Is the Console War Finally Over?

IGN - The battle between PlayStation and Xbox has waged for years, but a messy and unexpected conclusion to the console war may already have happened.

[RaidenBlack]

Yea,
Atari won.

[VenomUK]

Yes. PlayStation has beaten Xbox.

This time next year when the evidence of this is stronger, Halo on PS5 & Xbox console sales have cratered, no one will even be asking the question.

Some die-hard Xbox enthusiasts have shifted their loyalties from the great Xbox console to the company Microsoft - they are not the same thing. Of course Microsoft as a Big Tech company with 3 trillion dollar market cap has significantly more wealth than Sony will likely ever have, but some fans are incorrectly equating this with Xbox success - it isn’t. PlayStation beat Xbox but there will be other wars to come.

The recent Gamertag radio interview with Peter Moore bought back some fond memories of the original Xbox and the early years of the great Xbox 360 era. 🫡

[S2Killinit]

PlayStation won. But while the console war is done, the competition continues. MS has retreated into monthly subscription services and PC and is trying to scorch consoles.

[Cacabunga]

War is over with no winner for the first time ever

[Flewid638]

Consoles have beaten consoles before. That didn't end the console war. lol.

[Lightning77]

Xbox console sales are dead last with no hope of revival in sales but they are providing most to the industry right now.

[StormSnooper]

“Most” okay. He couldn’t even finish the sentence lest he be found out.

[YodaCracker]

The war ended with Microsoft as the biggest games publisher in the world, bringing in more revenue than Sony.

[RedDevils]

What I never knew there even a war, cause Xbox was never in it.

[darthv72]

@caca... the winners are those of us who never cared about petty wars and just bought the platforms because they just wanted to play the games.

I kept saying people should support all so they would never feel a moment of disappointment when one of them decides not to compete. During any platform downtime, I had others to keep me entertained.

The ones who argued... prob only had one, and it was the one they defended most.

[Profchaos]

Nah man don't do Sega dirty like that the Dreamcast 2 is right around the corner 9/9/29

[Darkegg]

Microsoft out, Sega in. If video game prices aren't controlled better with less competition, then I'm out. No way will I spent $100 for a partial game which is what they are working at.

[Agent75]

You look back at the history of Atari, can't really fault their consoles and computers, most of their games didn't exactly meet AAA standards.

[Profchaos]

I find it interesting that Atari was inches away from signing a deal that would have given them the right to distribute the NES or at that time the Famicom to all regions outside of Japan.

[lukasmain]

Of course it's over. And that Loser with thousands of Alt-Accounts is like some console war veteran who came home and can't function because of a severe case of Gaming Shell Shock. He can't sleep. He trembles at any pro-Sony news and when an Xbox game is rumored or confirmed to be going to Playstation he starts shaking uncontrollably. Flashbacks. Prone to wetting his pants.

[-Foxtrot]

It’s weird though because rather than being mad at Microsoft for “betraying him” he’s mad at Sony. If people like himself spoke up more 10 years ago rather than letting things slide then maybe the backlash from their own die hard fans would have kept Microsoft in line more. I just hope people learn from this incase Sony starts getting even more cocky, especially with the live service trash.

It’s even funnier because it’s just towards Sony aswell, with Nintendo it’s like their second champ, unless they see Nintendo as the whole General Hux thing “I don’t care if you win, I just want Sony to lose”

[pwnmaster3000]

Idk why you guys even acknowledge him/her/them.
They obviously just want attention and excitement because they lack it irl.
Just ignore them and I promise you they will get bored lol

[Gamingsince1981]

Not much else for them to do as an xbox owner, so they might as well make infinite n4g accounts.

[lukasmain]

It's one person

[1Victor]

@pwn: “ Idk why you guys even acknowledge him/her/them.”
I. My case is fun to read the blind ignorance and titanic stupidity mix with mental and emotional instability in each of the comments oh and as a bonus finding his alt accounts hard typing been banned after I call them out 🤣.
Now
The console war isn’t over yet as the Xbox is struggling and might release another console if and when they stop pushing consoles or came out officially and say they’re 3rd party then it will be officially over till then they got a microscopic chance to get back on 2nd again

[S2Killinit]

While I understand your sentiments guys, please don’t go overboard because you never know what people have going on in their personal life. Also, besides the alt-guy’s constant harassing PlayStation gamers w his comments over the years, he is actually otherwise a decent guy from what I’ve noticed in his comments about non-gaming issues.

