Xbox Series X|S Is Getting Trounced by PS5, Microsoft Weirdly Reveals

Oh cmon... they have to try a bit harder than that. Too easy to call bs on the numbers when they pretend nintendo doesn't exist and that their market is the hardware sales, rather than the live service.

@Nem they are UK's CMa findings ,blame them for not Including nintendo

Even if sony had a market of 70 percent.does that mean oh im going to buy Bethesda and im buying activision.makes sense x box.you cant compete with PlayStation so you buying all the big publisher.come on dog.playstion always will be the g.o.a.t. 🐐 👑.word up son

Weird self-own on MS’s part…

"Look, Sony is already beating us with the PS5....so let us keep Activision Blizzard, please?"

Funny how they don't count Nintendo while doing a deal with them over call of duty lol

Might as well throw every argument against the wall. Maybe, just maybe, one will stick

Numbers are likely based on next Gen console purchases. Which Nintendo wouldn't qualify under. And also a nice way to skew the facts and make Microsoft appear desperate, which it really is. Xbox has 1 potential hit this year with Starfield. That's it. No Forza 8 doesn't count.

I guess Microsoft is an very accurate company name then

@awp69 Exactly, I’m disappointed in Push Square for not only engaging in this toxic discussion but actively encouraging it, they are writing this as if Microsoft buying Activision was a personal battle against Sony and their fans but it’s not, this acquisition is far more than Call of Duty I’m surprised no one has even mentioned King or mobile gaming once in all this discussion.

As I said in another comment, stop taking this too damn personal, Activision wanted to be acquired, if it wasn’t Microsoft it’d have been someone else, and I’m SURE that if Sony had the resources they’d have bought ABK and people here would be celebrating it, but since it ended up being Sony’s main competitor people here make it seem as if they’re about to destroy gaming for everyone, just look at this data, you can rest easy that Sony will be fine even after the deal is closed.

So who’s closer to a monopoly? And are monopolies still bad?

@get2sammyb Story would have been fine without that last sentence. But agree to disagree.

@Green-Bandit
Microsoft and yes they are.

Sheesh. Microsoft is out there laying the charm on thick today, but all I am hearing is how spectacularly mismanaged Xbox is. Microsoft's president says globally, PlayStation market share is 70/30 with Xbox and it's about 80/20 in Europe. This is after they seized Bethesda!

Their company has 20x more resources and they own more studios than Sony does and yet they let it get this bad? All the more reason they shouldn't be able to buy themselves out of the hole they made for themselves.

If only someone would have told them during the Xbox 360 era repeating Halo, Gears, and Forza year after year was not a winning strategy (and not to hire Don Mattrick).

There's a number out there that says Sony is beating Microsoft by 94% to 6% of the market share in Japan, casually ignoring that Nintendo is basically putting those numbers up against Sony themselves.

@IOI they are all going to have bias to the console/site they report on.

i own the 3 consoles, so use the 3 sister sites PX/PS/NL, id say PX is the worst for comments, criticise MS and immediately you are a troll, Sony brought up pretty much every comment section.. even seen a few spend 12hrs+ defending MS.

PS even with its faults post negative Sony articles when poor sales etc to their credit.

@IOI it's interesting news that will affect us. What is toxic about reporting on it? Noone's getting bullied. If you don't want to read what people think about the situation then it's easy enough to ignore articles about it.

@BeerIsAwesome Nintendo is undoubtedly king there, but Sony are at least picking up there - for now at least

@stvevan Without a doubt. It's just a weird way for Microsoft to put it. The Nintendo Switch can probably be argued as a last generation console at this point, which means it can absolutely can be compared with the PS4. The lifetime sales of the Switch overtook the PS4 only last month, which places Nintendo as the number one console maker, which makes this whole thing almost like Microsoft is trying to buy out second place!

Laughs at console war articles through 127k i7 3070 16GBRAM Gaming PC 😏

Why Xbox fans come here just be angry lol 😂

@stvevan On that I agree, don’t even dare to raise some questions about Game Pass as you’ll get swarmed in seconds, but honestly every community has its radical users.

I just felt this article unusually ‘salty’ compared to what we normally read on this site and made worse by the fact that so many people are being very ‘passionate’ about this, and I really don’t understand why, yes Activision is a massive publisher and Microsoft is gaining a lot by buying them but Sony is a juggernaut in the gaming industry as this data shows and they will be totally fine without Activision as their partner.

@northofthewall We're gamers. We're all toxic. It's why we as a subculture still have the reputation of acting like children. The discourse tends to devolve to personal attacks on Sony, and how they are "throwing a tantrum" (you can thank the PureXbox comments section for that one). I'm not immune from bias, you aren't. Just, you know, be a decent person and all that (I say that generally, not you personally).

@nomither6 You have the honour of being this comment section's first "I play on a different system, so I must be unbiased" guy. 🥳

This is just sad. They’re trying to argue they can’t make a good product so they need to purchase a monopoly to compete. AlsoX what happened to all of their previous acquisitions? We haven’t seen a single decent exclusive this gen come from what they bought. Halo was decent and that was about it. I’m honestly not sure if MS has the kiss of death or something.
How about MS figured out how to do something right for once? And I mean that sincerely. Nothing makes me feel like I’m missing out on an Xbox. The 360 had stuff to make me feel that way. MS has nothing, while Sony has kept innovating and now are giving far more with PSVR2 soon than they could with an Series X.

I hope they get blocked and learn how to use what they have instead of just potentially brining ruin to other things with their checkbook. I’m honestly a bit worried about Bethesda in their hands. If we had seen their buyouts produce anything, anything, I wouldn’t be so worried.
Like MS just needs to gut all of the Xbox management because they clearly have no clue what they are doing.

