Although I don't own an Xbox, I might come across as a Sony fanboy but I am not. I'm old enough and wise enough to know that fanboys are morons and games come great and crap on all systems. I bought an original Xbox after my PS2 packed up and it got me into online gaming, spending too many hours playing Rainbow Six online. It was a fantastic console that did more than my PS2 did. When Rainbow Six: Vegas came out on the Xbox 360, I went out and bought one and thought that the 360 was also brilliant. I even bought a camera so I could scan my head into the game. I didn't buy any of the current generation consoles because I wasn't that impressed with either of the PS4 or Xbox One, they were more like PCs. I only bought a PS4 after playing on a PSVR and then played catch up with a lot of exclusives, otherwise, I would have skipped this generation of console completely. In other words, I'm not a fanboy, I don't have as much time for gaming these days and after dabbling with PC gaming, I realised that I prefer console gaming.
Anyway....
So the next generation of console is nearly here and I spoke about them a little in a previous article but without the knowledge that we know now. I'm going to make a prediction and it might upset some people, but hey fuck it, it's an opinion, I could get it all wrong but I'm just going from my instinct and my previous knowledge of gaming systems that have come and gone with varying degrees of success. Take a deep breath but I think Microsoft has dropped the ball with their console. There I said it! Now before fanboys get all shouty, let me explain.....
Now technically, the Xbox Series X is supposedly more powerful than the PS5. We do not know if this is true or for sure because we have no comparisons but I don't think it will make any difference. When the rumours of a Sony console was being touted, it was a while before the Microsoft rumour mill was speculating that they were going to be releasing a new console as well. I think Microsoft was asleep a little and when they decided to design and make a new console. Despite Sony being first in the rumours department, it was Microsoft who was the first to show consumers the specs and the design of the console. It looks like Microsoft had only thought of one thing and one thing only, make this console as powerful and as cheap as possible. Now that isn't a bad thing, we love power, computing units, polygons on screens, ray tracing etc but I think this where Microsoft missed the mark.
Sony on the other, despite being slower in showing us the specs appear to have taken the time to make something more than just a more powerful console and given us something different. For a start, it's clear that they asked game developers what it is they wanted from a console and Sony listened by giving them a super-fast SSD and judging from the reactions, it appears that speed in which it loads makes it feel like consoles are returning to the day and speed of a cartridge. Sony also appears to have done a fantastic job on redesigning the dual shock controllers which have been a staple of the Sony brand since they entered the gaming market. The haptic feedback and resistant buttons judging from the reviews are something of a revelation. They have included a microphone which can be used to interact with games and this haptic feedback feesl unlike any other controller apparently. (I say apparently as I've not played on one yet!) The headphones that Sony have produced for the console are also supposed to be a revelation, providing stunning 3D audio which is unlike anything else on the market.
The point is that Microsoft has made a more powerful console but Sony has taken the time to think about gaming experiences. I'm not a fan of the PS5 design and I think it looks monstrous, I prefer the Xbox subwoofer look myself but when it comes to console design, I really couldn't give a toss as the most important thing here is games.
And this is where Sony wins again, from the showcases, Sony has lots of exciting exclusives and some great reveals of games while the Microsoft one didn't really excite me and I think it's the same with a lot of people judging from the Youtube comments. Not that Youtube is a barometer of anything. The one game which is a system seller for the Xbox which is Halo looked terrible and instead of it being a release title which would help it shift a shitload of consoles has now been delayed. Even more disappointing is that when you buy a new Xbox, there are hardly any games which are specifically designed for it. You might be playing Assassins Creed: Valhalla which will also be out for the current-gen consoles and the PS5 and other older Xbox One titles which will be improved for the new consoles. But there is no killer game.....Why buy a new console to play older games which might load and look better? Once I've played a game, it's rare I go back to it because there is still plenty more to play.
Mircosoft dropped the ball on this, they have got some exclusives to come yet and they have since bought Bethesda, so hopefully, they can churn out some exclusives from there IP which might make the Xbox appealing. Microsoft is also offering their gamer pass which is only a great idea if there are games that are worth playing on it and frankly, I'm not seeing anything at the moment that makes me want to rush out and get one. They are also offering games so that you can play on a PC or on an Xbox One X which is a strange and bizarre strategy. This hardly does anything to motivate people to buy their new consoles. Sony, on the other hand, has an Astroboy Playroom demo which showcases the console and controller, Spiderman: Miles Morales, Demon Souls and Sackboy: A Big Adventure all ready with more games coming on there way. Plus, they have made there console backwards compatible and are offering a shitload of Playstation 4 exclusive like God of War, Detroit: Become Human, Monster Hunter, Resident Evil 7 and a load of others to those who have a Playstation Plus account.
It's not all bad news on the Microsoft front, I love the memory dumps you can do, so you can jump into back into a game very quickly, something which you can't do on the PS5 yet but I wouldn't be surprised if it's something they implement. I love the design of Xbox Series X, the Series S just looks ordinary but it's a good idea because not everyone as got a 4K tv yet. At the moment, I don't see much reason to buy either yet, I'll wait until the hype dies down and wait for more games to be released. However, I'm more leaning towards the PS5 because it seems like something other than just a powerful console. Sony has got the more appealing exclusives that I want to play. And those are some of the reasons I think Sony outsell Microsoft. Microsoft are automatically in a losing position as the Japanese market have never bothered with Microsofts previous consoles and I can't see that changing, Japan is a huge market and that automatically gives Sony an edge. If Sony also supports VR (Which they are downplaying at the moment!) with a new wireless PSVR 2, then I will see lots more people buying Sony out of the two. Microsoft could pull it back, there is still plenty of time for Microsoft pull it back by making some well times exclusives as its still very early days. Not that any of this matters...both companies will make a lot of money from their respective consoles.
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