are we looking at the return of a sony-dominated generation?

[NuclearKangaroo]

so the numbers are in, the PS4 has SOLD 7 million units, while the Xbox One has SHIPPED 5 million

the PS4 outsold the Xbox one last month despite the release of titanfall and theres not much else that could help the xbox one move more units on the horizon

with the wiiu realistically out of the game, could we be looking at something similar to the PS1/PS2 generation? sony well ahead in the first place with both nintendo and microsft in distant 2nd and 3rd places?


now before you comment let me make it clear im a PC guy, consoles dont really appeal to me anymore so id like to avoid the accusation of fanboism, second i dont believe one console selling truckloads make it objectively better, i dont think the wii was the best console last gen and im one of the many people who believe the dreamcast was underappreciated


so all this being said, what are your thoughts? is this the return of the sony-domination in the console scene? if so, what is the cause of it? are the scars left by the initial reveal of the xbox one still not healed or are the PS4 features/games more appealing? is it too early to declare any winners?

 

[NuclearKangaroo]

When was Sony not dominating? Sure the Wii sold more last gen, but the general opinion is that Sony had the best exclusives last gen.

i was talking about sales, everybody has different tastes when it comes to games

 

[Zhukov]

I suspect Xbox will close the gap when they get some decent games out the door. Well... if they get some decent games out the door anyway. I doubt the controversy surrounding it's pre-launch would slow it down in the slightest if it managed to get a hot exclusive or two.

No idea about the WiiU. It's Nintendo, so we'll see what happens when they do their usual Metroid-Zelda-Smash thing.

 

[theSovietConnection]

It'll depend. I'll admit to being a bit of a Sony fanboy, so I'll leave that at the door. I have a feeling this may end up being another Cold War generation, where you don't see either pulling all that far ahead of the other.

That being said, if Nintendo were to decide to release a true Pokemon game on the WiiU, I have a funny feeling they could dominate this generation through the sheer power of that alone.

 

[NuclearKangaroo]

It'll depend. I'll admit to being a bit of a Sony fanboy, so I'll leave that at the door. I have a feeling this may end up being another Cold War generation, where you don't see either pulling all that far ahead of the other.

That being said, if Nintendo were to decide to release a true Pokemon game on the WiiU, I have a funny feeling they could dominate this generation through the sheer power of that alone.

sometimes i wish i could get back to pokemon, i just dont find the games enjoyable anymore... finishing pokemon blue as a kid tough, phew, that was an adventure

 

[Fireaxe]

According to the numbers I've seen Titanfall is the top selling release of the current gen at the moment, followed by Infamous: Second Son. Don't think there's any danger people will stop developing for the Xbone -- especially considering it's pretty much neck and neck with Sony in the United States in terms of sales (the Sony lead is mostly in Japan and Europe -- the PS4/Xbone units sold gap in the US is about 5% of their combined sales total).

 

[Casual Shinji]

I doubt it.

Unless we get another Wii situation, no one console will ever dominate again. Neither Sony nor Microsoft have the proper amount exclussives to leave the other in the dust. The time of exclussives is almost dead, and so too is the time of one dominating console, I think.

And also, the success of the PS2 turned Sony into the biggest douchebags come Playstation 3, so let's hope that never happens again.

There's also the Wii-U, but I don't think anyone is holding their breath for that one..

 

[shootthebandit]

Why do people even bother. I buy one console because I feel its the best tor me. I dont see why I should buy 2 consoles however this doesnt make me a fanboy. Ive always had PS but I also like axbox etc. I actually think some healthy competition steos up the gwme of both parties

 

[The Lunatic]

I'd say "Probably".

I think the PS4 will lead for a bit.

The PC might come more into it's own however, and whilst I doubt we'll see the PC as the main format, I think the biggest "Gain" in player base will probably be from console users switching to PC.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

Actually, I think the PC will dominate this generation. I'm not kidding. Steam just keeps growing and now they want to invade our living rooms. And there are actually more PC exclusives than console exclusives. They're just not as hyped and don't cost as much to make.

