The Video Game Critic

Once again leads in June, apparently off the back of the Batman console bundle.

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/arch ... -june.aspx

Despite not having many must have exclusives, Sony has been winning this war off some magnificent marketing deals. First Destiny, then Grand Theft Auto V last year. This year with Batman, and in the fall has exclusive marketing deals for Call of Duty and Star Wars Battlefront RIGHT at the launch of the new movie. Even Microsoft's timed exclusivity of Tomb Raider, and Halo 5 coming out won't do much. Then by next year Sony will have heavy hitters like Street Fighter V and Uncharted 3 to launch,and haven't even had to do a price drop yet. I think this war is over.

I think it's rather naive to say the war is "over" so soon, especially since Microsoft actually did outsell Sony in April this year(which was especially notable since no exclusive titles were released for the Xbox One that month, so I expect it to outsell the PS4 by even more when Halo 5 and Rise of the Tomb Raider come out), so I believe it's incorrect to say that Halo 5 and the new Tomb Raider won't do much, I think they'll actually make quite a difference, especially since Sony dosen't have much in the way of exclusive titles until next year(Until Dawn is the only really notable PS4 exclusive coming out this year in August, and i'll admit it looks good, but since it's another interactive movie game in the vein of David Cage's games, i'm not sure how well it will do, especially since a number of people were dissapointed with Cage's last game Beyond Two Souls)

These console wars by mere sales numbers is stupid. It's like, one company can be undefeated, but, the others cannot have a future path set in stone? This is the typical "Microsoft vs. Sony" crap that infects other forums...

"Console Wars, Console Wars Never Mature"

Windows 10 is proof that the problems with the Xbox One are not being ignored. Sony didn't god-mode their way to victory.

Hardcore Sadism wrote:These console wars by mere sales numbers is stupid. It's like, one company can be undefeated, but, the others cannot have a future path set in stone? This is the typical "Microsoft vs. Sony" crap that infects other forums...

"Console Wars, Console Wars Never Mature"

Windows 10 is proof that the problems with the Xbox One are not being ignored. Sony didn't god-mode their way to victory.

Except they sort of have. They haven't had to release anything and have been running off of marketing deals for success. Meanwhile Microsoft have been one big backtrack with XBONE. We're going to have DRM, Kinect, and use the Cloud! Oh wait no one wants that nvm. We'll launch at $499! Nvm $399! Nvm we'll do $349.

The Xbox One has still sold pretty damn well though, so counting Microsoft out completely is very foolish. Also let's not forget that Sony did plenty of their own backtracking with the PS3, with having to constantly lower the price just to be able to finally catch up to Microsoft.

Everyone rides a companies lap and puts them on a pedestal. No surprise it happens here, can we go back to complaining about modern games rather than actually discussing games we like?

Vexer6 wrote:The Xbox One has still sold pretty damn well though, so counting Microsoft out completely is very foolish. Also let's not forget that Sony did plenty of their own backtracking with the PS3, with having to constantly lower the price just to be able to finally catch up to Microsoft.

Well you kind of proved my point. Sony never did really come close to catching up with Microsoft in the US with the PS3, it was a distant third as far as mindshare went - as well as third, period. PS3 had little blips of making moves, but the momentum month to month was basically 360's. I don't think it's foolish at all to say the way this thing is going to go is pretty much wrapped up, barring some ridiculously desperate move from Microsoft like lowering the price to absurd levels. Sony made stupid decisions with their hardware last generation and Microsoft has done the same thing this generation. Big headed executives have pretty much caused the demise of their products over the course of videogame history. Very rarely, if ever, has someone pulled out of that after the momentum being squarely in one company's corner.

NX17 wrote:

Hardcore Sadism wrote:These console wars by mere sales numbers is stupid. It's like, one company can be undefeated, but, the others cannot have a future path set in stone? This is the typical "Microsoft vs. Sony" crap that infects other forums...

"Console Wars, Console Wars Never Mature"

Windows 10 is proof that the problems with the Xbox One are not being ignored. Sony didn't god-mode their way to victory.

Except they sort of have. They haven't had to release anything and have been running off of marketing deals for success. Meanwhile Microsoft have been one big backtrack with XBONE. We're going to have DRM, Kinect, and use the Cloud! Oh wait no one wants that nvm. We'll launch at $499! Nvm $399! Nvm we'll do $349.

How is that a bad thing? To me, that shows that a company is willing to listen to fans and give them what they want.

LoganRuckman wrote:

NX17 wrote:

Hardcore Sadism wrote:These console wars by mere sales numbers is stupid. It's like, one company can be undefeated, but, the others cannot have a future path set in stone? This is the typical "Microsoft vs. Sony" crap that infects other forums...

"Console Wars, Console Wars Never Mature"

Windows 10 is proof that the problems with the Xbox One are not being ignored. Sony didn't god-mode their way to victory.

Except they sort of have. They haven't had to release anything and have been running off of marketing deals for success. Meanwhile Microsoft have been one big backtrack with XBONE. We're going to have DRM, Kinect, and use the Cloud! Oh wait no one wants that nvm. We'll launch at $499! Nvm $399! Nvm we'll do $349.

How is that a bad thing? To me, that shows that a company is willing to listen to fans and give them what they want.

To me it shows a company's true motives until backlash causes them to backtrack. Do you think if Microsoft had a monopoly in the videogame business they would have? Of course not. It's great they adapted but it should have took about 10 minutes in a meeting of director's to realize 'you know, consomers are not going to like not being able to resell or share games ...' Microsoft deserves credit for being the first real company to REALLY push online gaming in console space, but things like that show shades of the company that the US goverment brought a major anti-trust suit against in the 90's.

LoganRuckman wrote:How is that a bad thing? To me, that shows that a company is willing to listen to fans and give them what they want.

I grew up with the PlayStation One as my first ever console, but I've pretty much given up putting anybody on a pedestal (Including Nintendo, but now is not the time to rant about them). Not all of Microsoft is a greed vortex, if you've seen their lineup of Windows Phones they are true quality. I don't like how they handle their breadbaskets of employees, but I can see the positive side of things on the product spectrum.

On topic; Mattrick and Phil are Apples to Oranges. Mattrick could give the sunny rear end of a damn about the gaming industry and lived in Ballmers shadow rather than think of anyone other than himself, Phil Spencer has that charisma no other MS Gaming Studio Suit head ever leveled with. Anything that goes wrong is likely out of Phil's control since Mattrick took the majority of the Xbox One's plans years before it was on anyone's scope.

Five years of planning; you don't just walk away from that DRM debacle even if you set a better path.