Why do you think the PS4 won?

[MacBH928]

By now we can all assume PS4 won this generation with almost 40m, XboxOne at 20m, and Wii U at 12m.

What I would like to discuss and hear opinion about is why do you think the PS4 won over XboxOne?
We all know why the Wii U didn't succeed.

XOne and PS4 are pretty much similar in all aspects and something like 90% of the library is multiplatforms.

Please no one mentions the 24hr connected to the internet, Kinect, and DRM games because all of those things were canceled 2 years ago when the console launched IIRC.

 

[AFEPPL]

Won, has a big mean for such a little word.

Sony got the marketing correct out of the box and focused on the gaming side of things. MS tried to move things on with the DRM/kinect side and i think it was a brave and ultimately good idea but focusing on the digital universe was too before it's time. Saying that i have two XBOX ones and wouldn't move to a PS4 for anything. The 1 just has a much better eco system.

 

[Taustin Powers]

- Lower price point at launch cause they didn't force-bundle the camera
- Better communication of a good and consistent message that spoke to gamers

MS really botched the launch big time. They've done a lot of damage control since then, but they haven't managed to fully recover. And once one system has established itself as "the one to get", it's hard to turn that ship around.

 

[Kurri]

For me, I had 4 xbox 360's due to the red ring of death. I jumped ship to PS4. That was the main reason the failures of my xbox 360. Was very frustrating, and learning later they knew they had a problem, I just didn't want to support them anymore. Was hard not getting the new Halo, but I managed

 

[AFEPPL]

I still have a launch day 20GB 360 and its still going strong with no signs of RRoD...
Sony seem to copied that feature with the BLoD!

 

[gkarris]

I got a PS4 first because:

1. It was $399 (since there was no camera).
2. Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, Free-To-Play Games only needed Internet (Microsoft REQUIRED an XBox Live Gold Subscription to use those).
3. Price drops on launch games (I got Killzone and Knack for $30 each - XBox One games were still $60).

 

[0098386]

Console wars, this takes me back!

I don't know about "won", it's too soon to say. I always end up with all systems but so far there's nothing on the Xbox that has really appealed to me... Halo Collection did but it was marred by issues, some I hear haven't been fixed yet. Backwards compatibility is tempting me. But I didn't want to buy one initially because of Kinect, because of the Always-Online stuff. Those things stuck around and I didn't trust buying a console from them. I mean if they could be removed so easily, could they later be reactivated as easily?

I'm playing the Wii U the most so I think that won in the battle for my spare time.

 

[Flow39]

I chose the Xbox because of the ecosystem and the fact that none of my friends have PS4s. I don't have anything against the PS4 though.

 

[LatestOne]

Xbox One, backwards compatibility is an invaluable feature for Xbox 360 gamers.

 

[MacBH928]

What is the eco system you like about Microsoft? I believe whatever is available on XboxOne is equally available on PS4. Correct me if I am wrong.


I assure you PS4 won. Nintendo already talked about their next console (Nintendo NX). They sold 12m units in the past 4 years or so, no way they will see 30m million. The Xbox one has to sell about 2m units per month for the next year just to catch up with PS4 which is impossible since they are selling 400k right now.

Xbox One backward compatibility is great but they are forgetting 2 things. The last gen. console was the first gen. console that lasted about 10 years. There was more than enough time to play all the games on them. There are also multiple remastered releases and collections for the PS4/XboxOne. While its a positive, it wont be a much selling point. Also, backward compatibility is for some games, not all games.

 

[AFEPPL]

PS4 ecosystem is nothing like the MS one.
PSN is laughable.. While backward compatibility might not be a driver its great for owners.

MS are much more on the ball evolving the platform and moving forward.
I have no intention of ever getting a PS4,

 

[Random14]

Unless there's a huge shift, I'd say PS4 has won this generation (unless it lasts extra long and the XB1 suddenly starts selling at double its current rate or something).

I think the DRM and Kinect are still relevant to the discussion. Microsoft relaxed the restrictions later on, but the fact that most of us know about it shows just how much bad press was generated at launch. While they dialed down the DRM, early adopters were still forced to buy the Kinect bundled in, which raised the price $100 above the PS4's initial price. They got rid of that too eventually, but Sony got a lot of early momentum thanks to those blunders.

Microsoft's PR disaster and Sony's friendlier presentation probably gave the PS4 a big head start, since otherwise the systems are pretty equal hardware wise, I think. Kinect probably has potential, but the higher price and lots of restrictions (originally) definitely hurt the XB1. Then there's the marketing- Microsoft pushed the One as a media center (early DRM restricted games but not the media features), whereas Sony sold the PS4 as for gamers, which possibly helped.

