Ever since Nintendo and Sega battled it out in the 90s, gamers have been invested in the so-called "console wars." While used as an excuse for fans of competing brands to fling insults at each other online, the console wars also refer to the sales competition between the different gaming console manufacturers. The rise of PlayStation, the continued success of Nintendo, and the debut of Xbox saw Sega eventually drop out of the race entirely.
For a time, Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo were all in direct competition with one another. One could argue this changed with the seventh generation of consoles. Nintendo stopped trying to compete directly with other consoles in terms of power and instead focused on doing its own thing, releasing the Wii to massive success. Xbox and PlayStation remained in direct conflict, however, with the PS3 and Xbox 360 battling it out for hardcore gamers' dollars, a fight continued by the Xbox One and PS4.
While the Xbox 360 had serious momentum behind it, the Xbox One stumbled out of the gate with its plans for absolutely bizarre, anti-consumer online requirements and used game restrictions. The Xbox One effectively lost the sales competition with the PS4 before it even really started. Now it seems Xbox isn't quite as focused on selling consoles as it once was. Head of Xbox Phil Spencer recently acknowledged this on the Kinda Funny Games podcast, saying, "We're not in the business of out-consoling Sony or out-consoling Nintendo. There isn't really a great solution or win for us. I know that will upset a ton of people, but that's just the truth of the matter." Spencer also claimed that even if upcoming Xbox console exclusive game Starfield were a breakout 11 out of 10 hit, it wouldn't cause people to start selling their PS5s and jump ship to Xbox.
First-Party Xbox Games Have Been Inconsistent
Spencer's argument is that even if Xbox delivers an incredible 11/10 game people won't jump ship from PlayStation, but the theory hasn't really been tested. Comparing the last decade of PlayStation exclusive games to Xbox exclusives paints a pretty clear picture. Whereas PlayStation has consistently delivered critically-acclaimed games, Xbox has lagged behind considerably. There are significant stretches of time between Xbox "exclusive" games, and when they do come out, they sometimes release to mixed or negative reviews or have some other controversy weighing them down.
Xbox exclusive games have been lacking these past 10 years. The Forza Horizon series has been reliable and Gears 5 was great, but when comparing Xbox's output to Sony or Nintendo, it looks like the green brand isn't seriously trying to compete. Take Halo Infinite, for example. Despite Halo being Xbox's flagship franchise, Halo Infinite was saddled with a head-scratching monetization scheme and content droughts that obliterated its community despite many agreeing that the actual core gameplay was quite good. Couple that with the fact that Halo Infinite failed to keep its split-screen co-op promise, released without Forge mode, and launched with a single-player only campaign for the first time in franchise history, and it's easy to see why it may not have driven as much interest in Xbox as previous games in the series.
Another significant Xbox "exclusive" game from this past decade is the online multiplayer pirate game Sea of Thieves. While Sea of Thieves eventually turned around its reputation, the game launched to mixed reviews and was criticized for a lack of content and performance problems. Big first-party games need to launch as truly complete, polished experiences out of the gate. While there are some exceptions to the rule, that's what everyone expects from Sony and Nintendo, and so it's fair for them to expect the same from Microsoft.
Spencer's claim that Microsoft can't produce a game so good that it would make people leave PlayStation for Xbox hasn't really been tested. And it won't ever be tested because even if Microsoft produces a killer app on the level of the original Halo or Gears of War for modern Xbox consoles, it still won't be a true exclusive. Xbox-published games release on PC the same day they're on Xbox. This might be consumer-friendly, but it gives people little reason to get an Xbox. For many gamers, it may make more sense to get a gaming PC to go with their PlayStation, as opposed to getting an Xbox to play the console-exclusive games.
Brand Loyalty
Spencer goes on to say that Xbox lost the worst generation to lose when the PS4 beat Xbox One because people now have a significantly larger library of games, making them less likely to jump ship to another console. "This idea that if we just focused more on great games on our console that somehow we're gonna win the console race, doesn't relate to the reality of most people," Spencer said. "This is the first generation where the big games they're playing were games that were available last-gen. When you think about Fortnite and Roblox and Minecraft, the continuity from generation to generation is so strong. I see a lot of pundits out there who want to go back to the time when we all had cartridges and discs, and every new generation was a clean slate, and you could switch the whole console share. That's just not the world we are in today."
