Literally from the moment it was announced Sony has ridden a wave of good will and eagerness from the gaming public and media in regards to the Playstation 4.
The same eagerness has propelled the system to upwards of 7 million sales and has been until recently very hard to find for consumers looking to get their hands on the system.
With Microsoft dealing with issues from DRM and an always on connection, Sony used this to bolster their system by touting the DDR 5 memory and better performance as well as a lower price and no blocks on used game.
While Microsoft eventually capitulated, the bad will that many gamers had to the system did allow Sony to jump to the lead in the latest round of console wars.
With E3 on the horizon, Microsoft has fired off a pre convention salvo that includes a Kinect free Xbox One that matches the PS 4 in price at $399.99 and has promised Halo 5 and a new round of exclusive titles.
Microsoft knows that they cannot afford to have a bad showing at E3 as last year’s was so devastating that they are still not fully recovered from the p.r. hits they took.
With that in mind, I have to ask if Sony is losing their grip at the top. I am sure they have plenty of great stuff to show us at E3 including rumored performance updates and tons of exclusives.
My concern is that with the positive vibes Microsoft has gained of late and their likely make it or break it approach to E3 does Sony need more to stay on top?
The recent news that The Order: 1886 may be delayed and will run at 30 FPS has raised a few eyebrows as this is a signature exclusives that Sony is counting on. The great sales of Infamous: Second Son have been solid but that is too many yesterdays news and it is time for new titles for us to get excited over this holiday season.
There have been rumors of a price decrease to $349.99 as well as the new cloud gaming service that will allow users to play past favorites on the PS 4 which are sure to be steps in the right direction.
I have confidence that Sony will have great stuff for us, but I have to admit that as a person who uses my system mainly for exclusives, I am a bit concerned over the lack of AAA exclusives for the system to date and if pending titles are delayed then this will give Microsoft a window to gain on Sony.
For me price and features are nice things to know about but I am a gamer and as such I want exclusive titles we can get excited over and justify the purchase of the system. Do not get me wrong, I love The Last of Us, but a remastered version for the PS 4 is not the same as telling me we have a new game built for the PS 4 coming up.
Yes I know there are plenty of titles coming but as I said earlier coming is not the same as playing now and if Microsoft can release more quality exclusives before Sony gets theirs to market then Sony may find themselves playing from behind.
Time will tell but Sony needs to have another showing at E3 as impressive as last year where they took the best shot Microsoft have an brushed it aside before unloading the big guns.
