Games
What helped the Xbox 360 stand out in dire times was its library, which managed to impress on two fronts. Firstly, it had strong third-party support that came with a bit of exclusivity. Call of Duty, for example, became an Xbox game to the most passionate fans. Grand Theft Auto also helped the console score big, a huge surprise after the strong run it had on Sony’s previous hardware. Then there were the strong exclusives that received massive praise. Halo 2 and 3, the entire Forza Motorsport series, Alan Wake, and Gears of War. There was always something big and exciting to look forward to.
Fast forward to the Xbox One, and the games have been coming in spurts. Yes, the console gets most of the major third-party games, but the exclusive stream has been suffering a bit of a drought. There are often extended periods of silence before you get an influx of several games at once, one such moment we saw as the end of 2016 brought Forza and Gears not too long after ReCore. 2017 is looking particularly dry after the cancellation of the highly anticipated Scalebound and the relative silence on Crackdown 3. The first major exclusive of the year released today in the form of Halo Wars 2, which we liked quite a bit, but probably isn’t the system seller the platform needs.
At the same time, the competition is releasing new hardware and stellar titles. While it’s true that another console doesn’t have anything to do with the Xbox One’s greatness, it does make it a bit more difficult to see.
