Now that the scare is over and cooler heads have prevailed, we can now see clearer to what the future of Xbox might be turning into and what kind of a giant that they are turning into. Looking at all that Gamepass stands to deliver to Microsoft gamers, it’s no wonder why Sony wanted to kill the Activision deal. They clearly see the writing on the wall. Microsoft is on a path to domination. They have the money and reach now more than ever in gaming, while Sony seems to be losing steam and its identity.
Now, this by no means equals to Playstation losing this generation all of sudden. However, the amount of momentum Xbox seems to be gaining with the promise of the biggest leap in console power and technology promised by Phil Spencer, means they really have a great opportunity of being a serious threat to most people in major territories next generation. Microsoft will never win Japan, obviously, but they could go a long way in finally winning America and the UK by serious numbers and of that happens, the very landscape of gaming will never be the same. We seriously could be looking at a world dominated by Microsoft and its gamepass.
So Sony better find its identity again, whatever that might be. All I know for sure is that they are running scared and should be. For the first time in gaming, I don’t believe Sony had a clear path for the future. They know they can’t keep moving in the same direction and with Microsoft changing the game and seems always seeing what the future holds before they do, they have serious ground to make up and I don’t believe they have the money freedom to be better at it than Microsoft is, regardless of console sales.
The main reason for the uncertainty rides in two areas.
• The identity of and the control of exclusives is changing.
• The need for services and subscription based access is growing.
Playstation has lost the freedom to do what they want in big titles like Call of Duty, thanks to buyouts from Microsoft. They have lost major exclusive companies that were responsible for some of Playstation’s best and most innovative exclusives like Quantum Dreams and others to third-party development. Even forced to give up franchise created games like MLB to Microsoft and its gamepass. So all of this is just building into a world Sony was not prepared for. They can’t outbuy Microsoft and so all that is left is to seek out their direction to make it theirs in hopes for money stability, which is exactly what the president of Sony already admitted he was focused on now. Sales and services will be a theme you either learn to love or love already, but make no mistake about it, it’s coming to a Playstation near you and it most likely will change Playstation into something most don’t recognize. This normally produces a change of guard and typically causes a mass exodus until it stabilizes, if it ever does.
Now, what does this all mean at the end of the day. My guess is that Playstation will be forced to evolve or die. They also might have a world where they have no choice but to convert into a bigger partner of Microsoft and its gamepass eventually. This could save both their Playstation division and solidify Microsoft’s check mate. At the end of the day, more gamers may find more security into owning both consoles over one for fear of a world without one of them. But that’s just me. I have both and plan on playing more Xbox moving forward because of the free games I stand to get because I know for sure nothing I want is coming out on Playstation for at least a year, which is just crazy for their brand.
Tech-N-Things 