With the debut upcoming Sony and Microsoft next-gen consoles, one of the hottest topics among gamers, the console war, returns to reignite the diatribe between the fans of the various companies. Started in recent months due to the design of the various peripherals, which they generated memes and teasing of all kinds, the clash is now preparing to go live by comparing not only the technical specifications of the platforms, but also the exclusive games available at launch and the services offered by the various companies. But in 2020 it still makes sense to talk about console war, what if the various companies over the years have adopted well-defined and completely different market ideas? The strategies adopted by the three giants of the videogame sector, those who produce the hardware to play on (if we exclude the PC world), not only do they not conflict, but they even manage to coexist freely with each other.
Despite the fact that many players have lowered the hatchet for several years already, a small part of users is not of the same opinion, so it is good to investigate what strategies are adopted by Nintendo, Microsoft products e Sony, in order to avoid unnecessary console war, which apart from some really funny memes or teasing, bring absolutely nothing to the end user.
PlayStation 5 and the power of exclusives
It would seem that Sony's philosophy, with the imminent debut of the new videogame generation, has not changed at all, rather going to evolve to a next step. The goal of the Japanese giant is not only to provide an experience full of exclusives, with titles of the caliber of Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Demon's Souls Remake and a surprising 2021 to say the least (marked by the release of Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, Gran Turismo 7, Horizon II Forbidden West e God of War "Ragnarok"), but it would seem to want to put players further at the center of the scene, with hardware that promises to greatly amplify the immersion of the gaming experience, thanks to the haptic feedback and adaptive triggers of the new Dualense and Tempest 3D Audio of the console.
This change of strategy can already be seen from the sales package of PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 5 Digital Edition, which unlike the previous generation no longer presents some of the company's main exclusives, but this time only shows off the technical specifications and features. of the new peripheral; almost as if to reiterate that PS5 will be the real protagonist of the next next-gen. Sony now has the domination of the home console market it's a extreme loyalty of its fanbase, also given the enormous success of PlayStation 4, but on the online services side the Japanese company still has a lot to learn from the Redmond house. PS Now has not completely convinced users, but the cards on the table could slightly change with the advent of the brand new PlayStation Plus Collection. The "welcome package" for subscribers to the service on PlayStation 5 is absolutely not comparable to Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass, since it will not include Sony exclusives on day one and the available catalog will hardly be expanded in the future, but still offers the ability for players to have access to a selection of highly respected PS4 games, such as: The Last of Us Remastered, Uncharted 4: End of a Thief, Bloodborne, God of War e Days Gone.
Xbox Series X / S, Xbox Game Pass and Project xCloud
On the other hand the strategy of Microsoft products has been clear in the last few years, create continuity within its ecosystem, enriching it with digital services of the caliber of Xbox Game Pass e Project xCloud and betting everything on brute power of consoles. As we have seen in the last generation, the goal of the Redmond house has never been to keep up with Sony and Nintendo on the exclusive side, even if the plans of the American giant could change in the near future with the recent acquisition of Bethesda, but rather to put their fans at the center of a unique experience, as varied and accessible as possible.
Xbox Game Pass e Project xCloud allow gamers to access a huge catalog of games, accessible from any platform. Microsoft doesn't care about winning the console war, selling more Xbox Series X / S than Sony's next-gen console, but that all players have access to their services, whether you use it from console, PC or smartphone (Android). In addition, the house of Redmond and Phil Spencer intend to strengthen their presence in the cloud gaming sector by extending the services not only on iOS devices, but also on the TVs of our homes, thanks to the simple use of streaming keys, in perfect Google Chromecast style or Amazon's Fire TV Stick. A somewhat risky strategy, but if well thought out could lead the US giant to generate revenue quite impressive, so as to be able to better support the purchase of new studios and the development of first party titles, all in order to hold its own in a field where Sony has been “winning” easy for years.
Switch is the winning formula of portability
Last but not least we find the Kyoto house, which with Nintendo Switch e Switch Lite seems to have found the perfect squaring of its ecosystem. In addition to producing purely living room peripherals, the company has always produced highly successful portable devices, from the GameBoy up to the Nintendo DS. The debut in 2017 of the first hybrid console has literally revolutionized the gaming sector, allowing the Japanese giant not only to compete in some respects with Sony and Microsoft, but also to carve out an important slice of the totally new market. Furthermore, with Nintendo Switch the company would seem to have learned from its mistakes (we refer to the unfortunate Wii U), focusing not only on exclusive titles of the highest level, which have received considerable appreciation from critics and the public, but also for really encouraging third party game support. The final decision is up to the user alone, to prefer the graphic rendering (therefore opting for more powerful consoles on paper, such as those of Sony and Microsoft), or to enjoy the possibility of being free to play wherever you want ?! On the online services side, the Kyoto house offers a completely different option from the subscriptions offered by Sony and Microsoft, focusing everything on the nostalgia of the most experienced gamers or the curiosity of newbies. Nintendo Switch Online is meant not only for those who want to enjoy the multiplayer online, but also for those who want to access one ever-expanding library of classic titles to NES e Super nes.
Each platform carries with it unique advantages and a well-established strategy for some time, which not only does not affect the work done by other companies, but which even allows the latter to integrate with each other. Further confirmation of what has been said comes from Shuhei Yoshida (president of Sony Interactive Entertainment), who congratulated the house of Redmond and Nintendo for the launch of respectively Xbox Series X / S and Nintendo Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros., but also from Microsoft itself, which celebrated the launch of PlayStation 5 with a post on their Twitter account. So the question arises spontaneously, Does it really make sense to defend the Xbox, PlayStation or Nintendo at the sword, and discuss which ecosystem is the best? All the more so if in recent years the giants of the videogame sector have "opened" their horizons not only to cross-play, but also at the debut of the respective exclusives on the peripherals of the bitter rivals, see the recent release of Horizon Zero Dawn e Death Stranding on PC or Cuphead on Nintendo Switch e PlayStation 4? The decision is, and will always be purely subjective, there are no winners or losers. The choice of players will fall exclusively on the console (company) that will be able to satisfy most of their needs, whether it is exclusive titles or services offered.