@Shepherd_Tallon Don’t you know? Sammy’s just controlled opposition on MS’s checkbook. It’s the only explanation.

@TheCollector316 That's kind a lame argument to use when all the console makers relay on franchises:

There 7 Uncharted games
9 God of War Games
8 Gran Turismo games
14 Ratchet & Clank games
3 The Last of Us games if you count the Part I - 4 if you count the upcoming Factions title.
4 Sly Coopers

Etc. etc.

You can argue that you don't particular like Xbox 1st-party games; but the whole "repeating games" isn't much of an argument.

Just let it be done and let me get diablo / cod on gamepass lol

@TheCollector316 Microsoft is the monopoly with 20% share in Europe? Seems some of us played monopoly but didn’t understand owing two railroads didn’t win the game.

@GamingFan4Lyf he told me a company with 20% marketshare is a monopoly. So this is the internet, where anything can pass as truth to someone.

So what happens when this gets approved and then they try to buy EA or Take 2, is this going to continued to be allowed. Invest in your teams and actually make good games without having to buy the biggest things out there. Mind you xbox isnt fronting the bill here as they are a nonprofit organization

If only MS would put some effort into making some decent games instead of flashing their chequebook. Sony EARNED that market share through hard work and good investments. MS have done nothing. They’ve been promising great games since the early days of the XB1. Where are they?

MS are promising to release COD on PS consoles after the acquisition is approved but if I had a dollar for every u-turn MS had made in the last ten years, I’d be as rich as they are.

Can’t trust MS.

@GamingFan4Lyf
They got far behind because they were not doing anything interesting. Competitors had their franchises, but also did new things.

@Green-Bandit
You asked who was closer to a monopoly and I correctly responded with Microsoft (they are the only ones buying a publisher every two years with their pocket change, after all). You didn't ask if 20% market share for gaming hardware in Europe was a monopoly. Even then, what's the market share for gaming subscription services, PC gaming, and cloud gaming? Microsoft won't share that information with you, of course.

Relax, my friend.

Microsoft keep effectively releasing cheap PCs with less games, power and functionality than a PC. That's why they keep screwing up. If you buy an XBSX you've can't do anything you couldn't do on a PC, yet that are literally hundreds of thousands of things it can't do and games it can't play compared to a PC. The key thing with Nintendo and Sony is giving people experiences unique to that platform, not a reduced PC experience.

@ItsBritneyB_tch hmmmm thats why there is a 10 year contract at stake if Sony wants it I suppose it's Microsoft's fault that Sony won't accept it and guarantee cod is on ps ? They can't get out of a contract and this is thier way to prove it

@get2sammyb you've stirred the hornets nest with this article... Do it again!

It's also worth pointing out that these things are products sold via many different routes. PS is doing better because people prefer it, not due to a monopoly. It seems odd to say a certain product has a monopoly; I'd agree if there were Sony shops all over Europe and MS couldn't get a retail foothold, but where you can buy PS you can buy XB. This is simply product popularity. It's like saying apples have a monopoly over leeks because more apples are sold in the UK.

@TheCollector316 i am simply stating we don’t know what ABK will do in years time to Xbox sales, but what we do know is two things, it’s 80-20 that’s not close, and the biggest game in that deal is staying on all platforms and coming to a new one. If the deal was for COD exclusive to Xbox, i might say that will erode some marketshare maybe something close to 60-40 sony, but thats not what we are dealing with. So the only answer at the moment that we have as fact and not hypotheticals is sony is close to being a monopoly with PS in Europe and are in Japan, with the USA being close to a spilt.

@Matroska the PS5 is built on PC architecture and the dual sense and Dual sense Edge work on PC. Not sure i agree with you. Not trying to be rude, but Xbox and PS are PC’s now, with both of their controllers working on PC. PSVR2 is different as it hasn’t gained PC support yet, but that is a niche product.

All this tells me is Microsoft needs to start pumping out 2-4 huge games EVERY year starting in 2023, or this is a complete lost cause. I prefer PlayStation but can see that it needs healthy competition with Microsoft. After year 1 I thought this generation would be close but after the supply issues getting resolved sony has completely blown Microsoft out of the water. For the sake of gaming Microsoft needs to get their act together as a future with Sony by themselves is kinda bleak, I don’t want Sony to get ahead of themselves and end up making terrible anti-consumer moves in the future, so they need strong competition to keep them in check. I don’t count Nintendo because it’s Nintendo, they do whatever they want and it seems to work.

@GamingFan4Lyf Ghost of Tsushima, Horizon Zero Dawn, Returnal, Death Stranding, Dreams, The Last Guardian, Astrobot’s Playroom, Concrete Genie, Nioh, Until Dawn, Days Gone, Bloodborne, Detroit Become Human….
Some of these new IP have turned into franchises and will have more than one sequel most likely (Horizon being the obvious, and I guess the VR game could be considered a third game) but I think there’s a rather nice balance for Sony’s first and second party output which is both new IP and established franchises. And I’d say some like God of War are almost like two separate franchises. (And what is the 7th Uncharted game? That card game? Or are you counting The Nathan Drake Collection? I’m counting 6 with the Golden Abyss game)

Anyways, I agree with you that the lifeblood of any software producer is tapping into established franchises but I feel like Sony is much more balanced than Nintendo and Xbox. Letting their first party studios make what they want has been a hallmark of the way they do business, rather than forcing them to pump out the umpteenth Pokémon game or Halo game. Sometimes it works out (Ghost of Tsushima, Horizon), sometimes it doesn’t (Dreams, Concrete Genie), and sometimes it’s somewhere in the middle (Returnal, Days Gone).

