Microsoft vs Nintendo vs Sony: Who Won 2019?

Ed writes: Which console maker won 2019? Let's look back at how Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony all did in the gaming sphere throughout 2019.

[Thundercat77]

1. PlayStation.
2. Nintendo.
3. Xbox.

[Christopher]

I'd put Nintendo at #1. They're entering into the mid growth of the next generation while the other two are slowly transitioning to the same generation as Nintendo. I believe they had the highest growth rate in both hardware and software sales while the other two had reduced hardware and maybe equal to previous year software rates.

[darthv72]

Nintendo definitely. They got the girl, the gold watch and everything this year.

[Shiken]

Nintendo killed it this year with exclusive offerings, recieved the best version of Dragon Quest, and delivered a port many thought to be impossible in the Witcher 3.

No idea why you have so many disagrees.

[SyntheticForm]

Agreed.

If we're being objective we go with Nintendo, and I'm not even big on Nintendo, but I have to acknowledge that they had some great output this year and just a great year overall.

That said, Sony still had a fine year.

[Army_of_Darkness]

How on earth do you seriously think Nintendo was better than Sony's ps4 offerings this year?? I'm looking at their games and I see nothing that would make me purchase a switch... Ps4 on the other hand had the following... Err, you know what Google it, I don't want to waste my time proving my point. Happy new year! Time to get wasted!

[Shiken]

@ArmyOfDarkness

Because I have both a PS4 Pro and a Switch, so I have played what both has to offer. Meanwhile you, who claims PS4 has the better offering, have admitted to not owning and therefore not playing what the Switch has to offer.

Go figure.

[MADGameR]

Delusional. SONY came out on top smoking everything in site. SONY is already at the finish line for the 8th gen. Nintendo gave UP on their Wii U and came back with the switch where as SONY messed up with the PS3 but made a comeback. Nintendo and MS are quitters

[TK-66]

Gonna have to put Nintendo at #1 I'm afraid. If we try to look at things as objectively as possible they definitely had the most successful year.

[sprinterboy]

I understand where you're coming from but games wise was nintendo enough? Good games sure, great sales yes but number 1? Either way I guess it's down to personal preference but either playstation or Nintendo is fine with me.
As for MS I don't even know why we mention them this gen?

[NecrumOddBoy]

Sony had a B year and Nintendo a B+ but overall solid. Microsoft isn't even on the radar for me and their XSX reveal was pretty underwhelming.

Top 3 Games:
Days Gone
Luigi's Mansion 3
Outer Worlds

So it's been a good mix.

[TK-66]

"Microsoft isnt even on the radar for me"

*Names Microsoft game in top 3*

[xX-oldboy-Xx]

*Names 2 exclusives and a multi-platform title.

[TK-66]

*names a Sony game, Nintendo game and an MS game meaning MS is on his radar

FTFY

[vfl523]

*Names a game that per usual for Microsoft buys instead of creating ones on their own. Other than forza, none of their studios have created a worthwhile game on their own under Microsoft's umbrella. And forza is just a run of the mill racing game.

[The Wood]

TK

Do you know what an exclusive is? Please list Xbox's exclusives.. You been asked a couple times but you've swerved well

[mkis007]

To everyone replying about TOW

MS had nothing to do with the creation, development, nor the publishing of The Outer Worlds. Stop trying to give them credit for it. They get to claim credit for making the eventual second game whatever it turns out to be.

It being a decent-good-great game is on Private Division and of course primarily Obsidian. He named a Sony game a Nintendo game and a 3rd party game that is now owned by MS.

[TK-66]

@The Wood

You would need to demonstrate why I need to list them. Why should I care exactly? I pointed out a factual observation that the Outer Worlds is a Microsoft game as it's developed by a studio owned by MS. Problem? elaborate.

@vfl523

Cool story brah. I take it you're a big Forza fan?

@mkis007

Ah I see. Publishers just buy studios and then have zero interaction with them for a year.

[The Wood]

Do you know what an exclusive is?

'You would need to demonstrate why I need to list them. Why should I care exactly? I pointed out a factual observation that the Outer Worlds is a Microsoft game as it's developed by a studio owned by MS. Problem? elaborate.'

........

The article is about who had the best year. What differentiates one from the others are the exclusives be it games, services, peripherals. Maybe its easier for you to ignore or sidestep the point. Multiplats are multiplats so using those are mute points no matter their publisher. You've been asked to list MS's exclusives but spin why you cant or wont... Its kool tho bro, we understand your reasons. I see the radar comment irked ya but think of it as hyperbole..... in the grand scheme of thins xbox has produced very little this year and for the majority of people, services aren't as important as output

[MadLad]

I stopped playing Days Gone when I walked into a game breaking glitch, less than 2 hours into the game, when a gas canister glitched out of existence, requiring me to do the mission over.

