Xbox Could Hit It's Stride in 2015

IGN writes:

"No, Microsoft's big problem is Sony's PlayStation 4. For as well as Xbox One is selling, PlayStation 4 consistently does better. In fact, its sales have been historically high since its release in late 2013. For nine consecutive months, PS4 has outsold Xbox One in the United States, sometimes by a small percentage, and other times by a big margin. Even Titanfall, Xbox One's anticipated tour de force, couldn't stop the PS4 from outselling it the month the game launched. Optically, everything is pointing in PS4's direction. Xbox One's seeming difficulty in keeping up with PS4 on a technical level isn't helping to change the optical problems in a more literal sense, either."

[Gazondaily]

I don't think Sunset Overdrive is going to make a big difference as the article suggests. TMCC though, that will deffo make a big impact. Its the most generous remaster/bundle in years if not ever.

For it to hit its stride, in comparison to the competition, it has to simply be relentless in releasing quality games. However, a cursory glance at 2015 suggests that Sony will have a far greater start to the year as well as its own killer app, Uncharted 4. Obviously, we're open to surprises and Forza Horizon 2 was only revealed a few days prior to E3 this year.

My money is on Sony capitalising its massive lead already in 2015. That's where the safe bet is. Microsoft have the burden of proof in proving otherwise.

[lelo2play]

I agree. Sunset Overdrive looks good, but it's not a system seller. Halo is a system seller... but I don't think the X1 can catch the PS4. PS4 even without AAA exclusives (exception TLOU) has been outselling the X1 since the beginning.
X1 needs a price cut and more AAA (system seller) exclusives to have a chance.

[Gazondaily]

The Xbox One will never catch the PS4. Not going to happen. Not this gen. Unless aome crazy unprecedented madness happens.

[LAWSON72]

World wide, you are definitely correct, however there is a good chance Xbone will catch if not surpass the PS4 in NA.

[ScottyHoss]

^that's unlikely man. As much as I want it to succeed where I live, that's not going to happen any time soon. Install base leads to a big selling point, the amount of friends with the console, and in highly populated areas such as the US, that's only more powerful of a selling point.

Catch up? Possibly, or within a close amount (relative to total sales at that time, not total sales now), maybe by 2016,and it's still a pretty big if.

[vishmarx]

the problem with ms is halo is pretty much their only sytem seller.
take for example.fh2 great game. great reviews. hype.
driveclub has the worst launch of 2015 , missing out on tons of buyers.
a week later driveclub outsells fh2 by half a million units .

ps4 has broken records without a single big gun.
now imagine all bloodborne , naughty dog, santa monica , quantic dream , last guarduan etc all system sellers coming out and add that to the complete lack of xbox presence in 2/3 territories.

if ps4 ever had a 6 month plus rough patch with xb1 brining out blockbusters like theres no tomorrow, it may come close to ps4 in us.
but wordwide.never happening. end of story.

@ LAWSON72
not sure if serious.

and
@yarbie
SO isnt why its sold out.
its sold out because its white and its very limited , so limited that it didnt even break the top 50 despite being sold out

[yarbie1000]

"Sunset Overdrive not a system seller"

Amazon - Sunset Overdrive Bundle Sold Out http://www.amazon.com/Xbox-...

[SniperControl]

@yarbie

Thats not an indication, they could of only had 500 to sell, who knows.

I remember the X1 being sold out on the Japanese amazon, look what happened there.

[BiggerBoss]

@lawson. Honestly, i really doubt it. Here in the US, people are much more likely to go with whatever console their friends have. So the more the Ps4 sells, the more its going to sell. This isnt to say that the xbox one wont do well, just not as well as the Ps4

[yarbie1000]

@SniperControl

Did it sell systems or not? Was that not the statement?

The sold out INDICATES people bought the system with the game does it not

[FITgamer]

@Yarbie Neither the stand alone game or bundle is in the top 100 for October. It's sold out due to limited supply.

https://twitter.com/JamesSt...
http://www.amazon.com/gp/be...