What entertains me the most about this legal battle is that we can find out about specific numbers, sales, and other details about both companies' gaming departments which otherwise would not have been shared. Yea, we assumed some of this stuff already so it's not surprising but great to have specifics.

@Th3solution I think dreams could work out one day. It really is something special, just needs whatever spark it is that grabs the wider attention.

@Balosi I bought it and enjoyed some time with it. I couldn’t quite get into the creation suite. I just don’t have the patience or talent. But yeah, it’s an amazing achievement and might get a second wind one day (on PC?) but I’m afraid it’s sold miserably so far.

Nintendo not existing is just Xbox playing by Sonys semantics.

Microsoft really is trying to make themselves look like David in his fight with Goliath(Sony).

Like bro, you are one of the biggest corporations on the planet. Your not the little guy! 😂

@Korgon
Sony Net Worth: 105 Billion.
Microsoft Net Worth: 1.9 Trillion.

Oh, here is Push Square again with the ‘nobody is stopping Microsoft from …’

Except it was Sony who did all the scummy licensing, marketing and limited time exclusive deals last generation. And they continue to do so (Street Fighter VI, Resident Evil, Final Fantasy, Tekken 8, Silent Hill games). All of these franchises will also release on Xbox, except maybe FF, but Sony is not allowing Xbox to market these games by buying the marketing rights for a couple million. Now tell me who has the more scummy business practices.

And Sony started with the buy-outs. Not Microsoft.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_acquisitions_by_Sony

Also: Nintendolife and Pure Xbox seem a lot more respectful in their writing. There’s just a lot of Microsoft and Nintendo bashing in the articles here. And a lot of ‘we’re winning the console war guys!’ Unnecessary.

@awp69 if you want to talk about professionalism you should check out Activision execs posting memes about Sony.. lol

Microsoft/XB: We haven't been able to manage 90%+ dominance like we do with Windows on PC despite Forza,Halo,Gears,& buying up all the Zenimax Bethesda IP's & cornering most of those western rpg devs dammit! So we should be able to keep buying up as many other AAA publishers & IP's to keep 'em off Playstation as we want!🙄

Funny how all those Gamepass metrics which include PC's & Xcloud etc.,don't get an airing here or Gamer Phil's aspirations to push for billions of gamepass subs like they truly intend to chase cornering the major 3rd party IP's like this.😂
So suddenly Xbox sales matter again despite their insistence actual unit sales didn't matter since the XB 360 era!

@Th3solution That's a fair argument.

You can argue the quality of said franchise release, but the fact a company releases games in a franchise as a criticism doesn't feel like a valid argument to me since all the console makers do it.

I love Sony's first-party output. But other than those games, my PS5 gathers dust as my Series X is my "everything else" machine.

Xbox very well COULD do what Sony does, but Microsoft doesn't want to be Sony. Its focus isn't cinematic third-person action titles with movie-like cutscenes.

This is why I own all three consoles - so I can experience franchises from all three makers and expand my "portfolio".

@GamingFan4Lyf amen.

Series consoles already have been heavily outsold by the ps5 and that for a reason: Sony simply has the much better package and a more attractive game lineup.
The strategy by Ms in this gen in simply awful. Huge 12 TF hype without a single exciting release game - most powerful console ever advertised with backwards compatible games… 2 years after release not a single exciting release and it’s still getting worse. Starfield alone won’t save this console.

@GamingFan4Lyf there is simply no reason that the ps5 is collecting dust. Even current 3rd parties running better on the ps5 and the console has the better controller.

@GamingFan4Lyf this is exactly what I do. PS5 for Sony exclusives, Xbox for everything else. And sorry bug as much as a novelty the dual sense controller is I really dislike it. The ergonomics of the Xbox controller is the main factor I use them for multi-platform. Even the weight just feels right.

MICROSOFT announced this?! I thought Sony would have wanted to announce this and have the bragging rights.

Love to know the ratio of the the X vs PS5. As barely anyone seems to have it. I'm guessing 90/10

I don't follow Microsoft's line of thinking here, and it's dishonestly presented, at best.

1. They strategically ignore that PlayStation earned that market dominance thanks in large part to years of consistent, high-quality critical and commercial successes they mostly own and funded. They didn't go out and buy tons of established franchises to increase their IP vault. It took multiple generations of in-house building, learning, and creativity to get them where they are today.

2. Microsoft knows damn well it's playing the long game to be the dominant force in the inevitable subscription-based future. They don't give two craps if you buy an X, S, or a la carte game from them. What they want is Game Pass subscription money.

Sure, as raw data, the market dominance stats make PlayStation out to be this big, bad console manufacturer, but Microsoft conveniently left out quite a few variables that give the stats a lot more texture and historical context.

I hate sounding like some corporate defender and shill for PlayStation, but a bad argument is a bad argument all the same. Microsoft comes off as a willfully ignorant doofus here.

@GamingFan4Lyf it actually is, because even Sony studios find success, it's not automatically assumed there will be a sequel. Naughty Dog could have kept making Uncharted, but they chose to do The Last of Us. They could have kept making The Last of Us, but they want to make a new IP. Same with God of War and so many other examples (they stopped making God of War, worked on many other projects, some of which failed). Sony offers insane variety compared to MS. They can do without any exclusive. MS absolutely need Halo.

@Friendly oh noes. Marketing rights. So very bad...

@RBMango no. Sony earned their place by releasing the Playstation which had disc functionality, and then playstation 2 which had dvd functionality. That’s the reason 3d parties went to them and away from Sega and Nintendo because they wanted to release games with cinematics which take up loads of space.

And next to that Sony still buys marketing rights and exclusives for these franchises. To keep these 3d parties on their platform.

Their ingame releases are almost all from companies / studios Sony bought over the years. Their CEO is from a company Sony bought. Tell me why Actiblizz should not be allowed to be bought.

