Microsoft has stated that it wants to achieve the “biggest technological leap in a hardware generation ever” with its next Xbox. But does the console even have a chance against Sony and a possible PS6? Because there are some points that speak against an Xbox console.
Microsoft has said it is working on a new Xbox console. This is not surprising at first, as it is known that manufacturers are already preparing the next generation after the release of a console. Sony is also likely to be working on a PS6 without having commented on it.
Phil Spencer emphasized that they will achieve the “biggest technical leap in a hardware generation ever” with their next Xbox and that they do not want to stop their hardware business (via theverge). But is that enough to have a chance against Sony and the PlayStation?
Already in 2023, significantly fewer units will be sold than Sony
What did it look like in 2023? According to the Statista website, both Sony and Microsoft were able to sell their consoles millions of times: In 2023, around 7.5 million units of the Xbox Series X/S and around 21.6 million units of the PlayStation 5 were sold worldwide. However, it is striking: around 3 times as many PS5 consoles were sold as Xbox devices.
The situation is similar in Japan: for 1.6 million PS5 consoles and 2.2 million Switch systems, there are reportedly only around 76,000 Xbox devices (via vgchartz.com).
When buying Activision: Blizzard, Microsoft always argued that they were the much smaller competitor on the market: In Europe, Sony had 80% of the market share with its PlayStation and they only had 20%. Interestingly, Microsoft left out Nintendo here (via gameindustry.biz).
Why should PS5 owners definitely buy a new Xbox when they could also get the PS6?
Exclusive games as an argument for the consoles
The main argument in favor of the consoles to this day are exclusive games that can only be played on the consoles. These are so-called “system sellers”, i.e. games for which you have to buy the consoles. Microsoft has been more open about this for years and is introducing many games not only for the Xbox, but also for the PC. It has now been announced that 4 selected first-party games will also be released for PS5 and Nintendo Switch. By the way, Starfield is not one of them.
At Sony, on the other hand, there are still many exclusive titles for the PS5, even if some titles are now also coming late for the PC. Games like the new Spider-Man are still exclusive to the PS5. This is also more of a reason to get a PS6 in the next generation and either buy a gaming PC or treat yourself to an upgrade such as a new graphics card.
Because of Starfield, Microsoft reportedly sold more Game Pass subscriptions than ever before, but not necessarily its own consoles.
Backwards compatibility, Game Pass and large development studios as arguments for the Xbox
However, there are reasons to buy an Xbox. On the one hand, this is the significantly extensive compatibility with older games, because older Xbox 360 titles also work on an Xbox Series X.
On the other hand, Game Pass is an argument that keeps coming up. With Game Pass you can play many games on your console at no extra charge and you don’t need a powerful gaming PC.
Another argument are the large purchases that Microsoft has made in recent years:
But whether that’s enough to make the Xbox competitive with the PS5 remains to be seen in the next few years.
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