When it comes down to it, the console we play on boils down to one simple component, the games. Often the determining factor in deciding which console to play on is by looking at the games that are being offered exclusively on a respective platform. In 2015, each console had their fair share of exclusive releases in both the AAA space as well as the indie. But which console had the best offering of exclusive titles?
Note: The word exclusive in this article means games that were console exclusive to either Xbox One or PS4. If a game was available for PC as well as the respective 8th generation console, it is still included as an exclusive. Also, if a game was available on the companies previous generation of hardware (PS3 or Xbox 360), it is still considered an exclusive for this article’s purpose.
By the Numbers
When we look at exclusives offered on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the overwhelming winner in terms of numbers is PlayStation 4.
In 2015, the Xbox One released 36 exclusive titles compared to 82 that released on PlayStation 4.
Number of releases is far from the end all be all of this comparison because volume has no bearing on whether or not the included exclusives are high quality. However, it is still an interesting number to consider because more games equal more options which equals more power to the consumer. Even if an exclusive didn’t receive the greatest critical acclaim or sell blockbuster caliber numbers gamers still purchased these games to some extent or another.
By Genre: First-Person Shooters
Xbox One
- Halo 5 Guardians
Playstation 4:
- PlanetSide 2
Verdict: Xbox One
Xbox has dominated the first-person shooter genre since the release of Halo: Combat Evolved back in 2001, and 2015 was no different. Though PlayStation struck important third-party marketing deals with games like Star Wars Battlefront and Call of Duty: Black Ops 3, Halo continues to be the definitive exclusive first-person shooter franchise on either console.
Returning to the arena-style multiplayer which made Halo 2’s online play a runaway success, Halo 5 gave fans of the franchise what they had been asking for since migrating away from it in Halo 4. While they returned in some ways to the roots of what made Halo great, Halo 5 also added the new game mode Warzone which pits Red vs. Blue vs. NPC enemies in a large-scale, objective-based battle.
Action Adventure
Xbox One:
PlayStation 4:
- Bloodborne
- The Order 1886
- Until Dawn
Verdict: PlayStation 4
This category was by far the most well-contested. But even in the midst of The Order 1886’s well-documented flaws and Rise of the Tomb Raiders exclusively high critical reception, PlayStation 4 still edges out the title because of strong showing from two other exclusive titles.
Bloodborne received critical praise and Twinfinite’s Game of the Year for its visceral combat and imposing atmosphere. Iterating on the success of the Souls series, Bloodborne quickened the pace of combat while remaining true to its roots of being brutally difficult.
Until Dawn offered a unique take on gameplay making a bit difficult to nail it down to a particular genre. Action/Adventure seems to fit the bill most appropriately. By playing on classic horror trope while giving the players an unprecedented amount of agency in terms of the narrative, Until Dawn became a runaway success much to the surprise of Sony executives.
Sports
Xbox One:
- Forza Motorsport 6
PlayStation 4:
- MLB 15: The Show
Verdict: Draw
Offering arguably the definitive titles in their genres, Forza Motorsport and MLB: The Show continued the tradition of releasing true-to-life simulations of their respective sport with an obsessive attention to detail. For Forza, that meant adding in wet weather driving which affects the way the players car handles in rainy conditions. Licensed gear and year-to-year saves were the big additions to MLB 15: The Show.
Sports titles tend to be niche releases that play to the fans of their real-life counterpart, and for that reason it is difficult to say which of these consoles was most successful in the sports genre. It is safe to say, that if baseball is something that you are passionate about PlayStation 4 is the only place to play, while Xbox One regularly offers great racing titles in their Forza franchise.
MMORPG/MOBA
Xbox One:
- Neverwinter
- Smite
Verdict: Xbox One
Massive Multiplayer Online RPGs and Massive Online Battle Arenas are considered to be more PC-centric genres, but Xbox has given themselves a head start in attempting to adapt these genres to consoles. Smite has been a very successful since its open beta, and has garnered even more fans since its full release on Xbox in August. The race is especially important considering that these free-to-play games can often result in lucrative sales through microtransactions.
Indies
Xbox One:
- Ori and the Blind Forest
- #IDARB
PlayStation 4:
- Helldivers
- Rocket League
- Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number
- SOMA
- Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture
Verdict: PlayStation 4
From the outset of this console generation, PlayStation touted themselves as the platform to play the best indie titles. Assisted by Xbox One’s strict parity clause that stated a game must come to Xbox before or at the same time as it releases on any other platform (this stance has since been softened), PlayStation 4 scooped up a number of indie games including Indie Game of the Year, Rocket League.
Though Ori and the Blind Forest was an artistic, well-executed platformer, the regular onslaught of solid indie releases on PS4 in 2015 proved that PlayStation really is the place for indies.
Remasters/Re-releases
Xbox One:
- Gears of War Ultimate Edition
- State of Decay: Year One Survival Edition
- Rare Replay
PlayStation 4:
- Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection
- Super Stardust Ultra
- God of War III
- Grim Fandango
- Final Fantasy X/X-2 Remastered
- Journey
- Beyond Two Souls
Verdict: PlayStation 4
Remasters and re-releases tend to be a point of contention for many gamers. On the one hand, no one buys a new console to play old games, but on the other, these games are a good opportunity to for people to play games they may not have gotten to on the previous consoles.
PlayStation wins the category solely based on volume. If the purpose of remastering and rereleasing titles is to give players the ability to catch up on games they may have missed, then it would only make sense to give them as many options as possible to choose from. Uncharted’s release of 1-3 all on one disc allowed players to catch up on the series before it wraps up with Uncharted 4 next year.
While some of the releases missed the mark a little left-of-center — God of War releasing only the final version and Beyond Two Souls releasing after it fell flat from its PS3 release — Xbox failed in a similar regard. For the Gears of War Ultimate Edition, only the first game of the franchise was available on the disc, the rest were made available only through backwards compatibility. Rare Replay offered 30 titles all on one disc with many classics included, but some of those games were not of great consequence (i.e. Grabbed by the Ghoulies and Perfect Dark Zero).
Final Verdict
Ultimately, the discussion comes down to what your preferred genre is.
Rocket League and Bloodborne were both serious contenders for game of the year, while Until Dawn received almost exclusively high praise. Couple these titles with the assortment of other smaller indie games that came to the platform and the simple volume of exclusive games offered on the console, and you get a very strong lineup of console exclusives.
The Xbox offered a return to form for Halo and an excellent installment in the Tomb Raider franchise. Ori and the Blind Forest featured arguably one of the most emotionally compelling narratives alongside beautiful art and all-around great level design. Though their number of exclusives was significantly smaller than PlayStation’s, some may argue their lineup was the strongest in 2015.
Which console do you think had the best exclusives in 2015? Was there a major one that we missed? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!
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