@naruball the marketing rights for Call of Duty is the single thing Sony doesn’t want to lose via Microsoft buying Activision Blizzard. And for good reason.

It’s also the reason Sony doesn’t agree with the 10 years parity of all versions of Call of Duty deal.

Are you knowledgeable of what’s being discussed in court at all?

This will be Microsofts excuse until they buy out every major publisher

@nomither6 enjoy the stutters!

Microsoft don’t really bother to make grade A games! That’s the sole reason they don’t sell much hardware. Trying to force the market to participate in your hardware through takeovers is lazy. I constantly try and find a reason to buy an Xbox for the spare room but never find a compelling reason.

Microsoft puts zero effort in to its first party games then acts like the victim 🤦‍♂️….

Would be funny if after all this groveling and self-deprecating the deal didn't go through anyways and all they were left with was a PR mess for investors.

@Friendly Now now, if you're old enough, you can probably remember MS having a certain exclusivity contract with R* and GTA games back in the 360 era, no? Also I think it was the same for COD and the 360, just sayin.

@ItsBritneyB_tch not fully true, Sony spent the PS2 and early PS3 era buying studios it took them a fair few years to start producing good games perhaps you were too young to remember at that time but what Microsoft is doing now is what Sony did,

Also to those who think Microsoft are some big bad guys wanting to take Cod from Sony you are very very wrong, they want to keep it on PlayStation and bring it to Nintendo as they want more money simple as that, they also dont really care about Cod or Sony, they want the mobile giant King Activision/Blizzard is a small part of the deal King is their main target as that company takes in money like there's no tomorrow

It's like two little children in school, one of them works hard, does their homework, and pays attention in class. The other misbehaves, gets lazy, falls asleep and then cries to the teacher it's unfair the other student is doing better so they deserve to buy someone elses work for success.

MS should be working harder if they want to do better. Market their product better too. We've all seen the recent PS5 news marketing Sony has been doing and that cost millions. Compare that with Phil taking a picture of the Series S while he's in Brussels

@Jaz007 sorry but I have to disagree with the comment that Sony are innovating, that simply isn't true, their haptic feedback and adjustable triggers have been a thing on controllers for year just third party controllers so nothing new there, their pro controller is just their take on the Xbox elite controller (which is just a copy of a third party controller) their VR2 isn't particularly innovative, at least not compared to PCVR like the Steam one, the current PSVR2 lineup is one or two first party games and then a bunch of old PC ports

@Friendly "Tell me why Actiblizz should not be allowed to be bought"

Not sure if serious. Comparing marketing rights and buying studios with the publisher that has by far the biggest IP? Is this a joke?

@simondud1 "perhaps you were too young to remember at that time but what Microsoft is doing now is what Sony did"

By all means, pray tell, when did Sony buy a publisher with several IPs including one that makes billions with just one IP? The comparison is like apples to oranges.

MS bought many IPs and studios in the past and hardly anyone cared. This is different.

@naruball well they brought Bungie which is worth 3.6 billion actually this is a great comparison as Sony did what Microsoft wants they brought Bungie kept destiny multiple platform and then have Bungie make exclusives separately, Microsoft want to buy Activision keep Cod multiple platform and then have them make exclusives separately

They brought insomniac games, they are currently working on buying capcom and square enix

You are deluded if you think Sony wouldn't of brought Activision if they could, Microsoft has more money that is the only thing stopping Sony going after huge targets on the scale Microsoft did

Sony historically have brought a load of studios and now going after buggers ones

Just a thought to all those celebrating these figures as Sony absolutely dominate the gaming landscape. The same thing happened sort of battle was fought in the 70s-90s, when Sony brought out the Betamax videotape, and JVC bought out the VHS. Obviously both are now basically redundant, but Sony were the ones being trounced, and eventually they lost the battle completely with VHS becoming the dominate force in the video cassette market, and virtually overnight, all competition was lost and prices hiked considerably as choice was lost from the market. The point being, competition breeds excellence. Sony obviously learned a lot from that defeat (and their subsequent triumph when they developed the DVD (together with others) and beat out the HD-DVD) and became the aggressive force in gaming that we see today, and as much as some here would love to see the demise of the Xbox, with the figures being heard of here, that demise could come about sooner than we think. Development of consoles is an extremely costly business, and if you are not guaranteed making back your margins and turning a profit, why bother? The same applies to game developers; why go to the expense of developing for Xbox or both Xbox and the PlayStation, when the much cheaper alternative is to develop for just one (and that one would be the PlayStation, because that's where the big sales will happen)? These figures could genuinely see the Xbox division folding, if not at the end of this generation, then, if the trend continues (and because Microsoft are likely already deeply into the development of their next, Next Generation Console) then that one would like be the last, with it selling fewer and fewer consoles and games as the generation progresses. And then there would only be Sony catering to the 'hardcore' gamer, and all bets would be off the table; higher prices for the hardware, in-line with making a profit, not just covering developmental and manufacturing costs. Higher prices for games, quite simply because Sony would be the only ones with a console capable of playing them (they would charge to make a profit on their own games, but also charge more to allow games on to their console (as it is Steam charge 30% currently for all games sold on their platform. Expect similar or maybe even more, for Sony to allow the same, and third-party developers would have no choice but to pass on that cost to the consumer). And ultimately, there would be less choice; for many (particularly more niche) developers, the cost of developing and selling their games on the only 'hardcore' console would be too much, and they would simply either cease to do so, or turn to PC only and/or Nintendo instead. Ultimately, I'm just saying to all those praising Sony, slating Xbox, and of being dead set against the acquisition going through, just be careful what you wish for, as their could be a world of unintended, and unpleasant consequences ahead if Sony continue in their dominance of the market. There is a reason why Sony were the first to charge the current $70/£70 for games, and the first to hike the prices of their consoles, and it wasn't out of the kindness of their heart. They knew they were in a dominant market position, and that that the consumer would take it on the chin, because, you know, it's PlayStation, and there for the gamers...

