Is Microsoft Lurking In The Grass And Preparing To Pounce On Sony’s Lead With Their Pending Exclusives

Sony has dominated its fair share of the console gaming news in recent weeks with discussions around The Order: 1886 and the pending Bloodborne. As fans debate the merits of each game and look forward to what the company may be announcing at E3, one company is quietly waiting and may be getting ready to pounce from the tall grass with a few surprises.

Microsoft has the pending Fall release of Halo 5: Guardians to look ahead to as that will no doubt be a massive seller that will help boost console sales over the Holiday season as it is looking like it is an easy must own for Xbox One owners.

As great as the prospect of a new Halo game is, that is several months away and for a console that continues to lag behind the PS4 in the press, Microsoft is looking to make moves that will help them close the gap with their chief rival.

With games such as Quantum Break, Crackdown, Scalebound, Fable Legends, Below, and a new Gears of War game pending but lacking a firm release date, fans are looking ahead to E3 to get more clarity on when this and other exclusives will be released.

Microsoft has upped the ante with the Games with Gold program that offers free games and discounts for members in a way similar to the PS+ program but with the promise of more games on a monthly basis. The impact of this is rumored to be why Playstation+ members have yet to learn what there free games for March will be.

As usual for game companies, E3 will be huge as Microsoft will have to contend with Sony releasing Bloodborne and possibly Until Dawn prior to the show, and will likely have their own titles for fans to get excited over, but Microsoft is starting to show a patience that I think may serve them well in the long run even if they end up finishing behind the PS4 in this generation of consoles.

Instead of just throwing money at companies as they have in the past for exclusivity and branding rights, they are focusing on development. The millions they threw at Activision to ensure DLC comes to them first for Call of Duty and that all ads for the game are branded with the Xbox logo still saw the game sell better on their rival’s systems.

It is an important time for the company as Sony continues to sell well but according to a recent survey, Microsoft has the most consumer loyalty, and they are banking on that and a strong list of third party titles to be sufficient to keep them in striking range of Sony until they can unleash their next round of exclusives.

The future is looking good but one has to wonder if Sony has built a juggernaut of momentum that even a new Halo game may not be able to match.

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12 Comments

  1. andy said:

    Even with the “the console to own this Christmas is Xbone” articles posted by many gaming “journalist” websites last October, after the release of the first exclusive game on the console since Forza 5 11 months earlier no doubt, it didn’t beat PS4 sales worldwide for Christmas. Why would it do so now, when there won’t be a major exclusive game releasing ANOTHER 12 months later until October 2015?????
    Do you think that before October 2015, the PS4 is not going to get a single new console exclusive game AND not announce a single thing before then at the likes of E3 2015? If you don’t think this, how would Xbone manage to do this when it hasn’t sold more consoles a single week worldwide than PS4 since the consoles launched???

    I think gaming “journalists” just need to just go away.

    March 3, 2015
    • gareth said:

      That is a very narrow minded approach. I write a Sony article and I am a biased fanboy. A Microsoft one gets us called a Sony basher. It just seems like people just need to be angry and bash everything and everyone they do not agree with. Companies and many in the public agree in our value the issue is now people cannot take any opposing or alternate thought. You do know we are a PS4 first company as far as our console choice goes and nowhere did I imply Sony would do nothing. I mainly stated what many in the industry, Sony included consider likely that Microsoft will make an agressivr push this year. At no time did I ever say Sony was in trouble or in danger of losing their lead. Objectivity, its catching on.

      March 3, 2015
      • andyispoor said:

        He’s just the typical low IQ $0N¥ pauper.

        March 4, 2015
        • gareth said:

          4 degrees here which I wager is more than you have so please stop showing your ignorance about me. The facts are Sony is greatly outselling MS and has for over a year. As such, companies are less likely to exclude Sony from their releases. Simple facts, Sony has a more powerful system that outsells the others. As such why would anyone exclude 20+ million consumers to take money to be a exclusive title for a smaller audience?

          March 4, 2015
  2. mantas said:

    Good article, I do believe Microsoft will have stuff to show at E3 for the remainder of 2015, but the betting money is on Sony one-upping them again; the war for our wallets will be backed by some tremendous exclusives either way, whether you prefer the PlayStation 4 or the Xbox One.

    March 3, 2015
    • gareth said:

      Thank you. Preferences aside, I always find the maneuvers and sub-plots very interesting.

      March 3, 2015
  3. John Nemesh said:

    I have zero faith that MS will have any “must own” titles coming to their failing console. Sony so far has announced a TON of exclusives for PS4…MS has “Screamride”, “Crackdown”, “Ori and the Blind Forest”, “Scalebound”, “Halo 5”, and of course, the TIMED exclusive of “Tomb Raider”. Sure, they will probably pull another title or two out and tout it as “the next big thing” at E3, but there is no catching up to the slate of exclusives that Sony has on tap this year. I fully expect sales to reflect this…even the price cuts, temporary or not, have not allowed Xbox to “close the gap” AT ALL in sales. By the end of the year, Sony will have DOUBLE the overall sales of the Xbox, and probably double the number of available titles too. They will have over 50% of the overall console market share as well. Xbox is DONE, people.

    March 3, 2015
    • Anonymous said:

      Xbox is hardly done.

      March 3, 2015
    • Crybaby John Schmome said:

      Awww, how cute, the typical crying $0N¥ pauper is shilling for his dying paupercompany.

      March 4, 2015
      • gareth said:

        Then why is your underpowered system selling so much worse? By the way I have 4 college degrees and own two companies so hardly dumb.

        March 4, 2015
        • mantas said:

          Absolutely loved this reply. 🙂

          March 6, 2015

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