When it comes to business, every company that sells a similar product as your company is competition.
If a consumer walks into a game-store and purchasesCall of Duty: WW2for their Xbox One instead of a PlayStation 4, Sony loses out on potential revenue. If that game isn't on the Nintendo Switch at all, that may sway opinions of those who might have wanted a Switch and enjoy playing Call of Duty. It's ridiculous to assume that the big three gaming companies aren't aware of situations like these, and it is equally ignorant to suggest that Microsoft, Nintendo, and/or Sony shouldn't worry about said competition. Consumers do not want second-best, nor do investors; every single thing your competition does better than you, is one more reason for these groups to place their cash with them instead of you.
There are different solutions for reaching out to consumers. Some companies choose to fill out certain niches that others don't. Atlus, for instance, focuses on high-budget JRPGs that may not pull in the same crowd as Battlefield might, but instead capture a market that doesn't have nearly as much competition as the latter. EAgoes for a shotgun approach, publishing many different genres of games every year or so. While this method is more risky, they rely on the big hits to help recuperate the losses from the games that don't perform as well - and then they focus on polishing hits while testing a new batch of games. In this case, publishers can coexist, although if too many publishers try the same approach with the same genres, or vie too much for the same audience, you run the risk of no publisher selling optimally. There are benefits to finding your own niche and doing it well.
However, console manufacturers do not have the same luxury. It is foolish to assume that the consumer will want to buy multiple consoles that cost hundreds of dollars each, compared to the relatively lesser prices of games. In an ecosystem where consoles share access to many of the same games, you can't expect the audience to find much point in buying both an Xbox and a PlayStation. There are exceptions to the rule, but you can't build a business out of those exceptions.
Unless you're an anime lawyer, of course.
This is where console gimmicks, exclusive games, DLC, and services come into play. These are going to be the talking points that will persuade someone to buy your console or its versions of games over its competitors'. With this blog series, I wanted to focus on how Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony are each going about this, looking at sales data to compare how well their solutions to winning over the market are working, and giving my opinion on who I think is doing the best job, and how the three companies could improve. As for the contents of this discussion, I will be going over the consoles, their games, services that are available on the companies' systems, and the marketing campaign of the companies themselves. I will notinclude the Wii U, as its successor is out, and its production nearly finished. The PlayStation Vita and 3DS are relics of last generation, so unless they are relevant to whatever I'm speaking about, I won't include them.
Disclaimer: I own a PlayStation, and think that Monster Hunter is the best series ever.
Part I: The Hardware
Sony has enjoyed the top spot in the market for six months running now [1],and it's believed as of January that there are approximately double the number of PS4 consoles in the hands of consumers than Xbox Ones[2].The Nintendo Switch is also having an amazing start, selling over 2.4 million systems to retailers and consumers as of this writing. Not quite as amazing as the 4.2 million the PlayStation 4[3]sold over its first six weeks, but it must be noted that the PS4 launched over the holiday season, which likely impacted sales as well. Microsoft isn't releasing the sales numbers of their consoles anymore, so my best totally-scientific estimate is that they are selling four consoles per week.
Now, did Microsoft's initial dud of an announcement for the Xbox One hurt their chances of winning the top spot this generation? I think it hurt them initially, definitely, but I also believe that such claims are exaggerated. It's no secret that Sony's PS3 beat out the Xbox 360 near the tail-end of last generation[4],and honestly I think that the momentum carried onto this generation.
But that's a discussion for a later installment; I just wanted you to get a feeling for the sales numbers so far this year. Let's get to what all three companies are serving us in 2017.
Microsoft and Sony have been measuring their teraflops a lot in late 2016 and 2017. They have latched onto the talk from the beginning of the generation when it was all about“frames-per-second” and “resolution”, and have decided to solve their dilemmas of not having the most future-proof boxes by pushing out more powerful and equally expensive versions of their consoles. Both companies claim that the “PS4 Pro” and “Xbox Scorpio [yet to get an official name as of this writing]” are not replacements for their current systems, but hardly anyone would be surprised if in 2020, the OG PS4 and Xbox One are both shifted out.