People comparing these Microsoft acquisitions to Sony getting timed deals and what Sony did when they entered the gaming scene are clueless.

Microsoft have spent more on Bethesda alone than sony have on all their acquisitions put together, they have acquired more staff than sony, more individual studios within those publishers, and gained over three times more ip's with those acquisitions.

Also Microsoft started the timed exclusives deals with call of duty during the 360 gen, then had one of the biggest AAA timed exclusive of last gen with tomb raider, and with this gen they are getting a lot of timed exclusives and not just indies they are paying for exclusive subscription deals also.

How people can think sony are bad and Sony are worse need to look at the facts and also look at what each company can achieve with its wealth, Microsoft are a trillion dollar company and can afford any publisher or studio they please, Sony and Nintendo can't and are only successful due to their hard work and great management.

@GamingFan4Lyf “Xbox very well COULD do what Sony does, but Microsoft doesn't want to be Sony...” — Yeah, I think I’m starting to agree with this analysis, at least partially. But I’m not sure about the first part of the statement that MS could pull off the consistent high quality first party output, in the past they have competed with Sony in that regard but it seems they have struggled with managing their studios and being able to put out those single-player best-selling bangers like Sony and Nintendo (and Rockstar, Ubisoft, etc) do. But the second part of that statement seems true now — I really don’t think MS cares if they are selling half (or a third, or a quarter) the number of consoles, or that they never have a game that charts the best seller list. Like you say, their strategy and long term plans are not be be like Sony (whether that’s because they can’t compete with Sony and Nintendo in that space or whether it’s because their analysis of the future of gaming tells them to spend their resources elsewhere). I don’t think they really care if someone owns an Xbox so long as they use GamePass on their PC or smart TV or whatever. ….And yet then we get statements like on this article where the MS execs seem to highlight their lack of console market share as if they really care about that metric. It’s a PR/political spin they’re playing at, to be sure, trying to manipulate public and regulatory opinion. It’s crafty, but I honestly don’t think MS is losing any sleep over the PS5 outselling the XBSX.

And I would totally have all 3 consoles if I had more time. I’ve come close to jumping into the Switch and XB ecosystems before but I can barely keep up with my PlayStation backlog. There’s just way too much content for me to consume. It’s the same with TV streaming services — I’m going to have to start canceling some of these and just choose like 2-3 to keep because we live in a era where we’re drowning in entertainment media content. 😅. But I digress…

@TheCollector316 they also rebooted franchises, changed things to keep up with the times, made leaps and bounds in storytelling, and in technical aspects to appeal to more people.

Whereas Xbox stayed incredibly niche and samey with their IPs. Space Marine, Driving Cars, and guess what? Here's some more Space Marines.

It's not the year 200X this stuff doesn't resonate with gamers any more. In fact, Kojima alone has been more advanced than Xbox in their thinking since 1998, and that's before Xbox even existed 😬😬

I'm starting to think the thing running ms, from a dank basement ,is a giant slug with a voice like Mr burns...excellent.

@naruball you’re only replying on the last part of my comment.

But yeah, does it matter? Blizzard was bought too when WoW was the biggest MMO in the world. Riot Games with League of Legends, the biggest esports game and one of the most profitable ip ever being bought by Tencent, all of those weren’t opposed. Apparently it didn’t and doesn’t matter how big an ip is.

And now only Sony is opposed to the deal out of all big players. I truly wonder why since they’re the market leader…

@IOI

It is true that both sites encourage flame wars.

@gamer_since_83 ehm, no? Gta 3 was released on playstation 2 first, 2 years prior to being released on xbox. Same with San Andreas and Vice City. Xbox actually turned down the exclusivity deal R* proposed.

Call of Duty had a few timed exclusive maps on 360 and that was it.

Are you ‘old enough’ to remember this though? What’s up with the fanboyism-responses on this website…. Seriously.

Just last year alone Sony had 14 timed 3d party exclusives. Shows their studios can’t pull their weight on their own either, a criticism Xbox usually gets (but people don’t see Sony has very little exclusives of their own too). Sony buys their way to pull in players too. Only Nintendo and their secondary studios probably produce enough exclusives to keep a platform running on their own.

@Fiendish-Beaver sorry, I didn't read all of the comment in full, but most of it. it was good from the start. I just wanted to focus on one part though. I'm a PlayStation gamer, and I definitely don't want to see Xbox fail, I want to see them spend money on innovation and creativity within, instead of trying to buy up easy sales with established mega brands and publishers.

We don't want dominance, we want creativity and innovation pushing the limits and driving all sides forward for the good of gaming.

But it seems Xbox is going full Microsoft strategy and trying to force people onto their ecosystem as they consistently get it wrong. And this company is supposedly run by a gamer who loves PS exclusives. I genuinely don't know why this isn't filtering down into their productions? It's baffling how badly they read the room, and just keep their own hardcore on side by offering cheapness of a service as the main draw.

