The other day I was thinking about the phenomenal sales success of the Playstation 4 system and how it has a commanding share of the console market. At the same time I looked at the Xbox One which has withstood some disastrous reveal and pre-launch issues to find solid sales and a devoted legion of fans. Despite their best efforts, Microsoft continues to lag behind Sony in terms of units sold, and now sees Sony being more aggressive in their dealings with third-party developers. I found myself wondering if the Xbox One is a victim of bad timing, marketing, or simply a good console that is being overshadowed by a better system. Most people, who own the console will tell you how much they enjoy it, look forward to the exclusives, as well as the other features of the system. With a strong lineup games, why does Sony continue to remain dominant in their position?
To me it comes down to a bit of an identity crisis in that the early perception of the Xbox One for some is that it was a glorified DVR that happened play games. The PS4 on the other hand was seen as a strong and powerful gaming first system that just so happened to have numerous other features with the promise of more to be added later. I will be curious to see if the release of DirectX 12 does improve the performance of the Xbox One as number crunchers will point out that in head-to-head comparisons, the PS4 often has better graphics and frame rates on many comparable titles. That being said if the PS4 did not exist, then many people would be touting the Xbox One as one of the greatest achievements in gaming history. Sadly in the current state, it is a solid system that has largely been relegated to runner-up status due to the overwhelming success of the PS4.
We will never truly know just how many people soured on the system due to Microsoft’s early PR blunders and presentations which allowed Sony to ride a wave of hype and enthusiasm all the way up to launch and beyond. But in this industry timing can be crucial and the fact that Sony was first and had a relatively blemish free ride from lunch to the shelf has allowed them to reap the benefits of their system and exclusive titles.
While there is still plenty to come from both systems, it does appear that for now the Xbox One is going to be playing catch-up for the foreseeable future barring some massive missteps from Sony. I will be very interested to see what Microsoft does at E3 and beyond as while their sales have been solid, they must be concerned on some level about their inability to make any serious inroads into the lead that Sony has built up as well as the seemingly unstoppable momentum the PS4 has maintained since launch.
They do something, everyone complains. They change all of those things, they still complain. They get compared to the PS4, people still say it’s weak. People swap PS4 photos with Xbox photos to pick apart those that can actually find a difference, we find nobody that can. People see what they want to see. The games look and play the same. The only difference is features and software. Software wise Microsoft has done better with the Xbox One over the last 3 years of the 360, so I don’t see the complaints. The PS4 on the other hand has seen generic crap, indies with nothing original, and a handful of decent exclusives. Toss in DX12 (which people still don’t believe will make a difference. Come on folks, PC’s with the exact same hardware are seeing over 70% in performance gains. How is it that the Xbox One, a PC with a custom UI, couldn’t get any increases at all? Of course it’ll work wonders, just like it would work even more wonders on the PS4 if Sony had access to it. Oh well, they have their own rival coming out and I’m sure it’ll be fantastic. Sales wise the PS4 is performing phenomenal on hype alone, which is a little sad because it has no games to make the machine worth while. Meanwhile on the Xbox One they’re missing features from the 360 and still struggling with a buggy UI, in combination with bad PR coming from the misinformed (which is most people, all on all subjects) but keep on top of 360 sales in the same time period. Hats off to both, they’re doing what they wanted. But without a doubt, the Xbox One is being ripped apart very unfairly. The PS4 can’t play a CD, something is wrong with “gamers” when they take the side of the console with the most glaring issues and the weakest holiday line ups.
Either way, you go Xbox. Certainly catching my attention after alienating me a little over half way through the 360’s life.
Everything will become clear once Win/DX12 comes!
I think that is a real make or break time for them as they have touted all sorts of improvements from it. But if it is not that big of a adjustment, people will not be happy. Plus they need more than a OS tweak to catch Sony.
I would say it wasn’t just the early blunders at launch, but the refusal by Microsoft’s team to admit they had a problem for more than a year after launch. At the point they finally did fix the problems, the PS4 had a commanding lead that Microsoft would be unlikely to overcome. Doesn’t mean the XB1 can’t compete just that they will most likely be #2 in sales for the entire generation.
Proof read
What happens when all Win 7 and Win 8 PCs become mini X1s? Tell me then numbers after Win 10 July launch.
That is a big step for them, but Sony is not going to just sit back and let their market share dwindle. I am sure they have something big planned as well.
You are right. A price cut is coming soon.
Sony has gone fairly quiet in recent weeks so naturally they are already planning for E3 where they have been very impressive in recent shows. So knowing that Halo V and Direct X 12 are the big things from Microsoft, I wonder what they will offer up aside from new game titles.
I think it is pretty cut and dry. Microsoft put weak hardware, especially their memory setup, 40 – 50% weaker gpu, and they forced the Kinect that they knew most users stopped using on the 360. They are still treating console owners like we don’t understand tech and putting g all kinds of crap into the media.. I just prefer a console over PC gaming. Doesn’t mean I don’t understand hardware.
The majority of their online vocal fanbase are morons.
Microsoft is still not making it about games. They still are pretending they are going to do something fantastic that magically will make the xbox one on level with PS4.
I own one and I think it’s turning into a joke really, especially cause of their onlinE vocal fanbase.
one mistake after another and they just keep doing it.
Sucks cause it has a few decent games. But Microsoft is gonna just turn it into a low end PC wannabe and focus on PC. Oh well not first time I bought a console that really turns out to be nothing more then a paper weight.
I wonder what is going to happen should Direct X 12 not be the magical fix that they have been touting or if the public has already made up their minds.
No one other than the fanboy/girls and trolls have indicated other than it will be positive, but they have honestly said they don’t know how much of a boost it will be. Microsoft has been very upfront in that regard.
There are what I would consider numerous errors in what you have said, but the one part I agree with is Microsoft hasn’t helped matters by living in a large echo chamber for more than a year before getting there management act together. It isn’t the hardware of the XB1 that has hurt Microsoft, but thinking big and expecting everyone to follow when they couldn’t see the vision Microsoft had for the future.
Keep in mind Microsoft initially chose this path due to their grand ‘All in One’ scheme. They only have themselves to blame. Had they stuck course with what gamers really wanted (i.e. gaming machine), then it would be a different story.