Get ready for the PS4 SlimPro 2 in 2020, now with 50% more teraflops!
Nintendo, on the other hand, after completely tera-flopping with the Wii U, decided to merge their console and handheld audience by releasing the “Nintendo Switch” in March 2017; a relatively powerful tablet-like device that you can hook up to the television to play on the big screen as well as on-the-go. It's not as beefy as even the original PS4 or Xbox One, but what Nintendo lacks in power, they double down in portability; it's an interesting trade-off to say the least, and I am excited to see whether that helps.
Microsoft has all but abandoned the “Kinect 2.0”, and let's not pretend that Sony was ever going to support their“PlayStation Eye 3.0” or “PlayStation Move” past their initial launch phases. Sony is, however, still actively supporting their “PSVR” virtual reality headset, but we'll have to wait until E3 to see if they're going to continue support, or let it fall to the wayside.
I can't really argue with what Sony and Microsoft are doing right now with their consoles. Yes, the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One both came into the generation underdeveloped and under-powered. I don't like that halfway into a generation, they're both offering“refreshed” consoles that only accelerate these feelings. But, it was the most sensible solution, rather than ending the generation early, or living with games that may not run well without serious optimization. It was a decision that neither manufacturer should have to make in the first place, but I haven't gotten to the point where I feel like I need a PS4 Pro or Scorpio, so I won't denounce either company just yet.
Likewise, I'm not upset that the Kinect and PlayStation Move failed this generation to garner interest. Business ventures fail, it happens. This isn't the first time either company has tried to push the technology, and there comes a time where it's best to cut your losses and pull back, rather than waste money and studio resources to make games for a technology that doesn't work well with it.
It is, however, disappointing, that Sony released PSVR on a console that clearly can't handle it. Experiences are in, skeptics was right. It sucks. Sales that were initially exciting are now merely “on track”[5],with no sales numbers given this year by the company since December 2016. The most angering thing about this, is that PSVR is how many curious casuals are getting their first virtual reality experience. When you push out an inferior product, prone to cause dizziness, with inaccurate cameras, and low resolution, and no AAA games for it, you poison the well for not only yourself, but any other company who wants to sell this new technology to customers. Sony pushing out an unready headset to the public in order to grab the first sales is short-sighted, and will burn them in the long run.
I find that this is the problem for most Sony products. They tried to sell the public on the Vita's cross-play with the PS3, but the result was shoddy at best until the PlayStation 4 came out. The PlayStation Move was a decent venture, a solid alternative to the Wii, with no games built from the ground-up to support it. The PlayStation Eye has always been garbage compared to the Microsoft Kinect, and Sony had a longer time working on the Eye to begin with. They push out things before they're ready, and abandon ship when their plans fail. I don't see this hurting Sony now necessarily, but there will be a time where consumers start catching onto this, and get wary of buying in. This will affect Sony, and many other companies in the future.
Honestly, does anyone even remember what Wonderbook was?
As for now, however, Sony will do fine. They aren't selling solely because of their hardware, but rather the strength of their exclusives, a fantastic marketing campaign, latching onto what the competition does do right, and the momentum of three generations worth of these things. Yes, their hardware could use more work, but there is more than just that when it comes to selling the consoles, the rest of which are things Sony does beautifully.
Microsoft has been the opposite, very conservative with what they're doing with their console as Xbox as a whole. As of now, we won't know most of the details on Project Scorpio (besides rumors and details to a handful of outlets[6]) or a possible VR headset until E3 this year, and their talks of cloud computing at the beginning of the generation have all but ceased completely. I am very curious to see what they are going to announce at E3, because as it stands, they need something big if they are going to come back in this generation as a serious competitor, with Sony dominating them in sales, and Nintendo fresh with a new console.