[VegasDawg]

Some of you fanBOYs are caught up in global sales The x1 is not that far behind in NA. It's still early anybody making predictions is a fool. Ps3 proves you can come back from a big lead.

[kreate]

Fable and gears of war and a few jrpgs can help x1.

But it needs to come out very soon though before the gap is unreachable.

[MasterCornholio]

@Vegas

"The x1 is not that far behind in NA."

That's your opinion but my opinion is that 1,3 million is a lot.

[ABizzel1]

Had to get all my research ready for this.

There are some things I agree with, but there are some things that are incredibly naive, and somethings that are a bit skewered.

First thing first sales.

The XBO is finally selling well, on a consistent basis again. It had an amazing launch selling 2.9m - 3.1m depending on who you ask, and was completely powered by the success of the Xbox 360, and fans of the 360 looking to upgrade. However, numbers dropped significantly for the year, which is why bundles with free games were happening, Kinect was dropped, and more Tier 3 countries became priority.

Here's a sales breakdown of the Xbox vs 360 vs XBO sales in the same time frame.

Launch (Launch date - December 31 / remainder sales are Tier 2/3)
Xbox: 1.5m (1.5m US, didn't launch in other regions until following year)
360: 1.2m (563k US / 443k EU)
XBO: 2.9m - 3.1m (1.85m US / 719k EU)

Year 1 US (January - 1st week of October -> entire year)
Xbox: 5.4m (entire year)
360: 2.0m (Jan. - Oct.) -> 3.9m (entire year)
XBO: 1.7m (Jan. - Oct.) -> N/A (expected 3.2m)

Year 1 EU (January - 1st week of October -> entire year)
Xbox: 1.8m (entire year)
360: 1.1m (Jan. - Oct.) -> 1.9m (entire year)
XBO: 719k (Jan. - Oct.) -> N/A (expected 1.4m)

Japan "LAUNCH" -> Year 1
Xbox: 123k (launch) -> 727k (entire year)
360: 55k (launch) -> 230k (entire year)
XBO: 25k (launch) -> N/A (expected 60k)

Year 1 World Wide -> Year 1 WW
Xbox: 6.5m (entire year)
360: 3.66m (Jan. - Oct.) -> 6.8m (entire year)
XBO: 2.9m (Jan. - Oct.) -> N/A (expected 5.2m - 5.8m (China ???))

World Wide totals from launch - December 31, Year 1
Xbox: 8.0m
360: 8.0m
XBO: Expected 8.1m -> 8.9 (China boost)

For Year 1 sales the XBO has been behind both of it's predecessors, and those are the real numbers MS are looking at right now, not what position their inflated launch numbers put them in comparison to their older consoles, as Colin and many others try to point out. In the overall scale of things the XBO is ahead of it's predecessors, but only because of the successful 3 million console launch due to the success of the 360. The sales from January - October are about 20% below the 360's in the US for the same time frame, about 55% lower than EU (those Tier 3 regions), and launched at less than half the 360's sales in JP.

Those sales are indicative of long term goals, not a 3 million console launch, so yes MS is doing fine, but they're not where they want to be in order for the XBO to achieve the same success as the Xbox 360. With their current sales they'll sale at worst 40m consoles, but with price drops, more content, and gamers looking for a second / third console that number should go up much higher, and ultimately I think the XBO can comfortably expect sells in the 60 million range as long as things pick up, which they should.

Finally in the sales wrap up, the stand-alone Destiny sales were better on XBO, because the game was basically given away for free to everyone who bought an XBO that week, and unlike the bundled versions with the PS4's it was counted as a sale since it was....."Stand Alone".

[ABizzel1]

Sales are sales, and it won't break a console as long as it's selling well (which the XBO is), but the real issue I have with this article is the 2015 line-up section, and this IMO is why the XBO isn't going to be able to compete until 2016. Sales will definitely go up for the XBO with Halo 5, Quantum Break, Crackdown, and Gear on the horizon, but I expect sales to skyrocket to Wii levels, with the PS4 already has over 20 exclusives already announced for 2015 and we still have 2 months to go in 2014.

