that thing existed).

@Random_Matt: How is that bad exactly?

@vfighter:

Cool on the last part ;) but everyone knows at the end of that gen 360 was ahead. Folks like yourself just kept counting BS3 sales long after we already started a new gen.

Fax mam, that's all I'm about. lol :P

Game Pass do have games people want to play, as demonstrated by the growing subscriber numbers - the only number that matters to Microsoft right now.

Microsoft are trying to get more headliner high-quality content, certainly. However, as I said, Microsoft are pursuing scaling. They're not looking for 50-100 million people playing all of their games; they're looking for 200-500 million people playing at least some of their games. They don't really care how much time you decide to spend on their games.

"I don't think GamePass is enough. It's the games that get people talking", that is odd, Game Pass currently does both.😂 I remember the days when Game Pass wouldn't make a difference, now it is the most talked about, offers the largest amount of modern games, offers day one games, most subbed service for games and when things get rough for TC fallback on false copium of PSNow was first.🤣

Game Pass is the most talked about and major change in console gaming. Folks relying on console sales is stuck in a time bubble.

@nagaman: They also subbed to Game Pass. The PS5 was so underwhelming that TC bought a Series X and 3 years of Game Pass. Ask him if he subbed three years to PSNow.😂

@SolidGame_basic: MS couldn't compete??

Have you seen the list of their IP recently? It's on par with nintendo.

MS has no interest in exclusives, they want profit and marketshare. Heck they tried to release gp on switch, and would do the same on playstation if sony said yes.

Xbox's 1st party is on par with Nintendo's? That's the first time I'm hearing this.

How will MS have market share and profit if gamer's time are finite and will spend their time on games they want to play? If someone has the chance between their favorite games and being able to play 100 random games for a rental price a month, what do you think they will care about most?

What's with the Forbes fascination ? also i didn't realize copying pasta a random article was valid SW material, specially one with an opinion ... in that case, i will make a thread about WiiU being the greatest console ever with some random Internet opinion and call it a day.

Eh. A valid, if intellectually lazy, discussion starter, and at least it's setting the tone for some half-decent discussion... ...so far. On one hand, high-quality original threads are always better. On the other hand, those are rare, often amounting poorly-written posts that only begets low quality discussions instead. Garbage in, garbage out.

If you can't or won't try, then you might as well don't.

I don't think anyone questions whether Sony will win in terms of consoles sold.

I think the issue is that MS isn't relying on console sales anymore, so of course Sony is going to "win". That's what the article is saying.

MS seems fine with that. They would rather have 150m subscribers across as many platforms rather than to sell 80m consoles.

I think people on the forum (and industry) are stuck in the traditional way of thinking in which "software sells hardware"

The same was said when Netflix started. Many people (including movie studios) thought that it wasn't sustainable and studios refused to license their movies on the service. Now, Netflix has exclusive content and is more popular and profitable than it has ever been.

Even Sony and Nintendo are slowly moving in that direction, it's where the industry is going.

Selling the most consoles is a hollow victory when the competition is making billions a month

Of course anyone would love 150 million subscribers, but right now they have what, 30 million? and how many of that are people who were Live subscribers who converted because MS allows them to? How many of that are trial users? What makes you think that GamePass will have 150 million subscribers to begin with? Xbox has never had that kind of reach. Also, if you think the answer is PC, Steam is still widely dominant there.

@SolidGame_basic: well, after you factor in Bethesda then yes they are on par with nintendo. Maybe not on par but not for off.

Also you didn't even think about minecraft which is another Microsoft IP.

You just have to make a list of MS games and be impartial about it. The notion that MS can't compete with exclusives is a joke. Heck MS gave ps5 their only legitimate 10 rated game so far this gen. Demon souls is a remake.

Well yeah, Sony will most likely sell more PS5’s then Microsoft will sell Xbox Series X|S. This is because Microsoft puts all their games on more platforms day one. There’s a reason why Sony is starting to bring their games to more platforms as well though. They very much are easing into that same pool as well and it wouldn’t surprise me to see them eventually release their games on day one for different platforms as well.

So to summarize the article, Sony is still playing 2D chess while Microsoft is playing 3D chess 😉

Speaking pure economics, HOW they got to 30m is irrelevant. The job of MS is to KEEP them. This is how Hulu, Netflix, PS Plus, Xbox Live, and almost all subscription services start. Lower or almost eliminate the barrier to entry and provide compelling reasons for them to stay.

They seem to be doing a great job at getting people to STAY, proven by the fact that the service continues to grow. I'm not saying they can or will reach 150m, what I am saying is that their current trajectory puts them beyond that.

