Let me start by saying that I consider myself a games fan in general, without bearing any affiliation or total preference. I have played on Nintendo, Microsoft, Sony consoles and PC.
With the next generation around the corner (if the damned virus allows it to happen in the time planned), things start to get moving and the first steps in this long period that is a generation start to take place. PS5 seem to have the advantage of a previous and very succesful PS4, that had and has amazing games, and the support from many gamers around the world. On the other hand, Microsoft seem to be the challenging contender, as they started the generation with some misteps and the system couldn´t shine in the end, with some great games, but not so many. I´d like to comment on certain point or factors that I feel like drawbacks or obstacles that Microsoft seem to have from some time now, and that are not easy to overcome for them.
- Japan: this may sound silly but we all know this problem exists. There may be some rejection of the Microsoft brand there, and I don´t understand very well why. It just seems unfair to me. And yes I think it matters, because many many great videogames come from there, so the opinion of japanese developers and gamers is important. They seem to see Microsoft as a foreign brand that doesn´t mean a lot to them. This is a problem that hasn´t been solved yet. Phil seems commited to bring japanese games on board with the next gen, but we´ll see.
- A giant "rival". Sony has very valuable brand with "Playstation". And it is totally deserved, because they have offered us many great games along these years. Now, with the reveal of the PS5 specs, every developer seem to be pretty excited with the system and I am pretty sure PS5 is going to be amazing but their response when Xbox Series X specs were revealed wasn´t the same. It was folks in forums and certain media that praised the beast that XSX is going to be, but there weren´t many supportive words from devs, especially third parties. And this buzz, obviously, is not in the favour of MS.
- The games. I think this is the main problem. I think Microsoft efforts with backwards compatibility are amazing, and I feel like they aren´t recognised enough. Also, in my opinion, they have a set of strong IPs that have been totally drained recently, as the reinvention hasn´t happened properly. Microsoft has adquired a lot of studios recently and sure this is a seed, but while XSX is looking like a great system for videogames, we know little to nothing about games we are going able to play. I guess it is too soon to know. Furthermore, offering your games on PC too is going to give you some benefits of course, but it doesn´t contribute to make people willing to buy a videogame console choose yours over others if they have a reasonably competitive PC. And I am a firmly believer of the notion that "Games sell systems".
Can we somehow relive the situation between PS3 and 360 in which Microsoft seemed to had a golden period? Not that I am especially interested in that, it is just that I think that they deserve more success.
With the next generation around the corner (if the damned virus allows it to happen in the time planned), things start to get moving and the first steps in this long period that is a generation start to take place. PS5 seem to have the advantage of a previous and very succesful PS4, that had and has amazing games, and the support from many gamers around the world. On the other hand, Microsoft seem to be the challenging contender, as they started the generation with some misteps and the system couldn´t shine in the end, with some great games, but not so many. I´d like to comment on certain point or factors that I feel like drawbacks or obstacles that Microsoft seem to have from some time now, and that are not easy to overcome for them.
- Japan: this may sound silly but we all know this problem exists. There may be some rejection of the Microsoft brand there, and I don´t understand very well why. It just seems unfair to me. And yes I think it matters, because many many great videogames come from there, so the opinion of japanese developers and gamers is important. They seem to see Microsoft as a foreign brand that doesn´t mean a lot to them. This is a problem that hasn´t been solved yet. Phil seems commited to bring japanese games on board with the next gen, but we´ll see.
- A giant "rival". Sony has very valuable brand with "Playstation". And it is totally deserved, because they have offered us many great games along these years. Now, with the reveal of the PS5 specs, every developer seem to be pretty excited with the system and I am pretty sure PS5 is going to be amazing but their response when Xbox Series X specs were revealed wasn´t the same. It was folks in forums and certain media that praised the beast that XSX is going to be, but there weren´t many supportive words from devs, especially third parties. And this buzz, obviously, is not in the favour of MS.
- The games. I think this is the main problem. I think Microsoft efforts with backwards compatibility are amazing, and I feel like they aren´t recognised enough. Also, in my opinion, they have a set of strong IPs that have been totally drained recently, as the reinvention hasn´t happened properly. Microsoft has adquired a lot of studios recently and sure this is a seed, but while XSX is looking like a great system for videogames, we know little to nothing about games we are going able to play. I guess it is too soon to know. Furthermore, offering your games on PC too is going to give you some benefits of course, but it doesn´t contribute to make people willing to buy a videogame console choose yours over others if they have a reasonably competitive PC. And I am a firmly believer of the notion that "Games sell systems".
Can we somehow relive the situation between PS3 and 360 in which Microsoft seemed to had a golden period? Not that I am especially interested in that, it is just that I think that they deserve more success.