[TK-66]

@The Wood

"Do you know what an exclusive is?"

I'm afraid you need to answer my question first. Why should I care?

"The article is about who had the best year."

This might be difficult for you to understand but I responded to a comment and not the article. If you have such a issue with me briefly pointing out an illogical statement within a comment that you then want to assume my position/opinions then you don't actually deserve a response to your questions. You engaged in bad faith and made some stupid assumptions. I know you find it very irritating that I don't dance to your tune, but you cant always get your own way buddy ;)

"You've been asked to list MS's exclusives but spin why you cant or wont."

Tell me why it logically follows that I need to list Xbox exclusives when all I effectively said is that Outer Worlds is an MS game? Why am I having to list exclusives exactly for pointing out an inconsistency in someones comment? Also, since reading comprehension isn't your thing, you were the only one to ask me to list exclusives. No one else; just you.

" I see the radar comment irked ya but think of it as hyperbole....."

Oh, trust me. I have a little army of drones posting PS4 sales figures in my PM's for some reason. People appear to be very irritated with me pointing out such a simple fact XD

[King_Noctis]

Playstation? They won with what?

[xX-oldboy-Xx]

Even when they're bad - they're good. Nintendo are enjoying some deserved success - it just shows how bad ms is.

[sprinterboy]

Days gone, death stranding, ace combat 7, concrete genie, dreams early access.
Do you want me to go on?
Medievil, blood and truth, Everybody's Golf Vr, Shenmue III, Mlb plus stellar games like re2 and sekiro.

[King_Noctis]

You guys just list a bunch of third party games which could also be played on PC/Xbox as well. The only notable games from PS4 are Death Stranding and Days Gone, and maybe Judgement, and that is a third party game just like DS.

I mean, I had fun on the PS4 this year with DS, but let be honest here.

[RazzerRedux]

"let be honest here"

Honestly, PS had just as much right to say who "won" as the other two. To me, it wasn't a particularly good year for any of them. But to suggest there is one "honest" answer is a bit absurd.

[King_Noctis]

“ To me, it wasn't a particularly good year for any of them”

You are kidding right? The one that release high rated exclusive after high rated exclusives did not have a good year? Is third party suddenly a selling point now? I thought it is an afterthought?

[RazzerRedux]

Third party is a selling point when it is available on one console and nearly absent on another. If you want to ignore what games are missing entirely from a platform then you are choosing not to look at the whole picture. When exclusives are discussed in the context of Xbox and PS then it is with the understanding that the majority of third party games are available on both. This is not the case with Switch and that has to be factored in whether you like it or not.

[The Wood]

Why do people sleep on judgement like it didn't score a good score.. Some people will never see the good unless it's in line with their own narrative. Donkey of the day goes to . . . . 'The wilfully ignorant' whatever side you're coming from. I know there's a bag of Nintendo games I haven't played or I'm unaware off so I won't act like I am. What I do know is both Sony and more so Nintendo released more games than Microsoft did and there was enough quality to compete but Sony had a slight advantage of having some of the multiplats that weren't on the Nintendo. It's not impossible to call the year Sony or Nintendo's. . Hope that clears it up

[GrubsterBeater]

@King_Noctis

Well considering that PlayStation, unlike MS, actually RELEASED exclusive games, I would say they won by forfeit, regardless of the multitude of outstanding exclusives released by Sony during the whole of 2019.

[SyntheticForm]

Days Gone, for me, was only notable for how lacking in overall quality it was for a PlayStation exclusive. I think Days Gone epitomizes the 'okay' video game.

Death Stranding I thought was brilliant, and its release secured Sony a place in 2019. I found the colorful, whimsical Concrete Genie to be an utter bore to play. Couldn't stick with it.

I'm not into baseball games like MLB, and I'm not into VR so Blood and Truth I cannot play. Dreams is a fantastic application and creation tool, but I wouldn't really consider it a game.

Sony didn't have a 'weak' year - I wouldn't use the word weak, but for me it was definitely one of Sony's 'lightest' years, which is forgivable all things considered, such as the output of previous years and the fact that many of their studios and teams are working on PS5 stuff.

[twiggytree12]

Third party is absolutely a selling point, all of the must have titles are absent on Switch. That’s definitely going to weigh in on someone’s decision when they’re selecting a console.

Switch has exclusives but minimal third party.
Xbox has third party but no exclusives.
PlayStation has exclusives and third party.

PS4 having all the hottest third party titles gives them a significant edge when comparing with the Switch.

[gamer7804]

Sales wise, Nintendo. Innovation wise definitely Microsoft with the BC, gamespass and software features. Exclusive wise I’d say Sony won. All depends on the metric used.