This year was their first great Game Pass year. So they managed 30m subs with only 1 truly great year. You have to assume that they would AT LEAST keep pace with they other years when the other good titles start releasing regularly, starting with 2022.

Also, why are you assuming Game Pass is competing with Steam? What if Game Pass is integrated into steam in the way that EA Access is? MS is not competing with Steam, clearly by the fact they they are putting their first party titles on the service.

And what about TV apps? Game Pass TV dongles? You are purposefully thinking about it in a narrow way. I don't care where they put the service or how many subscribers they have. It's a great service that provides tremendous value and that's why I subscribe....on PC

Biggest problem for Sony is that they’ve been so resistant to change. “You buy our consoles for our exclusive games” is still their mantra...but Cows aren’t buying those games in the numbers they used to. The days of selling 15-20 million copies of Uncharted are over - barely 10% of ps5 owners bought the highly hyped exclusives like Ratchet and Clank or Demon souls, while Returnal fared even worse. No ps5 exclusive has sold 2 million copies.

Xbox outsold PS 3 to 1 in the States last month, and 2 to 1 worldwide which probably has a lot to do with supplies, but that’s no comfort to Sony.

Having a console that relies on their gamers buying the exclusives only works when they buy them. MS found a plan B, Sony are realising they need one too which is why more ps games are going to pc and psnow is getting a desperately needed facelift.

@navyguy21: You imply that MS gained 30 million Gamepass yet ignore that many of these people could very well have been in the system to begin with. I had Xbox Live, and they offered me to convert to Gamepass for as little as a dollar. So if Xbox Live members were already in the ball park of 30 million, it's not really surprising that the subscription base is close to that. And again, those $1 trials that they have been giving away like nothing. What would be more impressive is if you saw numbers beyond the Xbox base, actual paying customers.

If Xbox's goal is to be integrated with Steam, that will hurt them in the long run. MS wants people to try games out on Gamepass, and buy from MS. Why would they want them to buy it from Steam, especially when people are doing $1 trials? What money are they making from that strategy?

@navyguy21: its exciting because gamepass guarantees Microsoft will make commitments to gaming to such a high level, that they will spend billions to put more and more games on the service. It's like early days of Netflix all over again.

@SolidGame_basic: You're still not making any sense. It doesn't matter how they got 30m, keeping them is the goal of a subscription service.

Also, MSs "goal" isnt to get you to buy they game any more than it is Netflix's goal to sell physical copies of movies.

Sure, as a by-product people buy titles they love when they leave the service, but that's not the goal. The goal is to increase subs because that's steady revenue rather than a single small percentage of a unit sale.

Is EAs goal to sell you physical titles through Steam? Of course not, they would rather you subscribe to EA Access for months and months.

You posts also assume that every gamer has the means to potentially purchase every game released, and as if every sub is a lost sale.

Fact is a sub service allows people to playore games they they normally could. As I've said before, I boughty nephews PS4s last gen and they constantly asked me to buy them the newest games. With the Series S I bought them, I don't have to worry about spending hundreds of dollars a year. They can play as many games as they want on GP.

MS would rather you subscribe to GP than to buy a game. Heck, Halo Infinite and Psychonauts 2 don't even have physical copies

Again you continue to ignore my point. Of course it matters how they got that 30 million. They need revenue, they are making games.

@SolidGame_basic: My thoughts are, just like the other Forbes blogger who says Xbox will win, that we should stop posting Forbes blogs as truth.

Maybe I understand your reference, but what part of PSNow being first is false? It did come first, but Gamepass is a better service. Both are true.

This.

Agreed. If Sony "wins" by selling 100 million PS5's to Microsoft's 70 million XBox Series S/X; but MS has 130 million active GamePass subscriptions, who is the winner? In a traditional sense, you could say "Sony, of course". But, if you look at a it from a subscription standpoint, it's Microsoft.

Given the profitability of physical hardware (console) sales, MS probably made a lot more money than Sony.

Nintendo Switch already won, no way PS5 ever catches up.

@shellcase86: PSnow is a streaming service, Game Pass did not start as a streaming and it still not a streaming service at its core.

Damn, Xbox got Halo released this holiday but PS5 got a Forbes article released.

@Pedro: A three-year subscription to PSNow. Now that would be a sad Christmas gift :)

@dabear: since we're making up numbers, I predict PS5 will sell 300 million units, more than double of your Gamepass amount

PS5 being given a run for its money and I expect them to step up.

@SolidGame_basic: Wow. Good job completely missing the point of my post.

If you have to go for the 'console war' win you probably have an obsolete ecosystem propped up by desperate exclusivity.

A console is just a budget computer product to supplement your wider gaming footprint.

That's why Nintendo is having a grand ol' time with this 'archaic' model of theirs.