We all know that PlayStation and Xbox are not directly competing in the way everyone expects them to anymore. Microsoft is bringing a lot of it’s content over to the PS5. That’s going to continue; not only that, but we’re going to see them competing in a different way in a few years time. Nintendo may become the one that Sony sees as direct competition.
PlayStation and Nintendo are the ones that are working in the same way in the industry, so it’s going to be a clash of titans there—selling hardware and software. Microsoft has gone more on focusing on all devices. However, I don’t believe cloud gaming on its own at this moment in time will actually get people of Xbox playing more. The majority of gamers do love physical hardware and see that as the best way. However, that’s not saying that won’t change in the future. In fact, the strategy of releasing on PlayStation and Nintendo will likely be the big thing in the future of Xbox.
Sony has the added benefit of being on AMD. These days, PlayStation is even an Xbox. I expect Microsoft to treat it as such going forward. That means that the Xbox console hardware will still be catered for, but so will everyone of you on PlayStation that enjoys Xbox games as well. AMD will continue to be the partner that PlayStation and Xbox use going into the next generation.
I’ve spoken a lot about handhelds recently. I think Nintendo Switch 2 will likely be supported in the same way as the new Xbox handheld. I think Microsoft is counting on Game Pass and it’s own user experience to see them through with selling that. We’re getting to the point now where it doesn’t matter what device you play. As long as your actually playing. That’s the metric of success for Microsoft, as long as their games continue to sell on rival platforms. You’re going to continue seeing that advance further.
Written by Craig Clark
From gaming industry headlines to all things Manchester United and entertainment, Craig covers the stories everyone's talking about — alongside his own published works.