I'll also say, since the Xbox Series X came out, I've been looking for a good reason to get one, I
really want to own one so I have a choice of systems and platforms, and I keep waiting and waiting and nothing is jumping out to make me buy one. I've since bought a second PS5, for another room, and I've been seriously researching getting a gaming laptop instead, which is like p***ing money away. If my backlog wasn't already insanely unmanageable, I'd have gone the laptop route for Gamepass and future releases like Starfield. Which is just crazy. And I'm still a bit apprehensive that Starfield will be incredibly lifeless :/

I know if Xbox had released a few really interesting titles I'd have been there in a flash this generation though, but everything they do now seems to put me off more and more. And I'm now more likely to spend even more money on a laptop or desktop to play any games that will also be available on PC, if they turn out good, because the PC will also be able to play and do other stuff too 😬

@Friendly How am I to know how old you are? I was thinking about this: https://whatculture.com/gaming/10-most-shocking-e3-reveals-ever?page=6
And as I remember the 360 had exclusive deals for DLC on COD for many years in the PS3 era.

MS is lying through their teeth. There is no chance of these percentages being accurate. Xbox has been selling superbly well in europe throughout this ps5 draught. They are just slanting numbers to apear as David when they are in fact Goliath in this story. They could end Sony in one sneeze should they wish to. MS is the 1000 pound gorilla here, let's not kid ourselves.

@gamer_since_83 you would think everyone commenting on this website is at least 10 years old.

But the story of GTA IV is that Microsoft actually had to pay R* to stop GTA IV from being exclusive to Sony’s platform, like all previous installments. All this timed exclusivity stuff is just bs.

https://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-paid-75-million-to-stop-gtaiv-ps3-exclusivity/1100-6262370/

@IOI yeah this site is getting more and more fanboy-like by the day. I get that it’s a PlayStation centered site and I expect it from the comments, but this used to be a good place to get playstation news and rumors. Now it’s become 50/50 Xbox hits and Sony puff pieces.

@Nem CMA, EU and FTC argue that Nintendo is not part of the same market, stop being a fanboy and read information, this site itself only cares to mention it when it fits the narrative that it proposes otherwise they Will say that IS Just Microsoft being scummy

@Reeneman
1) It's actually a back and forth on performance. Sometimes Xbox runs better, somethings PS5 runs better. Even with that back and forth on who performs better, the framerate differences have been relatively minor. Generally, many of the times the PS5 has had a better framerate, the Xbox has had a higher overall resolution.

My display has VRR so it's all smoothed out for me. Plus, in the rare event that framerates tank below 48Hz, the Xbox can handle it where the PS5 can't.

2) I prefer Dolby Vision over HDR10.

3) I prefer Dolby Atmos that works for both headphones and high end sound systems (which I have) over Sony's 3D Audio that works only for headphones or some "sweet spot" for TV

4) I am not overly fussed about the Dual Sense controller. I mean, it's neat, but it's not anything game changing to me.

5) AutoHDR, FPS Boost, etc. for legacy games is great on Xbox.

So that's why I choose the Xbox for "everything else" over the PS5: the Xbox feature set is, in my opinion, more robust.

Nintendo, variously, exists and doesn't exist, depending on the point these companies want to make.

Meanwhile, the biggest competitor that doesn't exist is patiently beavering away at making Nintendo Switch the best-selling console of all time.

The rhetoric is a little insulting, but, honestly, I doubt they care too much if it keeps them from being sucked into this never-ending legal drama.

I'm not surprised Playstation has pulled ahead again, though. Aside from the popularity of the brand, which has rarely waned since the mid-90s, Microsoft just isn't giving people good enough reasons to buy into their ecosystem. You miss out on too many games, and get too little in return.

@naruball It was when Microsoft did It with Rise of Tomb Raider, Dead Rising 4, Persona 5 and Yakuza Like a Dragon and u ALL acted as If Microsoft had r**** ur mom, funny how things are cool when Sony does and as evil as Hittler when Microsoft does the same...

Absolutely no chance that Microsoft would attend Court and the lie, @TheDudeElDuderino. Doing so and being found out would totally cripple their case. You have to remember that they will have provided sales figures, and likely as not, their competitors would have had to have done so too, as part of the Court hearing. There is absolutely no way that any of these companies can stand up, in Court, and say anything untrue that the other companies can prove to be a lie, and would take great delight in doing so. These figures will be true, accurate, and verifiable, no matter how much people may choose to dislike or distrust Microsoft. They are in Court, and each and every one of the words they utter will be poured over and tested to the nth degree...

I would prefer to let xbox have Activision and see how it goes. It wouldn't make me like xbox more. I'll still hate the xbox controller and their crappy home menu. N I'll still be playing on pc or switch.

Nintendo isn't included because the regulators like FTC have established a fake market called the "high end home console." It is the only way they can make a case that the deal would have a significant impact on the gaming industry. They can't make a big deal out of call of duty when Nintendo is dominating without it.

Xbox is more than happy to play this game through the lense that the regulators created where playstation and Xbox are the only competitors because they can easily make the case that they are behind Sony. It makes it very hard to challenge the deal when blocking it is only protecting the company currently dominating the market. Blocking the deal is more harmful to competition than allowing the deal. The deal is definitely going through.

Sony is probably secretly hoping Activision deal goes through. This big opposition is just a smoke screen so they can snag up an acquisition or two. Definitely could see a future defense of Sony buying SE and when questions get raised they can point back to precedents set by this. Course I'm salty about Microsoft buying these studios then throwing good ip's into the closet. Based on their history crash and Spyro may end up at the farm with Banjo.

As for Nintendo I don't think they've ever been aware of being in some kind of console war. It's why they spent so much behind in many generations. So leaving them out probably isn't that big of a deal.

xbox still has microsoft pc ports that is 3 systems

@get2sammyb
I come to this site specifically because of the personality and opinion that is injected into every post. I hope this never changes. There are plenty of other places where someone can read copy and pasted press releases.

