(ThyBlackMan.com) It’s 2019 and this current console generation is just about at its end. Both the Playstation 4 and the Xbox One released in November 2013 and by the end of this generation, Sony will be able to proudly show its work several times over while Microsoft is…being Microsoft. See, Japan-based companies such as Sony and Nintendo have exclusive property out the wazoo. As for Microsoft, let’s just say that the Xbox will need more exclusives.
Microsoft, Xbox, and No True Exclusives
This isn’t a new problem with the Xbox. It’s always needed exclusives. That isn’t to say that the Xbox One doesn’t have exclusive titles. It has Gears of War, Halo, Forza and a few other indies putting stuff out for the console. But wait…those aren’t really even exclusives because you can play them on PC. At the core, anything that run Windows 10.
On Steam, there are a few that can be played on Linux. So, there are no true for Xbox One and there were few to none for Xbox 360. Going forward with the next console, there will probably be no true exclusives there as well.
As it stands for Microsoft’s consoles, there’s a thing where if you play on PC, it defeats the purpose of getting an Xbox One. The only reason to get one is if you have peeps on Xbox Live. “I want to experience this game on Xbox” isn’t a good reason at all if you have a PC because you’re playing on PC which has always been touted as the superior way to play games.
Exclusives Have Always Been Important
No, if folks on PC do get another console it will probably be a PlayStation 4 or a Nintendo Switch because those two have actual exclusives. Those two consoles wrote the book on having exclusive titles—with Sega writing the foreword.
During the 1990s when the competition was mainly between Nintendo and Sega before it became Nintendo and Sony, having console exclusives was important. Some titles that were on PC became console exclusives because only Sony had them between the two console companies. That was an interesting time. You could play the very first Tomb Raider on MS-DOS or on PSX but you couldn’t play it on Nintendo 64.
In that sense, Xbox One does have a handful of console exclusives but these are times when PC gaming has become a big deal. PC gaming drives live streaming on Twitch and other streaming platforms. While there will always be more home consoles until PC gaming gets to the price of consoles, Microsoft splitting its games with PC—and every other OS—is making it look like the Xbox has nothing.
Microsoft Being Nice With Studios
On top of that, Microsoft signed a bunch of studios this year. That’s always great. Having a ton of studios means a ton of games—hopefully just for your home console—are coming out! Awesome, right? It would be if those studios didn’t already have projects in the works and Microsoft was allowing them to finish those projects up.
As my younger brother—also a gamer and Sony aficionado—has said time and time again: “Sony would’ve told them to cancel all of those projects and get to work on stuff for PlayStation.” Petty? Not really, this larger company just purchased your studio and is injecting cash into projects. They take priority.
These new studios are Microsoft’s key to true exclusives. You can only rely on three blockbusters for so long when the release time between them are spaced out. If anything, by this point Microsoft should have several blockbusters and a few legendary exclusives. Instead, two of its blockbusters are also legendary franchises and it has shown nothing that could be the next wave of greatest hits.
Rule of thumb: most of these games you can get on either PlayStation 4 or Xbox One. Pay attention to the exclusives, how often they come out, and what their studios are doing.
Staff Writer; M. Swift
This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.