Winner?
2016 has mostly been a battle between Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Where one gets the advantage in one instance, the other trumps with another feature or announcement.
The PlayStation 4 is certainly looking strong going into the next few months with an exclusive game coming every month from now until June. While the Xbox One has Quantum Break, it has mostly been keeping fans busy by expanding its backwards compatibility and adding popular games such as Sunset Overdrive to Games with Gold. Expect both companies though to provide a lot more details on exclusives for this year in June at E3. Both also have long term plans to implement a new way to play in the form of HoloLens and PSVR respectively, and of course, are getting strong third party support.
The Wii U, however, is in a tough spot. Its lack of third party titles should come as no surprise, and while it has a strong lineup of exclusives both already available, and coming soon in the future, outside of loyal Nintendo fans, it’s all probably still not enough to pull fans away from the experiences currently available on the PS4 and Xbox One, especially when a new console looms in the background. Many people on the fence about getting a Wii U, will probably wait and see what the NX is first.
In reality, 2016 shows much potential for both Sony and Microsoft. While the PS4 has continued to develop on its sales lead over the Xbox One with successive wins in January and February, Xbox One has taken steps to become a part of the Universal Windows Platform. It may not seem like a big deal now, but this could become a huge part of the Xbox One’s future, especially with HoloLens functionality.
With rumors surrounding both the Xbox One and PS4 with regards to potential new versions of each console, the rest of the year could look pretty interesting. Increased horsepower in both systems could open the door to a whole new wave of exclusives experiences on Xbox One and PS4. If this is the case, it’ll be these announcements alongside others at E3 (NX, perhaps?) that will make the end of this year particularly exciting. We’ll just have to hold tight for now.