XBO: Halo 5, Crackdown, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Fable Legends, Phantom Dust, Quantum Break, and Scalebound are the big A / AAA games MS has announced with Gears on the Horizon as well.

Wii U: The Legend of Zelda, Star Fox, Xenoblade Chronicles, Mario Party 10, Yoshi's Woolly World, Mario vs. DK, Splatoon, Devil's Third, Kirby, Mario Maker, Fatal Frame V, SMT x Fire Emblem, and Project Guard are the A / AAA games Nintendo has planned for 2015.

PS4: Uncharted 4, Bloodborne, The Order, Persona 5, Tearawy, Until Dawn, Ratchet and Clank, Wild, Without Memory, Dragon Quest Heroes, Disgaea 5, Everybody's Gone to Rapture, God Eater 2, MLB The SHow 15, Yakuza 0, Yx, Guilt Gear Xrd (rumored December 2014), Planetside 2, Deep Down, Everquest Next (I have no idea how SOE is planning on getting 2 games out), Snow, anime games coming exclusive to PS4 (Gundam, One Piece), and Let it Die are the A / AAA games Sony has planned for 2015. And all this still excludes the 1st and 2nd party games from most of Sony's Studios, which is completely insane to me.

These line-ups simply aren't comparable. MS is still catering to the core Xbox fanbase, and will continue to only do well in NA and the UK. Nintendo is catering to the Nintendo fanbase but trying a few things new with 3rd party cross overs, but we'll have to see how it works for them. The PS4 has something for everybody next year, and this is why they have a more powerful world wide brand than MS or Nintendo when it comes to console gaming.

The PS4 has JP covered, NA covered, EU covered, Indie fans covered (XBO as well), Young gamers covered, Niche gamers covered, there is simply something for every type of gamer, and it just makes sense to get a PS4 in 2015 if you're that type of gamer.

Quoting Colin
"There's no reason why, on paper, that lineup can't stand toe-to-toe with what PlayStation 4 will have to offer, even if PS4 is likely to continue enjoying a sales advantage moving forward."

You can't compare these libraries for 2015, the PS4 is just too much and when you add indies and timed exclusive games it's even worse. The PS4 is set to dominate 2015 with an iron fist.

[ABizzel1]

2015 for MS needs to be about position the XBO to maximize it's potential for 2016. Everything MS does with the XBO for 2015 needs to be to get it in position to be the second place console. A price drop ($329 - $349) early on to benefit sales throughout the remainder of the year.

I'm looking at their full exclusive line-up, and they're going to have a hard time competing with Sony and Nintendo early 2015, so they need to focus on having Betas early 2015 to fluff their line-up, and launch their big guns in the post E3 - Holiday season. Fable Legends Beta early 2015, Halo 5 Guardians Open Beta early 2015, Crackdown 3 Beta early 2015, Gears of War Collection + Gears 4 Beta holiday 2015. Then they can release all 8 big games they have for the holidays, as well as some E3 surprises for 2015 - early 2016.

Then 2016 should be their time to strike and maximize sales. Their E3 2015 games should coast them through the first half of the year, with E3 2016 games pushing them through the rest of the year (Gears 4, Forza 6, several New IP), and for the second half of the year they need to make sure they drop price to $299 before Sony.

If they can do all that then they're guaranteed their second place IMO, and their +60 million console sales.

When Sony fumbled with the PS3 it cost them around 20% of their fanbase (100 million mark is the winning threshold IMO, +100m -> 84m). The same is likely to happen to MS with the XBO, which would drop them from their previous 83 million down into the 66 million range, so once again I see the XBO selling around 60m consoles, which is still a success and good for them. But they need to do something drastically different, because going head to head with Sony and the PlayStation is a losing battle, especially with both consoles being so similar.

They need to go ahead and make that PConsole, to completely separate themselves, their brand, and their product from the competition.