It's hard for me to give Microsoft much praise, or even criticisms for their hardware development; no one has much information to go on. They aren't - to my knowledge - doing anything that Sony isn't, and perhaps that's the biggest tell of all, they aren't doing, and if they are, they aren't showing.Your current console has no bells and whistles; Microsoft isn't impressing anyone with what they have. I am expecting Scorpio to blow everyone out of the water, because if it doesn't, Microsoft's gaming division may be in serious trouble later on – and they know that. They need something that they can say they're best at, because they aren't beating in console exclusives like Sony is, and they aren't beating in interesting gimmicks and console innovation like Nintendo. Maybe power can be their clutch, at least until the AAA exclusives do start rolling in at a faster pace.
Nintendo has released their Switch this year, and I think it's a strange but alluring concept. Combining the portability of handhelds and the strengths of a console is a risky venture to a company whose handhelds do much better than their consoles - two out of the last three being flops. They're putting all of their eggs in one basket, and no one knows how this is going to turn out; it's too early to say. I am worried about it being so underpowered when it comes to third-party support. Games like Mass Effect: Andromeda, Ghost Recon: Wildlands, and Overwatch are all skipping the console - and regardless of how one may feel about particular franchises, consumers are going to think about all of the third party they're going to miss out on if they make the Switch their console of choice. Now, if the Switch continues to be a big hit, developers will port games to it, quality be damned. But that takes time, and not having publishing giants like EA, Ubisoft, and Activision supporting you fully year one is a huge hit to Nintendo's system when it comes to expanding its market.
I think that it takes courage to come out with a
system that thinks about portability when your biggest competitors
are talking about power. I think that it's telling that Nintendo
released the console in March rather than the holiday season. That
shows confidence in your product. This isn't to say that the Switch
isn't missing some key features that would help make it a sell to
consumers who weren't on-board with the Wii U - but once again, that's
a story for a later installment. You're not going to beat Sony and Microsoft when you're talking about power, when you're talking about RAM, and graphics cards; they have that market cornered already. Nintendo is choosing to carve their own niche, and if they can pull this off, they can sell at least as many units as the Nintendo 3DS did. I don't see them winning over a new crowd with their current game-plan, but those are due to software issues, service issues, and a woefully ignorant PR team (good God the PR team has to be run by a bunch of monkies) - not necessarily the hardware itself. Do I wish it were more powerful? Yes. Will the lack of said power hurt potential ports? Definitely. But as far as I'm concerned, the Switch is a reasonable device, with acceptable sacrifices if it brings the quality that the 3DS did. It's sleek, it's modern, and it makes portable consoles look like they're not just for kids. I'm excited to see what Nintendo does with it in the future.
"I work for Nintendo now. Deal with it."
In the end, I see positivism on the horizon, and skepticism on its heels. Sony has room to grow in its hardware, but whether they choose to strengthen their long-lived weakness is anyone's guess. Microsoft has grown silent, but maybe the next iteration of their Xbox One and their VR plans can win back consumers who may have fallen out of favor. Nintendo is in the most peculiar spot of all, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that all eyes are on them and the Switch at this critical moment in their history. E3 is fast approaching, and that's when we can expect the three companies to put their money where their mouths are. I – for one- can't wait to see the new hardware innovations that will surely be unleashed upon us this year.
What do you think of what the big three are all doing on the hardware side of things? Are you excited for anything coming up, and what would you like to see from each company going forward? I'd love to hear your opinion!
And catch tomorrow's installment; I dig into the games each company offers, their relationships with other publishers, and services that the big three all offer. Stay frosty, peeps.
[2]https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2017/01/reports-ps4-is-selling-twice-as-well-as-xbox-one-overall/
[3]http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/01/07/ces-playstation-4-sales-pass-42-million
[4]http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/01/10/report-ps3-surpasses-xbox-360s-worldwide-shipped-total