[drunkenspy007]

I agree.

[CaptainHenry916]

Nintendo and Playstation did well. Xbox is a disappointment this gen

[IRetrouk]

Based on personal use its ps, xbox, switch, but objectively nintendo has had the best year in terms of growth, understandable as the other two are winding down this gen and getting the next ready, while the switch is really just reaching maybe its midway point, but no matter what system you go with, they all had games to enjoy this year.

[isarai]

I dont care, i just know i had fun and 2020 looks friggin bonkers for everyone

[Automatic79]

Nintendo Switch had an excellent year.

[Mr_Commander]

Playstation rules again.

[Elda]

Of course for me it's Playstation but I can't deny the Switch has had a good year for sales & far as the XBO when it comes to AAA exclusives it's mostly crickets.

[Tross]

I think it's valid to say Sony or Nintendo won, based on whatever your preference is. I'm more in camp PlayStation, but the Switch had a good year too. MS earns a participation ribbon. At least they had a big exclusive this year, even if it's not the gamechanger they were hoping for. Yeah...they really need to step things up if they want to be awarded anything but a participation ribbon. Is there any point in having a bronze medal in a race with three participants? Yeah...I know it's all metaphorical, but they really are trailing the competition.

[Jayszen]

No.1 is either Nintendo or Sony but certainly NOT Microsoft. The latter may have announced its third new console in 6 years (One in 2013, 'X' in 2017 and now the piece of log for next year) but that does not win much considering Sony will also be releasing a new console plus big releases for existing console! (namely, TLOU 2, FF7 Remake, Ghost of Tsuhima, and Nioh 2 and probably a Yakuza game somewhere as they have been pouring out here in the west over the last two years). In addition, Sony had big releases this year, its final full year that simply outdid anything Microsoft had to offer.

From the above, I would say Sony had the best year but Nintendo is also doing well and so it is a flip of the coin but as usual MS brings up the rear.

[Tazzy]

Sales wise Nintendo did it was the best selling console for months and it past Xbox sales in 2 and a half years that's pretty incredible if you ask me.

[gold_drake]

its sooooo obvious. i won. by not purchasing any game this year and only playing my mates copies /s

[The Wood]

lol

leeching rules

[mkis007]

Nintendo does Nintendo, they don't play the game...after GameCube they decided they were not going to match hardware for hardware with the Wii. After Wii U they decided their strength is portability and released a new portable hybrid console in the middle of an ongoing generation. With the launches being unaligned for the foreseeable future I doubt we will get a good comparison of the competition.

[WeaseL]

1. PlayStation/Nintendo
3. PC
4. Xbox

[Minute Man 721]

I have both, so both of them

[JonTheGod]

Comparison between 3 consoles and you say you have both....? Sure.

[Minute Man 721]

I didn't even see Nintendo on the list 😅.

[TheHateTheyGive]

Switchs is not a home console bro, even reggie said switch is not competing with xbox or playstation, quit being delusional. No doubt switch is a nice handled, but home console, please.

[JonTheGod]

@TheHateTheyGive
No-one mentioned home consoles "bro". The article is about Sony v Microsoft v Nintendo and how they performed in 2019. Nothing delusional there; it's there in the title of the article.
(BTW I don't have a Switch)

[Thundercat77]

The only thing that everyone agrees with is that Xbox is last place.

At least we have a community consensus there.

[SyntheticForm]

It can't be denied that out of the three in terms of games, Xbox is dead last.

That said I still very much enjoyed gaming on my X this year.

[ocelot07]

It's a tough one for 1st. I will have to give it to Sony by a hair but that's because I played all of Sony's exclusives this year. So second would be Nintendo and 3rd PC.

[bluefox755]

Lol, how is this even a serious question?

[Kribwalker]

I know right. Nintendo killed everyone this year in the sales department and high rated exclusive department. Not even close

[CuVe]

Poor MS struggling while Sony and Nintendo is dominating...

[HeisenbergX]

Honestly i think Nintendo took this year .. in sales obviously and in exclusives, although this year was just dull and not very good IMO. The only good part was the begining of the year those first couple of months.

[Ryuk_2007]

Nintendo dropped fire emblem, astral chain, links awakening, lugui mansion 3, and Pokemon back to back... Its obvious they won.

[septemberindecember]

Nintendo had the highest rated exclusives this year, the most exclusive titles released this year, the most games released this year (both in sheer amount and in quality of game releases, according to metacritic), and they sold the most consoles. By just about all metrics, objectively, Nintendo was first.