Exclusives might matter too. Xbox has Halo, but not sure what else counts a major highly rated seller- probably not Sunset Overdrive, there hasn't been a GoW game for a while, right? I bought PS4 early on for Infamous, more recently Bloodborne, and eventually Uncharted and stuff like Persona 5, so that's why I like PS4 more. Otherwise most games (Destiny, Dragon Age, etc.) are multiplatform (PC too), so I'm still honestly surprised at how much PS4 has been leading by. Except for around when Halo 5 launched, I thought most months the PS4 was outselling the XB1, even with price cuts.

 

[DaveNinja]

I had neither but picked the Xbox one at xmas time. The ability to connect an antenna and have a guide of local channels was a plus. Also Plex works great with it. I bought the Kinect about a month ago. I like yelling at the TV but mainly like it for controlling my receiver and tv so i dont have to find a remote to turn everything off.
I had a PS3 but did not have a xbox 360. I like the xbox controllers way more than the PS ones

 

[0098386]

Xbox One, backwards compatibility is an invaluable feature for Xbox 360 gamers.

Completely agree. I don't own many Xbox 360 games but if they're all supported then my chances of getting an Xbox One greatly increase. I may only want a few current games on their system, but I've got plenty of older ones to finish.

PS4 ecosystem is nothing like the MS one.
PSN is laughable.. While backward compatibility might not be a driver its great for owners.

MS are much more on the ball evolving the platform and moving forward.
I have no intention of ever getting a PS4,

I dunno about that. What I love about PSN is how purchases transfer over. Like when Zen Pinball was released for PS4, all the tables I bought for PS3 were available. At the time they said the Xbox One wouldn't get that treatment... I wonder if they've enabled it now? That alone would save me £150 haha.

Plus older games like Journey being transferred over. It's not a guarantee that a PS3 PSN title will be free on PS4 but there's always a chance at least.

Same with Vita. And to go back to Zen Pinball as an example I like being able to buy DLC for it once and have it available on literally all my PSN devices.

Unless there's a huge shift, I'd say PS4 has won this generation (unless it lasts extra long and the XB1 suddenly starts selling at double its current rate or something).

Last gen the Xbox 360 was way ahead of the PS3 for a very long time. But 2010 it started to change around, the PS3 exploded and it came very close to overtaking it in worldwide figures (but they did "win" in every region except the US).

As for exclusives, they do matter but I can't think of any that I really want, and MS know that (such as buying exclusive timing for Tomb Raider). But the thing is Sony as a console have been around since 1994 in the era of mascots, they've got very strong brand recognition, very strong series (same with Nintendo). When I think of Microsoft now I just think of Gears of War and Halo, and neither those have been too good recently.

 

[maflynn]

It doesn't matter to me who won or lost, I'm happy with my PS4. I'm sure the Xbox is fine, though MS did stumble out of the gate on it, but they seemed to have corrected their earlier issues.

 

[MacBH928]

Last gen the Xbox 360 was way ahead of the PS3 for a very long time. But 2010 it started to change around, the PS3 exploded and it came very close to overtaking it in worldwide figures (but they did "win" in every region except the US).

Yes but the difference was that the 360 had a 1 year head start, significantly cheaper and had Xbox Live. When the PS3 got released with its -free-online gameplay, it was the more popular brand(150m units last gen.) , with its own exclusives games, and could be doubled as a BD player it won eventually.

This generation the X1 has nothing over PS4 so its impossible for them to overtake the ps4

It doesn't matter to me who won or lost, I'm happy with my PS4. .

maybe not to you, but it actually matters a lot. It matters because the losing device will have less 3rd party support, less releases, less next gen. support, less fanbase, means less online players. It becomes like a downward spiral.

 

[kapolani]

I had the original xbox (one of the first in WA). I had an xbox 360.

I also had a PS2 and PS3.

Took awhile for me to upgrade and when I finally did I went with the PS4. It had more games that I was interested in Metal Gear, Destiny. I think Sony did a much better job at marketing to the gamer rather than the media entertainment center type of guy like MS did.

 

[thisismyusername]

* PS4 was cheaper on release and didn't try to convince you that a camera was necessary
* Microsoft's B.S. about DRM and whatnot in the beginning. It's not at all what gamers wanted to hear.
* People still sore over XBox 360 ring of deaths

Microsoft messed up too much this generation.