So lets keep our comments non-personal as much as possible.

[lukasmain]

I've seen him tell Lies about people and tell people to STFU. I've seen him insult people. Let me ask you, why is it so hard to just make an account and lay off the BS comments? He just can't bring himself to show respect to anyone other than pro xbox fans. It's like he's incapable. His best effort is holding an account for about 3 days before getting banned again. He shows no respect. So I won't respect him in any way.

[Elda]

Nope. That mess deserves all the ridicule & shade thrown at them for their immense amount of trolling because of their overkill of love for MS/XB.

[Terry_B]

The console war was over 10 years ago already. Microsoft fumbled since the xbox one worldwide.

[scorpio_2049]

I still remember listening to that on my way to eat lunch with my wife. They kept talking about TV and I was just asking what about games. Before that I owned Microsoft consoles. After that I’ve always bought Sony.

[Popsicle]

Same. Xbox was my primary console before that presentation. I remember watching it and hoping they would give me a reason to purchase an XOne. They never did and I only purchased a PS4 that gen.

[Profchaos]

That was such a nightmare of a reveal I was thinking ok this is the intro still they have to show something a sizzle reel anything but nothing really came I remember feeling like I just wasted my time watching that

[Scissorman]

Yes, but it happened during the PS4-era.

[S2Killinit]

Second half of PS3 era imo.

[Profchaos]

It was over the moment colecovision had to cancel donkey Kong for the Adam causing Atari to pull out of the deal which would have given them the rights to sell the Famicom in all regions outside of Japan.

Atari really could of had it all.
Then 3do, Phillips CDI, apple pippin and more fumbled.
Then Sega fumbled like three times in a row
Nintendo has definitely thrown a few out of bounds plays but are doing ok
Now Xbox is fumbling

I'm just interested in what's next will this be the first time in history where we have two major players that actually compliment each other and make a compelling case to own both PlayStation and Nintendo

[Omegasyde]

I am still peeved that the day after I saved/bought a 32x the Saturn was announced.

[Profchaos]

I also brought the 32x but it was more a case of a clearance sale I got the 32x and cd combined with games like NBA jam, terminator and 36 great holes (my only 32x game)

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

The war is long over, Xbox lost early on during the Xone/PS4 generation, it's not even a surprise 5, possibly 10 years ago. Although I feel like that may/may not be the reason this generation of gaming is so weak for consoles.

[Abear21]

To be fair, Nintendo is beating Sony and Microsoft will be making more hardware. Sony will too.

What we have is an unprecedented circumstance, one company admitting defeat halfway through the fight. Covid obviously didn’t help this generation at all, massive layoffs (some coming due to redundancy in staff as M$ bought many studios and downsized staff) but many supply and development issues this gen created a perfect storm that showed which company had their ducks in a row and which one didn’t. It’s obvious Covid is still affecting game development as games are slow to come out the last couple years after the reset.

All that said, Microsoft will come back with new hardware in a couple years, or sooner, and the war will rage on.

Sony and Nintendo will always have exclusives that stay exclusive to the console. Not every Sony game is coming to PC.

Will Microsoft put EVERY game on PS6 next gen? I doubt it. I’d bet we will see timed exclusives for many of their games. This is directly participating in the console war.

[Solitariussaint]

Lol Nintendo can't compete in the home console space that's why they had to retreat into the handheld space.

[originaljohn]

So by that logic PS can't compete in the handheld space and retreated to home consoles. Right.
Switch has been the only recent hardware success story, PS hasn't grown at all and with MS doing lower numbers the picture's clear home console space is in decline.

[SeTTriP]

Lmfao, Nintendo learned a very valuable lesson trying to compete with Sony.they lost ALL they're market share.nintendo off set they're generation on purpose as to not compete with Sony anymore.nintendo don't want no smoke with PS it almost put them out of business.

[DazaMc]

Yes, Nintendo won and long may they reign.

