PS4 vs Xbox One? The Debate is Over

20 March 2017

The first few months of 2017 have been incredible for the PS4 with hit after hit of great exclusive games released. Compare this with the Xbox One which has seen only one exclusive game released at retail so far this year. Looking further ahead, Sony has revealed so many more triple-A games in development than Microsoft too. When you combine this with the current sales figures of the two consoles (PS4 at 55 million and Xbox One at roughly half), is the console war this generation already over?

The table below shows the console exclusives released at retail in 2017 so far, along with their associated Metacritic scores. As a reminder 75 or higher is classed as positive.

The first five PS4 games listed above could, in fairness, be compared to the only Xbox One exclusive so far in Halo Wars 2. By this I mean they are part of a more niche series specific to the console that fans of the franchise will love.

However the last three PS4 games above are not from a well established series, and they happen to be outstanding games. Nioh is a super difficult action RPG where you play as a Western samurai warrior, Horizon Zero Dawn is an even bigger action RPG where you play as a female tribal outcast who takes down huge mechanical dinosaurs. Both are brand new intellectual property for Sony, both are receiving the highest praise, and both are selling well. An understatement for Horizon which sold 2.6 million copies in its first 2 weeks, and has gone on to become Sony's biggest new IP launch on the PS4.

Nier: Automata is almost a bigger surprise. This very Japanese action RPG/hack-and-slash/brawler spun out of the 2010 game Nier, which funnily enough was available on both PS3 and Xbox 360. This is also receiving top review scores because of its "beautiful locations and zany, fun-filled combat" (Meghan Sullivan at IGN). Apparently an Xbox One version was considered for Nier: Automata, but was dropped due to low sales of the console in Japan.

When you compare these three latest PS4 console exclusives with those for the Xbox One over recent years, it's clear to see where Microsoft is going wrong. Dead Rising 4, Gears of War 4, Forza Horizon 3, Halo 5. The obvious trend is the number of sequels for each. The only people buying these games are those entrenched in the series. Did any of these games really attract new fans? Forza Horizon 3 is an exception here as it's one of the best open world racing games to date, and would be the sole reason for my Xbox One purchase. But the others are far from inspiring games. They're essentially more violent, male-driven, blood-thirsty shooters that the majority of anyone over 40 think all video games are. The industry has grown up so much from this, and I'd argue led by Sony.

The other point here is that for PS4 owners who do want this type of game, there were plenty of huge third party published games that launched in the same window as the Xbox titles, and were more often critically better. Battlefield 1, Titanfall 2 and Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare easily took a chunk out of the Xbox exclusive sales last year. And it was Star Wars Battlefront and Call of Duty: Black Ops III treading all over Halo 5 in 2015.

Horizon Zero Dawn developer Guerrilla Games had previously made the Killzone first person shooter series. They could have easily developed a Killzone 4, and been satisfied with the small pot of sales generated by a dedicated fan base that loves the series. But instead, working under Sony (and I'm not sure where the true credit lies here), they made a brand new IP in Horizon Zero Dawn that is an entirely different themed world, with a strong believable female lead character, with fantastic bow and arrow combat.

Game variety is key now to a console's success. Sony has built an incredible platform where it knows the third party juggernauts will always be the highest selling games in the Autumn, and it will fill the other quarters of the year with its great, unique exclusives. Persona 5 is out next month for the PS4, and Andrew Goldfarb on Podcast Beyond episode 483, said it was the best JRPG he's played in the last 20 years. It should be a 90+ on Metacritic.

Xbox One started strong this generation with the original Titanfall and the criminally underplayed Sunset Overdrive (including myself). But with Microsoft's new big IP - Scalebound now cancelled, they have so few exclusive games that we know are coming. Forza Motorsport 7 is a gimme in September, Cuphead is an indie title that's spent years in development. Sea of Thieves, State of Decay 2, and Crackdown 3 are the only others. Most of these should launch in 2017.

Compare that to Sony...

* Predicted
** Title not confirmed

It certainly looks like 2017 is "PS4's unbeatable year", as the Official PlayStation Magazine puts it (even though two of these games have no chance of actually releasing in 2017...).

This all confirms the towering position that the PS4 is in over the Xbox One. Remember the sales figures of PS4 currently at 55 million, and Xbox One at roughly half that. With the current PS4 game library being so good, and the future looking even brighter, Sony has never been in a better position over Microsoft in the last two console generations.

Is the saviour for Microsoft the Scorpio? Their upgraded Xbox and the most powerful console ever, surely to be fully revealed at E3 this year. I highly doubt it, and completely agree with Kinda Funny's Colin Moriarty that PlayStation has indeed, won the war.