I guess we'll have to wait for E3 when all the exclusives will be revealed.

 

[Andy Shandy]

God, I hope not. Aside from the fact that one console dominating the others just isn't good, a return of a "dominant Sony" also means the return of "idiot Sony" down the line.

There's also the fact that the PS4 has absolutely nothing I'm interested in bar Octodad as well, but that's a personal preference thing.

 

[drednoahl]

I don't think it matters much, at least not yet anyway - game sales totals are what matter. In the end PS3 has outsold the 360 despite the 360 being released a year earlier but game sales are going down. At the end of the xbone's life I expect the PS4 to be far more dominant because the xbone is reliant on cloud based tech to perform at it's best, while the PS4 stands on it's own. Basically, towards the end of the xbone's life microsoft are going to be looking at the cloud and how to fund it (expect lots more ads,) and I think that will turn off a lot of core gamers already invested in the xbone. After time Sony release their VR headset I expect the xbone to be dead in the water (and I suspect the VR thing is why Sony went for fast video memory - to help reduce latency.)

Having said that, I expect that the xbone will still do fairly well in sales terms - about three quarters of what the PS4 will sell world wide. However, the guys who designed the first xbox (Allard, Bach and co) were very much against adding stuff that didn't work and was untested; Ballmer wanted it to be a TV set-top box and he finally got his wish two generations later and it wouldn't surprise me to hear that he'd pushed for kinect to be bundled with the console too (he obviously didn't get the email I sent him that said "I'm a gamer - no time for ads or TV.")

I expect game sales totals to be much higher on PS4 eventually, and that's where the money is made.

None of this is good for PC gaming though (and I'm a PC gamer these days.) My rig costs a bit more than an xbone - not much more and it's components are like 2 years old now; it still outperforms both consoles on the games we tested and that's just sad. In two years time from now PC gaming should be way in front of both consoles in terms of raw power (and if Steam builds it's OS right it might even be more convenient than consoles too...I doubt that will happen though) so the black plastic doorstops will be holding gaming back - again :/

Not got one of this generation's consoles yet and doubt I'll bother. Might be tempted by the WiiU if Bayonetta turns out good but I don't see any value in the others over a PC at all.

 

[Frankster]

God, I hope not. Aside from the fact that one console dominating the others just isn't good, a return of a "dominant Sony" also means the return of "idiot Sony" down the line.

Dunno if I'd agree with the 1st part, 1 console dominating led to the ps1/2 golden era of gaming, unless you were a strict nintendo or sega fan then the playstation's dominance was a good thing for gamers back then.

But complacency breeds incompetence its true.

 

[MrBaskerville]

as a gamer i say...one can only hope.

they key is the level of developer support...sheer volume...and thus plenty of cream...

sony has supposedly sent out shitloads of dev kits...so the "in development"/release lists going forward will be what really illuminates if we are going to see a something potentially akin to the PS2s run...this is the thing to watch for imo.

and btw its worth pausing to remember that the PS2 actually had a shitty games line up at its original (Japanese) launch.

not a one of them was a noteworthy game.

the US launch, which did featured some "classic titles", was actually some 6 months later...

an additional development time period they didn't enjoy this time out due to a much smaller and more "globalised" launch window.

Didn't it have Eternal Ring, Armored Core 2 and Ridge Racer 5? Those were pretty solid titles. I might be wrong though.

 

[fix-the-spade]

i was talking about sales, everybody has different tastes when it comes to games

By the end of the last generation Sony were pretty much dominant, in the last four years they've gone from far behind the 360's total sales, to matching, to exceeding.

We'll have to see, but given Microsoft's obsession with FPS games and the US market at the expense of all else it certainly looks like the door is being left open for Sony again.

 

[Guitarmasterx7]

I mean, the ps2 in my opinion has the best game library out of any console to date and that was when they dominated, and I liked their exclusives the best last gen, so yeah I'd be down to see sony on top again.