Remember when I published ‘These are the wins Xbox needs’. I mentioned that Microsoft going community-centric and more pro-consumer would be something that could turn the tide for them in their approach to get fans on side again.
Now, there has been much talk of Sony raising the price of PlayStation Plus. They’re taking a step towards making their investors more happy, while also making up the losses on the subscriber front. I think Xbox becoming more community-centric is such an important move for them.
It could win over some fans. And if not to Xbox, very much so on PC. Game Pass is only going to get better in the future. Whereas PlayStation Plus is getting more expensive but you’re not really getting bang for your buck. It’s a service that’s stagnating and effectively the price of a service that doesn’t improve is something that the vast majority of Sony fans are just not going to have.
Especially when in the future, you’re going to see things happening with Game Pass which makes you sit up and take notice in terms of the value proposition.
It’s now established and confirmed that Sony will be going full exclusive again. I expect Xbox to take the middle ground by starting putting their fan base first again where it makes sense. There is no worse thing than being part of a platform and not feeling valued as a consumer that invests in the platform and the game creators who are trying to reach new fans through that platform. This community-centric approach puts the voice of the consumer right back into the heart of what could become policy features of the future. Everyone that plays Xbox can now have their say and have their voice heard. That is huge and a step forward for Xbox.
Now, people might say, all these things that are happening cannot have just been done in a matter of months. I get that, but at least this is a more proactive Xbox that is trying to put the wrongs of the past right. I certainly feel that right now. Xbox is doing a lot better at writing the wrongs than Sony, in that regard. I also think personally, we need this as Xbox fans.
However, so do Sony fans. Because PlayStation needs to get back to the kind of output that it had with single player games that it was putting out in the PS4 era. There can be no excuses. Sony, as much as they’re revelling in the successes of the PS5 right now financially, they’re very much living on past glory and there’s no real evidence that backs up that they’re listening or that that the current suits actually know what their fan base wants going on past studio closures along with everything else.
Especially when they’re coming out with the fact that ‘they owe it to the industry to keep in line with third-party’. Sure, as the market leader in some regards you owe it to your fans to invest there. But at the same time, it’s about time Sony read their own community’s space and took their feedback on board where it actually matters.
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.