Console gaming is a modern battlefield for corporate titans. Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4 represent the newest generation of advancements in console warfare. The question now is, who's winning?
If we look at each console's list of exclusive titles for indication, the answer is pretty clear. Sony takes it by miles. Of the approximately 1,200 retail games available on the PS4, over 100 are platform exclusive. Meanwhile, the Xbox One, whose list of retail titles is something closer to 900, has only 30 exclusive games to date.
A primary reason for such a huge disparity may be the Xbox One's unsuccessful launch compared to that of its competition. By January 2016, less than two months after its launch date, the estimated number of units sold for the Xbox was 18-19 Million. That's roughly half of the 36 Million reported by Sony around the same time. In turn, this might have caused Microsoft's console to appear less attractive to developers, who then flocked to Sony as the obvious alternative.
Speculation aside, it's clear that Sony has gained control of the larger developer market, with such AAA exclusives as Bloodborne, Until Dawn, The Last of Us 2, and the recently released Horizon Zero Dawn, among several others. Compare that list to Microsoft's relatively meager offering of Halo 5: Guardians and Gears of War 4, neither of which are new intellectual properties, and the difference in scale becomes unmistakable. A string of high-profile exclusive cancellations from Microsoft has only made the case for PS4's dominance stronger.
That said, the Xbox One is by no means a weak console. Interest in developing for the system has been rekindled somewhat by the impending release of Xbox Scorpio, and with exclusives aside, the system supports an admirable library of AAA and independently developed titles. As a company, Microsoft's gaming arm is exploring exciting avenues for the future, not the least of these being their Play Anywhere initiative, which strives to combine the best of PC and console gaming through shared games and profiles across connected Windows devices. At the time of writing, Microsoft has also just unveiled a new Xbox Game Pass initiative that will give subscribers unlimited access to over 100 Xbox One and backwards compatible Xbox 360 titles for $9.99 per month.
The "Console Wars" have seen momentum swing back and forth many times over the years, and it's important to remember that this oscillation is typical of a market whose strategies and technologies are constantly evolving. Going into the future may yet see the tide of battle swing again into Microsoft's favor, for it is in times of strife where we see the most critical leaps of growth.
This is the result of competition. Better products reaching wider audiences, more games and technologies being developed for the end users to enjoy. Whoever wins the battles of today, it is we, and the gamers of tomorrow, who will claim the real victories.