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Sony has the console market in a stranglehold with the PlayStation 4, and E3 2015 reinforced that point. There was a worry after the device's almost immaculate launch that it would rest on its laurels, but it appears that the enormous success of the system has only motivated it more – it's choking the competition out. During its big media briefing earlier in the week, the organisation didn't just check the most important corporate boxes, it put a tick in them all; from services to software to virtual reality, the manufacturer is miles ahead of the pack – it's difficult to disagree.

To be clear, we're not dismissing the Japanese giant's rivals; Microsoft's stellar showing provided 360 faithfuls with an upgrade path, powered by familiar brands and backward compatibility, while Nintendo – as disappointing as its Digital Event appears to have been received – can never be ruled out due its ability to capture the imagination time and time again. But on a purely business level, under the leadership of Andrew House, the PlayStation maker has rekindled the swagger that it lost a little in the previous generation – and it's bullying the competition right now.

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Many of you will already be composing a dismissive comment by this point: the firm has no exclusive games this Christmas. It's a criticism not quite grounded in reality – the likes of Dragon Quest Heroes, Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection, and potentially Persona 5 all disagree – but it's a fair appraisal of the situation when compared to the blockbuster first-party beacons laid out by Microsoft during its own briefing. However, it denies one key point: Call of Duty: Black Ops III, Star Wars: Battlefront, Assassin's Creed Syndicate, and Metal Gear Solid V are all "Sony" games.

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It's true that you can't "play" marketing campaigns, but these are five of the biggest titles of the year, and if you toss Batman: Arkham Knight into the mix – well, the Japanese giant's got six. And it's clear that this is going to be its play moving forwards: exclusives like Bloodborne in the first three quarters; third-party partnerships in the remaining one. But while this may be a disappointing observation for those looking to engage in list wars, few could argue against the savvy business sense: Rise of the Tomb Raider launches on the same day as Fallout 4, bookmarked by bigger brands.

Only the magnetising draw of an Uncharted 4 could possibly hope to compete with the noise of the aforementioned names – and even then, Nathan Drake would merely find himself part of the conversation, rather than at the centre of it all. But this is what's so impressive about the Japanese giant's current corporate strategy: it's not only associating its brand with all of the most recognisable names, but it's also building up a portfolio of first-party titles that will dominate the conversation outside. No game will be bigger than Naughty Dog's next Spring – the company's got it good all ways.

But the tactics run deeper than that: it's figuratively checking every box. Disney Infinity 3.0 may not necessarily be a big franchise for those of you reading this site, but the exclusive Boba Fett bundle that it revealed is a big deal – it's coveting kids as well as the industry aficionados that peruse NeoGAF for eight hours a day. And while it will need to bring the price of the platform down to be really excel in that space – well, it's clear that it's looking at the long term sustainment of its box, rather than retroactively trying to right wrongs like its rivals appear to be focusing on.

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And that's especially evident in its virtual reality push: Valve, Oculus, and others may be playing the game – but no one else is in a position to make this burgeoning initiative mainstream quite like Sony is. True, we still don't know the specifics of Project Morpheus' marketing push – the peripheral is by all accounts exceptional, but there's much that could wrong on its route to market – but that the product's even a year so away shows just how far ahead of the curve Sony is; Microsoft's VR push amounted to a bundled Xbox One controller and a make believe living room to play Halo in.

Hololens, of course, exists as well – but not as a commercial product with multiple titles being played on the E3 2015 show floor. And you can make these kinds of comparisons in other areas as well: a poor press conference cameo aside, PlayStation Network programming appears to be big business following the surprise success of Powers; the Redmond firm abruptly opted to get out of that game almost immediately after the negative response to TV, TV, TV. And even the firm's network services – teething troubles aside – are a step ahead; PlayStation Vue could be gigantic yet.

There are downsides for gamers, we're not saying that the PS4 is flawless at all – but with some of the business moves that Sony's making at the moment, it's hard to see how anyone else is going to get a look. The mindshare, the marketing – it's all in the Japanese giant's favour. And unless you happen to be a fan of a very specific brand, that's hard to look past. At this E3, the manufacturer melted back into its role as market leader – but the best news coming out of all of this is that it's got its eye on the ball, because it now knows what it's like to be behind.

Do you agree that Sony's ahead of the curve, or do you really not care? Do you think that it's doing the right thing by focusing on third-parties over the holidays, or is it making a mistake? Do you think that Project Morpheus has the potential to go mainstream, or will it be a flop? Put on your business caps in the comments section below.