With the holiday season just around the corner, the busiest time in gaming is gearing up. With countless new game releases coming this fall, players will need to choose carefully about which titles they're going to spend the rest of 2021 with. As exampled during both the Xbox showcase and Opening Night Live at Gamescom this week, Microsoft has a lot of big releases scheduled to be coming to the Xbox Series X for the rest of the year. Surprisingly, Sony doesn't have much in the way of PS5 exclusives, making for an interesting end of the year for the company.
It's important to note that exclusives aren't the only things that make new consoles so desirable, but they certainly help, especially as this will be the first full holiday season for both the Xbox Series X and the PlayStation 5. Compared to last year's PS5 lineup, things are looking pretty baren for the console, which is directly juxtaposed with how much content is coming to Xbox platforms in the final months of the year.
Microsoft and Sony’s Holiday 2020
Holiday 2020 was an exciting time for games as it saw the releases of the Xbox Series X/S and the PlayStation 5. With Halo Infinite being delayed into 2021, there really wasn't much that the new Xbox was offering that couldn't be done on the PS5. Further, the PS5 had a handful of exclusive and upgraded titles to try when it launched. Demon's Souls, Spider-Man: Miles Morales, and Astro's Playroom were all quality experiences that could only be experienced on PlayStation consoles. As a result, a lot of people didn't see the appeal of the new Xbox, as nothing was available on the platform that couldn't be found elsewhere, despite the console's superior hardware.
Microsoft and Sony’s Holiday 2021
Flashing forward to the upcoming Holiday 2021 and the tables have turned completely; the Xbox Series X and S have a lot of games coming in the coming months while the PlayStation 5 doesn't have much. Currently, the console has two titles slotted for 2021 releases with Deathloop coming September 14 and Kena: Bridge of Spirits following it on September 21. While they're both titles that PlayStation fans have been excited about playing, they aren't really in the Holiday season, leaving things open for November and December.
What's more, though both Deathloop and Kena: Bridge of Spirits have been highly anticipated since they were shown off at the first PlayStation 5 reveal events, neither game has the same level of stopping power connected to it as other, bigger PlayStation exclusives might. It seems like Horizon: Forbidden West was meant to be PlayStation's Holiday blockbuster, but its recent delay has pushed it into February 2022 and past the Holiday season.
It seems unlikely that Sony is going to pull out a surprise release for the remaining months of the year, as it's hard to imagine what the company has up its sleeve that could compete with Halo Infinite's December 8 release date. Additionally, Xbox has a lot more than Halo coming to its platforms this year, with games like Forza Horizon 5 and Age of Empires 4 leading the first-party published charge.
All Isn't Lost for Sony
It's also important to note that it would make sense for Sony to tone things down in terms of PS5 releases for the rest of the year for three reasons. The first is that demand for PS5's hasn't taken a dip and doesn't seem to be taking one anytime soon. Consoles are still extremely challenging for customers to purchase, so the company doesn't need to worry about making the console more desirable.
Sony also has already had an incredible year in terms of AAA exclusives with games like Returnal, Final Fantasy 7 Remake: Ingergrade and Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart wowing PS5 owners, so the need for having a big Holiday release is only superficial and doesn't account for the other great titles that came to the system earlier in the year. Finally, everything that's been moved to 2022, like Horizon: Forbidden West, the untitled God of War sequel, and Gran Turismo 7, will make for an even stronger year next year.
The Xbox Series X is available now.