[MRMagoo123]

I agree with both you guys, Xbox ones biggest chance to outsell PS4 will be halo but that wont be a permanent thing, the ps4 doesnt seem to need the big games to win easily in sales, so I can only imagine the gap is going to widen even faster next year when it seems most of the favourite Sony games are releasing.

[bleedsoe9mm]

xb1's biggest problem probably is the perceived power advantage . when they dropped the kinect and the price in june they had the chance to go cheaper than the ps4 , equaling the price was actually conservative . they could have had the cheaper console with the big exclusive this holiday . if sales in the US (especially) don't get really close to the ps4 look for a price drop whenevr their next big game drops in 2015 .

ps- i say "perceived power advantage" not because there isn't one ,just that we haven't seen a huge difference in AAA multiplatform games , at least not yet .
pps-sony will have no reason to drop their price to match until they see a dip in their sales

[Eonjay]

Don't listen to IGN. They are still framing the Xbox One's success as a function of PS4 sales. To say that the Xbox One is selling well, but to then organize this peice as something that may occur in 2015 is to call the Xbox One a failure if it doesn't beat the PS4. Without putting the Xbox One's success on it on performance is to doom it to constant comparison.

[Gamer1982]

IGN never once last gen did an article like this how the PS3 could catch up to the Xbox. They seem to be so pro Xbox it's unreal over there.. Not surprising really when you look at most of there ads and stuff. MS pays the biggest chunk of their revenue. It's why most people are going to youtube these days to find more reputable sources for info and news as the big dogs like IGN have an agenda. All major sites have one depending on whos footing the bill that month. If its Sony they will be pro Sony if MS, They swing that way. Yet they complain when people go to youtube for there reviews etc...

[Blaze929]

lets be honest, as soon as Master Chief Collection comes out for Xbox One - things are going to take a GIANT change.

[MRMagoo123]

Lets be honest here, for a week maybe 3 then it will be back down again. The only thing halo will do is increase sales in the US and maybe UK for a small time, world wide PS4 will still be in front in the halo release month and will still be widening the gap.

[DigitalRaptor]

No they aren't.

Halo is the only game that can really do wonders for Xbone to outsell the PS4 in a single month. And how long does a month last for? A month. Temporary sales spike and then… back to PS4 outselling the Xbone yet again until Halo 5 in late 2015. By which point, the gap will be even wider, and one month of Halo each year cannot reduce an ever-increasing multimillion unit sales gap.

The parity "debate" and perception of PS4 being the stronger console with the more diverse lineup of games isn't going away either. The PS4's 2015 lineup already outpaces the Xbone lineup, so I don't see how you can possibly draw that conclusion.
-----

@ KNWS (the multiple-time exposed troll, below)

You fully deserved that trolling strike for many reasons, but mostly for the spreading of misinformation.

You are getting increasingly desperate to try and make Sony look bad for things that you can't even prove in the slightest. It's your own personal fanboy-led speculation that you want to be true SO DAMN BADLY. It's freakin' embarrassing dude, like really… listen to yourself. You're so desperate to make people believe your lies that you bring them into a conversation that has nothing to do with them.

Patents are filed every single day and most of them are never even used. You are a disingenuous person and your latest stealth troll session exposes this. Saying Sony was "all in" for DRM, is the same as saying they were all in for every single patent they ever filed that wasn't used (which is most of them). You know this, you just want ammo but it's blowing up in your face.

Guess what, KNWS (the multiple-time stealth fanboy liar)? Sony also patented strapping PS Move controllers to your feet to use as a concept for a football game. Were they "all in" on that too? Pathetic boy.

[Jaqen_Hghar]

He says it has steadily outsold 360. That is actually not accurate. It was very front-loaded and is still ahead if you just line up the launches but it has been outsold by 360 on a month by month aligned launch since January.

[Dudebro90]

Nope

[Jaqen_Hghar]

actually yes. Yes it has. A man doesn't think you can argue straight up numbers look up NPD and VGChartz or just go by shipments since March or so.