@KaijuKaiser the same thing Sony did in its early years lol the hypocrisy in this hilarious. This just proves that no matter what ppl will still choose Sony which is Xbox’s point. I’m glad Microsoft decided to stop playing nice and flex its bag and get strong studios on its team LIKE SONY DID tf smh

@GamingFan4Lyf
Framerates are mostly stable on ps5 and the fps doesn’t really fall below 48 fps.
Dolby Vision for gaming is mainly a marketing thing currently. There 1-2 real Dolby vision games on the Series? Test haben been shown that there is not really a noticeable improvement over HDR.
For older games the series consoles are very good but I don’t buy a new gen console to play old games that often.

@GamingFan4Lyf There are a lot more different games.

Sony branches out tries different things funds new IP's with 3rd party developers.

Microsoft has more studio's and 69 billion to burn and they still can't bring out new stuff.

This acquisition is more expensive then what Sony is worth so people should stop acting like MS is a underdog with anything.

@Reeneman You enjoy your third-party games on the platform you prefer to play them on, I'll enjoy the third-party games on the platform I prefer to play them on. There is no right or wrong answer here.

No one is wrong for making the PS5 their preferred platform of choice for the majority of their gaming nor is anyone who enjoys playing on Xbox or Nintendo for theirs. I chose Xbox for reasons I already stated. Those features are important to me.

@Fiendish-Beaver Big corp doesn't lie🤣🤣🤣🤣

Indeed they make promises and break them the second they get a chance to do it. It's not lying when you are putting it in another with a fake spin on it.

Lootboxes are one of these things show that. It's making things look better then they are. They know the se ond it's greenlit in the US they are on the free with big Corp being protected by US the US government and even the Judges.

@gamer_since_83 could you point out which comment makes you think I’m a 10 year old?

@Flaming_Kaiser sony is worth twice what Microsoft is paying for Activision-Blizzard.

@Flaming_Kaiser Did I say anything about underdog? All I said was that Microsoft has a different approach to gaming.

Everyone here says "Microsoft has no games" or that "Microsoft is terrible at first-party", or that Microsoft should be able to make "better games"; but it's really more of a matter of opinion since Sony does what it does, and Microsoft does what it does.

Their philosophy on games is entirely different.

Microsoft is more focused on strategy games, shooters, and WRPGs. In a sense they are more PC-centric (I mean the Xbox itself always meant to be there to bring PC to the living room)

Sony, having more of a Hollywood background, focuses on what it knows better: Hollywood-style games.

Nintendo is Nintendo and focuses on what it knows best.

Yes, I do prefer Sony's (and Nintendo's) first-party output; but saying Microsoft could "do better" is purely a matter of gaming perspective. It just sounds like people are saying "do what Sony does".

@codray89 Sony worked with these companies for years that made games exclusively on the platform for decades with some.

Microsoft yeah I can't win let's by the biggest IP's because we have a unending cashflow. Yeah it's nothing like how you paint it out to be.

@GamingFan4Lyf Microsoft is like every big US company kill of the competition by buying everything up. It's Western company version of the Chinese government.

The only difference is the Chinese get flack for it. With all these great studio's already they should have done so much more. If your contribution is buying up everything what's even the benefit of having such a company around?

It's not a strategy it as plain and simple buy up everything and starve the competition. They have things like Halo, Gears of War, Racers. They have classic studio's like bloody Rare.

Stop being the old EA buying up stuff and letting it die on a shelf. Nintendo is great to have around you know why they do their stuff. And if they have their own business idea why not start using all the companies you already bought.

Just noticed on the free with ps plus modern warfare 2 / warzone 2.0 combat pack it says 'activision may update, replace, or remove this in-game content at any time.' I don't remember ever seeing a disclaimer like that before on these

@Flaming_Kaiser Part of what you say isn't wrong. Microsoft does have a purchasing problem. However, ABK was looking for a buyer and Microsoft put in an acceptable bid.

Microsoft is using the companies it has. Starfield on the way. Redfall is coming soon. Forza Motorsport is on the way. Hi-Fi Rush was awesome.

Hellblade II is in development.
Fable is in development.
Perfect Dark is in development.

Gears 6 is in development (after the Coalition had been hard at work getting Unreal Engine 5 optimized for Series consoles/DirectX).

Obsidian has done Grounded and Pentiment. It's also working on Avowed and Outer Worlds 2.

Rare has turned Sea of Thieves around since launch.
Everwild is...somewhere....

I do think there is a management issue with these studios as it's been seemingly taking FOREVER to see the return on investment of these acquisitions actually pan out; but I also think there will be a point where it will be release after release for Xbox Games Studios.

At least, I hope so because it would be very bleak for Microsoft if all these studios don't start churning out games in the next 12 months.

@Fiendish-Beaver silly rabbit. Of course you can twist the interpretation of reports to your advantage or disadvantage and do so without outright fabrication. What did you think I was saying? Them claiming something that can easily be disproven? C'mon don't be literal.
They of course have the math do support their claims, but the claims are false. There is simply no way PlayStation with those prices and impossible to find in mainland Europe and xbox series ( especially series s prices) being available resulted in 80:20... you have to be living on Mars, or be a sony pony, to believe this. But MS got the math to get to such results. Good for them. I hope they don't get to do this merger. Sony knows it's going to harm them long term and harm them real bad. And they are right to fear it and fight it with all the tools at their disposal.

@Would_you_kindly it has been a part of standard legalese accompanying digitally delivered games since forever. Don't get too excited.

@AdamCorela you must be new here... what you're describing never existed. This site was exactly how it is now since forever... they had less money back then tho

@MaikonCSGarcia Persona 5? Microsoft did something with Persona 5? Are you sure about that bud?

