Can the Xbox One catch up to the PS4?
Now Gamescom is over for another year and the dust from E3 has settled, it is time to look back and reflex on what was shown off. With the announcement of Backwards Compatibility, HoloLens, a DVR and a plethora of exclusives on the way, Microsoft stole the show. They have proved that not only do they listen to the fans, they act on it.
The Xbox One has tailed behind the PS4 in sales ever since the launch late 2013, surprising as the 360 outsold the PS3 throughout most of the cycle. Not having the best launch, the Xbox One fell flat. Many of which saw this coming from the giant u-turn Microsoft pulled off with the One’s ‘always online’ functionality. Well it seems this change of heart was not a one off, with many new requested features are coming to the One.
Microsoft made many crowd pleasing announcements such as the aforementioned Backward Compatibility, but they also had some very impressive tech. The Hololens was by far the most mind-blowing, making the vast majority of everyone watching instantly start thinking of their wildest Star Wars fantasies. Microsoft definitely stole the show at E3 this year, as they unveiled their new Game Preview program, similar to Steam’s Greenlight. That wasn’t the only thing Microsoft are doing for Indie Developers too, as they showed a large collection of exclusive games such as Cuphead, Ashen and Tacoma.
What gamers want more than anything for their consoles are games, and at Gamescom this year, Microsoft showed us just that. For the first time in years, Microsoft seems to be pulling the majority of their attention away from Xbox Music, Xbox TV and making the Xbox a multi-media system, and making it all about games. With big game sequels shown like Rise Of The Tomb Raider, Forza, and Halo 5 to brand new IPs like Scalebound and Quantum Break, it seems that Microsoft are pulling out all the stops.
With Microsoft listening to their customers now, and giving them the changes they want, along with a list of exclusive games that makes 2016 look like one the of the best years for gaming in a long time. Is it enough to put the Xbox back in the race through, or is it too late for the PS4 to be dethroned. Is this the Rise of the Xbox, or last buck from a dying horse?