[BiggerBoss]

@dudebro, how can you argue that? The sales numbers dont lie. Although, the xbox ones sales are finally starting to pick up again, and theyll have a good holiday season

[ainTgoTTime2bleed]

Next year the bone will leave PS4 IN THE DUST!...mark my words,
DX12+CLOUDSZZ combo will be unstopable.../s

[Funantic1]

Who says the X1 has to outsell PS4? Both Android and iphone coexist. One outsells the other but both are doing very well. MS needs to focus on making money and games. The X1 may never catch the PS4 in sales but Sony will never catch MS in money in the bank. It's a business not a competition for fanboys.

[vikingland1]

I agree and well said.

[Muzikguy]

This is what some companies and people don't seem to understand. You don't have to be number one to make money. Hell, being number one sometimes means LOSING money. As long as their making money and still selling then they're doing all right

[OB1Biker]

better install base : more PS+, more games, more accessories sold etc

[Muzikguy]

I understand more sales equals more $. I'm just saying you don't need to be number one to have sales and make money.

[starchild]

Very insightful.

The picture that gets painted on game forums is quite often very different than the reality. The majority of those that frequent game forums are generally the most fanatical, biased and simply the most disconnected from reality. There are many exceptions of course, but I honestly think 60 or 70% of the loudest people on game forums are idiots. These people are hopelessly irrational and hold all kinds of very skewed views.

Your analysis, though, is spot on. This isn't a competition between fanboy factions the way so many fanboys imagine. These companies want to bring a good product and be successful. Success means doing something positive in the world and being financially successful at it so that you can continue doing it.

[NeoGamer232]

There has been a ton of new and exclusive content for X1...

Forza Horizon 2, Project Spark, Killer Instinct Season 2, Disney Fantasia, Dance Central Spotlight, and D4 in the last month alone... And the lowest rating in these games is 74 on Metacritic.

Next week hopefully Sunset Overdrive will be solid as well. Two weeks after it is obvious that the Halo fans will support their franchise.

No X1 owner should be unhappy with content this holiday season. The games are rolling on X1...

[smellslikeralph]

Better watch. Your words speaking highly of the x1 here on super bias n4g will get u stoned to death

The people here hate the x1 and hope it will die

[NeoGamer232]

You just have to feel sorry for the X1 haters on this site...

If they had a console with great games to play they probably wouldn't have the time to hate.

[Muzikguy]

Whose stride is it, Xbox's? So it could hit "its" stride not hit "it is" stride? Ok, I think I got it

It may or may not hit its stride, but I don't think Sunset Overdrive will be what does it. Even if it does, I'm sure the PS4 will hit it's stride too :)

[Eonjay]

They must stop two things:
They must stop comparing Xbox One sales to the PS4. The Xbox can be a success without topping the PS4.
Secondly, they must stop putting pressure on individual games to top PS4. The media (IGN and fam) killed Titanfall by hyping it up as a savior when all it was responsible to do was to be a good game.

[Ch1d0r1]

Not even Halo can save the xbone.

[Lucreto]

I don't feel the MCC will be a system seller just based on Amazon bestsellers lists. Titanfall was number One for months
. The MCC has just broken the top twenty for the first time. I expect Titanfall will have sold better and was the system seller.

[FITgamer]

Exactly what i was saying. It won't do better than Titanfall, even with a larger install base.

[RiPPn]

Another goal post.. keep em moving, maybe eventually you will be right.

[ashen122]

x1 hitting its stride in 2015 would be interesting, mostly because ps4 will also hit its stride in 2015. all the exclusives announced and more to come

[ashen122]

damn laptop froze

[ashen122]

oops

[smellslikeralph]

You cant say anything good on n4g about xbox to many ps fanboys here that dont want the x1 to succeed and wish it would die.

For me i hope the x1 makes it

[ShowGun901]

lets be fair, theres idiots on all 3 sides on this site, its pretty pathetic honestly.

[VegasDawg]

Got my popcorn this should be good, I love watching people argue opinions lol so much ignorance.

[Shelkm]

I thought this article was a great read! No bias towards either system!