 

[Fancuku]

I am curious to see game sales numbers for the same games on each platform. That to me is more important that overall console sales. Two kids with PS4s in Poland who can only afford two games a year each is not the same as an American kid with xb1 who can buy 10-15 games a year.

Is there a website that has game sales statistics?

 

[xb2003]

My biggest problem is Microsoft's invasion of privacy in every way they possibly can. That's why I own a PS4.

I also feel the PS4 has a better controller, the Xbox One's triggers are poor and DS4's rumble is better. But that's just me being picky.

The Uncharted Series has been a major draw too.

 

[MacBH928]

I am curious to see game sales numbers for the same games on each platform. That to me is more important that overall console sales. Two kids with PS4s in Poland who can only afford two games a year each is not the same as an American kid with xb1 who can buy 10-15 games a year.

Is there a website that has game sales statistics?

you make a good argument but unfortunately this can't possibly be true. For this this to be true, we have to assume that all Xboxes are sold in US and all PS4 sold in Poland. In reality is averaged out everywhere around the world.


I did some research and it appears that its not looking pretty for the XboxOne.
Black Ops 3: 12m PS4 / 6.6m X1
Star Wars: 7.15 PS4/ 3.2m X1

 

[AFEPPL]

I don't think the above is true based on reports.

“Call of Duty: Black Ops III was the top selling title of 2015 globally by a wide-margin in both units and dollars sold-thru," Activision senior vice president Rob Kostich said. "This also marks the seventh year in a row that Call of Duty has been the No. 1 selling franchise in North America, according to NPD. In fact, Call of Duty has surpassed 250 million units sold life-to-date worldwide. This achievement is thanks to the amazing experiences created by all of our development teams, and would not be possible without the incredible passion from the Call of Duty community. We congratulate Treyarch on creating an incredibly engaging and an enormously fun game with Black Ops III and look forward to what's to come in 2016."

Interestingly, Black Ops III and Star Wars Battlefront sold better on Xbox One than PS4, though the fact that these games were included in PS4 bundles may have something to do with that. Bundled game sales are not counted in NPD's report. Rainbow Six Siege also moved more physical units on Xbox One than PS4, while all Minecraft games sold better on Microsoft's console than Sony's.

Best-Selling Physical Games for All of 2015: <<sales volume by platform>>

1. Call of Duty: Black Ops III (Xbox One, PS4, 360, PS3, PC)
2. Madden NFL 16 (PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3)
3. Fallout 4 (PS4, Xbox One, PC)
4. Star Wars: Battlefront (Xbox One, PS4, PC)
5. Grand Theft Auto V (PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3, PC)
6. NBA 2K16 (PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3)
7. Minecraft (360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4)
8. Mortal Kombat X (PS4, Xbox One)
9. FIFA 16 (PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3)
10. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (Xbox One, PS4, 360, PS3, PC)

For the full year, new software sales slid 3 percent, dropping from $5.47 billion to $5.29 billion. During that period, the 2 percent rise in console software sales and the 52 percent jump in Xbox One/PS4 game sales were not enough to offset portable software sale's 34 percent decline and the 53 percent drop in Xbox 360/PS3 new software sales.

 

[0098386]

Interestingly, Black Ops III and Star Wars Battlefront sold better on Xbox One than PS4, though the fact that these games were included in PS4 bundles may have something to do with that. Bundled game sales are not counted in NPD's report.

That is interesting! A month ago I was reading up on Star Wars Battlefront, they linked to stats showing the amount of players in the last 24 hours on PC, Xbox and PS4. PS4 was ahead, then PC, then Xbox. Obviously sales figures+play figures are only loosely connected, and I do wish I could find that thread again (it was on Reddit).

 

[MacBH928]

I don't think the above is true based on reports.
.

I used VGchartz, so thats my source. I find them reliable enough for the recent stuff. I doubt any game had higher sales on a usebase of 20m over the 40m userbase but we have to see real numbers

 

[AFEPPL]

its listed above... number one selling game is COD and on the xbox platform.
Those are the official sales numbers..

That is interesting! A month ago I was reading up on Star Wars Battlefront, they linked to stats showing the amount of players in the last 24 hours on PC, Xbox and PS4. PS4 was ahead, then PC, then Xbox. Obviously sales figures+play figures are only loosely connected, and I do wish I could find that thread again (it was on Reddit).

That could be correct, sales data above is just to the end of 2015.