While the console wars for this generation have pretty much declared the PlayStation 5 as its winner (with the Nintendo Switch being in a whole niche of its own), the upcoming PlayStation 6 and much rumored Xbox Prime could very well see things pan out quite differently.
While architectural changes are very unlikely to shift in the next console generation, Microsoft could easily one-up Sony by leveraging its multi platform strategy, and make use of the market’s move toward PC gaming as a more widespread medium in its favor.
Xbox Prime choosing AMD might make for a winning formula
The still rumored Xbox Prime console is likely still in its planning stages, as both Microsoft and AMD work together to craft a new breed of silicon that can play the latest and greatest video games while pushing the limits of visual fidelity.
AMD has historically been the preferred partner for consoles, with both Xbox and PlayStation using very similar chips designed from the company. Xbox in particular, has been using AMD since the 360 days, and has little reason to switch over to Nvidia after their misadventures with the original Xbox console.
As such, both Xbox and PlayStation are likely to stick to AMD, which should mean that both consoles should perform roughly similar – which has been the case since the launch of the Xbox One S. However, numbers aren’t everything.
Where things could change however, is in Xbox’s handling of third party integrations and its general push for Xbox as a brand and not just a console.
Microsoft was, after all, pretty burnt from the past generation, where it lost to PlayStation by a landslide. They have now shifted gears, and are aiming to incorporate Xbox into more products, by choosing multi platform launches.
All games come to PC now, sooner or later – even PlayStation exclusives. As such, Microsoft’s tight integration with AMD tech could very well mean that its PC ports could be of a much higher quality. After all, the Xbox uses DirectX, which is a Windows component unlike the PS5’s use of a custom API.
This could also extend into other services, such as cloud gaming and Game Pass which have the advantage of being built with PC hardware in mind. PlayStation has no viable alternative that could entice players to switch, and PlayStation Plus, while an overall decent service, simply lacks many of the perks associated with Game Pass (such as PC ports, shared saves and day one releases).
Sony is unlikely to shift gears and join team green either way though, but its outdated policies might spell its doom, while Xbox embraces the future of change. Xbox’s strategy is quite the bold move here, but with over 15 million PC Game Pass users, it is definitely onto something – the migration of gaming toward cloud and PC mediums.
Sony is handicapping itself with exclusivity
The exclusivity formula has worked for decades, and is one of the major ways to sell a console. No amount of CPU/GPU horsepower will save a console from going extinct if it doesn’t have enough good games to offer after all (as seen in the unfortunate case of the SEGA Dreamcast).
However, things are quite different now, with publishers pushing for day one, multi platform releases. The exclusivity game holds a lot less weight now, and could turn out to be Sony’s achilles heel in the long run.
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By limiting their games to one or two platforms, PlayStation is effectively handicapping itself in the process and being quite shortsighted. Technical accomplishments are becoming less and less notable across console generations, and Sony has to keep up with the times and find an alternative way to popularize its gaming division further – and is sorely lacking when compared to Xbox in this very regard.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