[Jrios355]

- Astral Chain
- Fire Emblem: Three Houses
- Pokemon Sword and Shield (As controversial as it may be)
- Luigi's Mansion 3
- Super Mario Maker 2
- The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening Remake

And here I see a bunch of Sony fanboys saying Sony won this year? With what? With titles that got divided receptions like Days Gone and Death Stranding? (Off topic: Devil May Cry 5 should had been nominated for Game of the Year at The Game Awards, not Death Stranding).

Nintendo is 2019's clear winner.

[RazzerRedux]

I'm not seeing a clear winner in any of these companies, personally. Switch had a impressive list of exclusives but just as important as what they do have is what they don't. Such as the aforementioned Devil May Cry 5. Not on Switch. Third party games are rarely taken into account with Microsoft and Sony because, for the most part, those games are on both platforms. But the fact that many of them are missing on Switch can't just be ignored.

[Imalwaysright]

Yes it can be ignored at least for me. As a PC gamer who only plays exclusive games on consoles, Nintendo easily had the best year and it isn't even close. Also since multiplatform games don't belong to Sony or MS and aren't their responsibility I'm not sure why these 2 companies should take credit for them.

[RazzerRedux]

When one platform lacks a lot of multiplat games that the other platforms received then I'm not going to ignore it. The article lists several multiplats Switch received this year and so, in my opinion, the multiplats Switch did not receive should be part of the discussion.

[Jrios355]

Nintendo gets the best exclusives:
"There's no clear winner/We gotta take 3rd party into account."

Sony gets the best exclusives:
"HAH! Exclusives are what matter!! Sony always wins!!"

I swear, the hypocrisy in this fucking website.

[RazzerRedux]

I never said Sony won anything. You should try to calm yourself.

[Imalwaysright]

Platforms? Isn't this about what each of these companies did this year?

[RazzerRedux]

The article's question is "who won". That's not limited to what they did. Otherwise, Judgement on PS4 wouldn't be mentioned in the article, nor would the third party multiplats that were released for Switch.

If you want to talk about who actually did the most then yeah, that is Nintendo. But when I look at all the games released this year where Switch was excluded then I don't necessarily see a single, clear winner.

[The Wood]

Jrios35518h

Your comprehension is poor here.

If Sony and Nintendo both had the same amount of heavy hitters this year but Sony didn't have some of the heavy hitting multiplats like devil may cry then Nintendo wins. Exclusives matter and it's an easy argument to make with Sony and Microsoft as they share the same multiplats. Nintendo don't have that luxury. Some quality multiplats aren't on its platform. I gave this year to Nintendo btw but the fact some quality games aren't on the platform should be factored when comparing output.

[Imortus_san]

Microsoft won since they are the number 1 richest company in the world, stop comparing Microsoft to other company's.

If anything compare Products = Consoles and not company's.

[Atticus_finch]

HAHA knowing that makes it even more ambarassing to be last place and with a sad collection of releases for the past decade. SMH.

[Imortus_san]

It sure is embarasing to Be the number one console and still be at 64~ trying to pass Pamper's.

[Atticus_finch]

Sure, if by #1 you mean piss.

[Imalwaysright]

Nintendo easily had the best year.

[franwex]

I don’t consider Xbox winning, but strangely it’s the platform I’ve been using the most. I even subscribed to their Game Pass thing.

Well, they were the one’s who sneakily got most of my money this year, so I guess that’s what ultimately matters.

[3-4-5]

Nintendo.

Witcher 3 was a surprise, best version of Dragon Quest 11....Luigi's Mansion 3 is a nice surprise that was better than expected.

Still more indie games....games list just keeps growing and now there really is something in nearly every genre for all types of players.

PS took a step back, and Xbox just kind of coasted.

*** 2020 is a clean slate.
* Nintendo will have some nice surprises + Legend of Zelda
* Sony & Microsoft get the PS5 & Xbox Series X releasing.

2020 is going to the most exciting year since 2013.

[jaybin]

Who won? Gamers.

[Exvalos]

I'll say this, Microsoft lost, Nintendo sold more hardware, but sony sold more games/had better exclusives (imo) and not in my opinion this one is fact had way better multiplats. So one can argue Sony or nintendo which one had better exclusives but when you combine Sonys exclusives along with the sheer amount of multiplats that the switch did not get, the winner is very clear....Sony.

[tulholdren]

PlayStation keep me entertained all year. Not the other 2 so PlayStation for me.

[MasterCornholio]

Just my opinion

2018

1. Sony
2. Nintendo
3. Xbox

2019
1. Nintendo
2. Xbox
3. Sony

Predictions for next year based on what's been announced.

2020
1. Sony
2. Nintendo
3. Xbox

[MADGameR]

Hahah This Article is a joke. Obviously SONY won by a landslide.

[Father__Merrin]

It's a successful year for Nintendo but that depends on your age range