While it's true that many gamers have amassed sizable digital libraries and may be more inclined to stick with a specific system, the same logic could still apply to physical game collections from past generations. Take the Xbox 360 and PS3 generation for instance. When the PS3 originally launched, it was backward compatible with PS1 and PS2 games. Despite fans having a large library of PS1 and PS2 games they could play on their PS3, many gamers jumped ship to the Xbox 360 thanks to things like the PS3's higher price and smaller library of high-quality exclusive games.
Xbox Lost the Console Wars, But It Could Win the Cloud Gaming and Streaming Race
The Xbox 360's strong start was fumbled by the Red Ring of Death issues and the slowing of high-quality exclusive releases. The Xbox 360 ultimately finished in third place when it came to the seventh generation console sales. Then the Xbox One was trounced by the PlayStation 4, and while specific sales figures aren't available at the time of this writing, it's obvious that the PS5 is outselling the Xbox Series X/S consoles.
It's clear that Xbox has lost the console wars. However, it gave up truly trying to win them years ago. Now Xbox is focused on expanding its player base through its Xbox Game Pass subscription service, which is reportedly outpacing the Extra and Premium tiers of PlayStation Plus. Xbox Game Pass is currently available on PC, mobile devices, and Xbox consoles, with plans to spread to other platforms like the Asus ROG Ally handheld. One would imagine Xbox would love to bring Game Pass to its competitor's consoles as well, though it's unlikely that Sony or Nintendo will allow that, at least for the time being.
Microsoft is all-in on Xbox Game Pass, doing just about everything to bring new subscribers to the service. One of the main selling points of Xbox Game Pass is that it lets gamers get their hands on brand-new games on the very day of their release, including first-party games. However, this perk only remains a selling point as long as Xbox first-party games are acclaimed, high-quality releases. Xbox can't afford to keep releasing games the same quality as Redfall if it wants to not only draw in new Xbox Game Pass subscribers, but keep those already signed up subscribed to the service.
One solution Microsoft has to fill up the holes in its first-party release schedule is by acquiring existing studios and making their titles console-exclusive to Xbox. This is partly why Microsoft acquired ZeniMax Media, the parent company of Bethesda. Unfortunately, this acquisition has yet to result in any significant "gets" for Xbox so far. Bethesda-published games Deathloop and Ghostwire: Tokyo were actually PlayStation exclusive releases for a full year, while Redfall is a flop.
There is now significant pressure on Starfield to deliver the kind of experience that one expects from first-party games, but time will tell if it will live up to the hype. Looking further ahead, the eventual Elder Scrolls 6 and Fallout 5 games should also be significant releases for the Xbox brand, though the fact that they're also coming out the same day for PC means that they won't be as effective of system-sellers as they would be otherwise.
Regardless, the Bethesda acquisition has still helped Xbox bolster the Game Pass library, and Xbox was hoping to get another boost from Activision Blizzard. Unfortunately for Microsoft, the UK blocked its Activision Blizzard acquisition. Had it gone through, the acquisition could have been a massive boon for Game Pass. Activision-published Call of Duty has been the best-selling game nearly every year for over a decade, so it's safe to say many would jump at the opportunity to play new entries in the series on launch day for nothing more than the cost of their Game Pass subscription. That's not going to happen any time soon now that the deal has been blocked, and it remains to be seen how Microsoft is going to make up for the lack of Activision Blizzard.
The Activision Blizzard acquisition was blocked over concerns that it would give Microsoft too much power in the cloud gaming space. As it stands, cloud gaming is not nearly as significant right now as it might be a generation or two down the road, though Xbox is wasting no time establishing itself as an industry leader in the technology. Xbox Game Pass offers many games that can be played through the cloud, giving subscribers the ability to play AAA games on devices that would typically not be able to house them, including mobile phones and weaker PCs.
With the console wars seemingly decided, Xbox is focused on spreading Xbox Game Pass as far as it can, preparing itself for a potential future where the industry is dominated by the cloud gaming space. While Google Stadia was a bit too early to the party, there could still come a day when the industry shifts to a console-less future, and if that ever happens, Xbox clearly has a head-start over its competition. Time will tell if these early investments pay off and if Xbox can ever establish itself as the dominant brand in gaming.