@TheDudeElDuderino Not only P5 but also P4G and P3P And everyone on this site including staff were lived about It:

https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2022/06/xbox-appeared-to-embargo-ps5-ps4-versions-of-some-showcase-games

https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2022/10/persona-fans-on-playstation-get-sold-short-again-as-xbox-deal-reveals-native-ports

@MaikonCSGarcia dude, p4 and p3 are not the issue here. I asked you specifically about P5 and xbox, dude, don't deflect now.

I survived the console wars of the early to mid 90's and let me tell all ya kids that it was brutal. Let's not return to those dark days, I implore you all.

I stopped listening to the nonsense that comes out of Phil Spencer and Xbox a long time ago.

@TheDudeElDuderino im not i did give u a link about marketing exclusivity on all the games.

Xbox are just telling everyone different narratives to suit different stories. Ten year deal with Nintendo is worthless.

GPU is great for sales one day
It’s rubbish the next

Yet people will still argue and justify it all

Ha

At this point, it does start to remind me of an old Russian joke whose protagonist sought to borrow badly worn clothes for visits to the local taxation office.😅

@TheDudeElDuderino not to engage in console war flexing, but maybe save some of that snark for when XBSX controller gets a gyroscope?😅

@TheDudeElDuderino Seriously, gtf over yourself. Controllers are subjective.

I don't mean to appear rude, @TheDudeElDuderino, but your comment is so contradictory. You cannot have it both ways!

You say, "Them claiming something that can easily be disproven? C'mon don't be literal. They of course have the math do support their claims, but the claims are false."

How can they have the math (evidence) to support what they are saying, but that 'math' (evidence) is false?

As I said before, if these claims are indeed false, then Sony will be jumping up and down enough to give them a nosebleed in their frantic efforts to disprove the figures. And if they are able to do so, the Court will take a very dim view of what Microsoft are saying, and that won't help sway the Regulator's into ruling in favour of Xbox.

I absolutely accept that the PS5 was particularly hard to find during the course of the past two years, but so was the Xbox. Add to that, are Microsoft purely referring to sales of the PS5? I highly doubt it. Much more likely they are referring to lifetime sales of the PS4 and PS5 versus the Xbox One and Series.

Will this acquisition harm Sony? Probably yes. There likely will be an impact on the overall numbers that the PlayStation can currently boast. Hurt it bad? I very much doubt it. Sony has way too many quality homegrown titles to fall back on to see any real damage in the long run.

I actually think the smarter move for Microsoft would have been to have bought Square Enix and Capcom, instead of Activision. I believe those two companies have far more PlayStation beloved franchises between them, and Microsoft would not have had to spend anything like $69 billion in order to acquire them, and they would likely not have had to go through the Regulator's either, meaning just as with Bethesda, they would not have had to make any commitments, and could have resulted in making many fan-favourite titles exclusive to their own platform. Indeed, if this ABK acquisition should fail, I can see Microsoft making such a move, and they probably won't view Sony favourably when deciding whether or not to make the games multiplatform either...

I never said that big corp doesn't lie, @Flaming_Kaiser, but they are in a Court hearing where their statements will be tested. They will not be making up numbers just to make Sony look bad, because Sony will challenge them.

Honestly, I have spent more days in Court than I could possibly remember (all of them batting for the good guys!), and I've seen what happens when people make untrue claims. The legal team representing Sony will be all over any false allegations or statistics. There is not a chance in hell that Microsoft are making stuff up just to support their case.

As for going back on stuff they have said, firstly, I was speaking about this article, which relates to the figures provided by Microsoft, not to any offers that might have made, though again, I would add that they have produced signed agreements in Court relating to these offers, so going back on them would be very difficult and very, very costly.

I'm not quite sure where the Loot box issue arises, so it's difficult for me to comment on that...

@JJtheTexan ps5 and switch, best gaming combination since the gamecube and ps2

@EVIL-C aye, mate, take her (keyboard) easy, you'll hurt your fingers. Controllers are subjective and subjectively a large number of people (grown up ones, not the kids) have nothing good to say about switch as a controller. So yeah, please, xb controller is like seventeen generations ahead in terms of ergonomics and, unlike switch, not trying to send you straight to an orthopaedic clinic.

@nhSnork heh, nice, but for what? Look dude, I'm an odd apple, my most beloved console since 2012 onwards has been WiiU. I love it more than the two ps4 and a ps4pro, a ps5 i have, more than the xb1x and two xbsx, and definitely more than two switch abominations... and still ... of all of them... xb1x and onwards controller (even taking just the ordinary ones and not counting elite2) are just heavenly. Warts (lousy face buttons) and all (toysRus feel to triggers and shoulder buttons) I still prefer them to all others... Elite 2 is just sublime tho but not fair to compare that one to others.

@MaikonCSGarcia links yes, not relating to Persona 5, man, c'mon now. Xbox had nothing on P5, it was a PlayStation restricted game for so long.

@TheDudeElDuderino And in 2022 when It was released on Next-gen It had marketing exclusivity on Xbox together with the other 2. Also an embargo on announcement on every other plataform.

if microsoft is unable to be competitive and can't take the heat, it is about time they left the gaming industry. attempting to purchase it all for themselves is not the answer. the xbox division has had 20 years to figure it out. with the exception of pioneering online services as we know them today and producing a few big properties, including halo, forza and gears of war, the xbox divison has failed to diversify its software portfolio enough to make it soght after in most of the world. its poor sales in asia and europe speaks for itself. do better and stop trying to jusify monopolization as a result of poor leadership, creative bankruptcy and lack of cultural excellence (when compared to sony and nintendo) within the xbox division.

Typical Microsoft DOGS trying to create a monopoly of the video game industry! Oh sure, buy it all Microsoft! You can own the world! These greedy slimeballs won't stop until they're the only game in town.

@Matroska Thats why i dont need a xbox just PC with game pass ,PS5 and switch all areas covered.