Let’s face it, last year was an embarrassment for the Xbox One. There were barely any exclusives that people could really invest in especially when compared to the PS4 and the Nintendo Switch, all Xbox gave us was their new hardware which I can honestly say is very impressive in terms of power and in such a small form factor to boot but in terms of what it’s competitors offered it just wasn’t enough to the community.
The Xbox One X is definitely the best console for those of you who want to play in the highest resolution possible outside of a PC and for those who play multiplatform games. But while Microsoft showed us the most powerful console so far, Nintendo showed us that power isn’t everything. The Nintendo Switch is sweeping the heart’s of gamers from all corners of the world, outside of it’s exclusive and legendary titles, the little hybrid console is wowing us by how well it’s able to deliver the gameplay of titles that just 2 years ago, we thought we’d have to wait a decade or 2 to be able to play them on the go.
Sony’s PS4 is dominating the market with their exclusives, localized Japanese games, and the impressive headstart it has on the overall hardware sales while the Nintendo Switch is quickly catching up and easily becoming a favorite for nearly every kind of gamer there is on the planet. The Xbox One, on the other hand, is suffering another year of very few exclusives to offer (only Sea of Thieves has my attention for now). I think most people who game on consoles can’t even make it past their fingers in naming the Xbox One exclusives for 2018.
It also doesn’t help that Microsoft has been quiet about their HoloLens at least in terms of how it can be applied to video games (and I was somewhat interested in Minecraft AR). If we’re going to take a look at the sales numbers for the start of each console till the end of 2017 then the Xbox One has sold about 34 million units (data courtesy of VGChartz) while the Switch and PS4 have sold about 14 million and 73 million (data from Wikipedia) respectively. Going by those numbers it’s safe to say it will probably just take the Switch by the end of 2018 to catch up to the Xbox One.
Then there’s also the fact that the Xbox is being marketed really badly in certain regions especially in the east. The extent is so bad that it’s being sold as a Blu-ray player in Japan and it’s main feature which is the ability to play video games is considered to be an added feature.
Microsoft also gave themselves a bad image when just when 2017 was starting to kick things off, they went and canceled Scalebound which was to the dismay of many gamers myself included. What could’ve been a very interesting game developed by Platinum Games no less went all up in smoke. To this day many still mourn the promise that Scalebound could’ve brought to the gaming world.
Looking back at the previous generation, it’s amazing how the Xbox 360 did so well when compared to the Xbox One. If only Microsoft can do whatever they did for the 360 and do it for their current console though it could be too little too late at this point.
If Microsoft doesn’t shape up and give the gaming community titles that they could sink their time in then the future of Xbox is as bleak as can be. Let’s face it, in this console war the Xbox is dying and it certainly doesn’t help that Nintendo has a new champion in the Switch and is proving to be the crowd favorite.
So what do you guys think? Is the Xbox One ready to throw in the towel or does it still have a fighting chance in such an uphill battle (at this point that’d be a miracle)? Let us know in the comments below.