[MaximusPrime_]

Nintendo's not really in the same fight. They're going after a different crowd, and they're doing pretty well at it.
It's not about 'lack of decent games,' it's about different types of games

[Yui_Suzumiya]

Visual Novels, JRPG's and FPS's is what I use my Switch OLED for

[Solitariussaint]

Nintendo is king of handhelds sure but not home consoles which are more powerful.

[originaljohn]

What most don't realise is it's the games that matter and in that regard Nintendo are leagues ahead of PS and Xbox.

[RhinoGamer88]

If Xbox truly lost the console war, why are Phil and his leadership boys still employed? You and I would be fired by now. #failup

[StormSnooper]

Probably because it would be an admission of defeat. MS can’t afford that at the moment.

[Knightofelemia]

The console wars ended after PS3 vs XB360. Pretty much after that Sony has dominated in sales. Only console wars I do miss are the Genesis vs SNES.

[VariantAEC]

This is the most honest and truthful take I've read up to this point. I miss the simpler SNES days. GBA with insanely long battery life a headset jack and decent graphics. I also opine for PSP era even though I was older. Man those were the days. It's strange because I don't really want the poorer visuals and weaker louder and less efficient tech. I just miss not knowing about any of the vitriol and having fun. The games I liked as a kid were hated by most or at least barely sold any units leading to serious doubts that the devs would go anywhere. Now they are revered and everyone acts like they knew them. I even miss early nineties PC ganing where I came up. PC gaming sure did become a ••••••• mess.

[Agent75]

Every gamer, developer, publisher and retailer is a loser. A single format is the only way forward for gaming.

[8bitAssassin]

Wrong answer chucky.

[BlaqMagiq1]

Obviously. PS has been destroying Xbox for years hence the reason Xbox is putting their games on PS as they should.

[Jigga69]

"Xbox isn't retreating – it has already surrendered."

[gold_drake]

its been over for a decade now.

ms has made quite alot of questionable decisions ever since

[Destiny1080]

they sold 3 million units last year, its safe to say its over

they would need to buy nintendo at this stage

streaming is Xboxes future but that didn't work out too well for google

[UnbreakableAlex]

Now Playstation 6 will cost 1000€.

[dveio]

I'm brutally honest:

I'll miss it.

In nearly every other economy out there there are at least (!) two companies trying to garner people for their business.

As soon as the 360 era ended, Microsoft already wheeled back their efforts competing with Sony. In fact in hindsight, they've actually never prepared for the Xbox One generation the way Sony did with PS4.

They would have sold out videogames in favor of TV, ads and DRM protection (to earn money even from used games).

ABK and Zenimax were, strictly speaking, only the efforts to save the Xbox brand financially and in terms of IP. (Sony in their business meeting early 2024: "IP is the most valueable asset.")

But let's find out where things will go, only time will tell.

For today, I feel "excited" to follow the Series generation's market performance throughout 2025/2026/and possibly even 2027.

That's a long, long way with probably only worse financial reports than the previous ones.

But I'll enjoy it!

[ApocalypseShadow]

Complete and well deserved butt whipping. Don't put in the effort, don't win the game.

[vTuro24]

Yeah MS pretty much nuked themselves with the Xbone and were unable to recover from it. The 360 was the only generation they were able to compete. They had the ball rolling then they fucked it up through sheer incompetence.

[NoDamage]

What war...it was always about the games and that is pretty darn objective.

[wesnytsfs]

With consoles getting closer to extinction not sure what to read on whose plan is better going forward. What 2 maybe more consoles generation until they will no longer be needed.

[YourMommySpoils]

They never started.

[PhillyDonJawn]

Far from over

[kayoss]

The war was started when Nintendo betrayed Sony and forced Sony to go into the gaming business. But some how the war ended with Microsoft being the casualty.

[VariantAEC]

That's because Xbox has no passion for games. Xbox only ever existed to beat PS. PS exists to stick it to Nintendo because of their betrayal. PS really wanted to improve technology and ganing as a medium. They did that and out sold Nintendo earning more revenue and selling more HW and SW for decades. Nintendo has more Switch's around today but they had a 3-year head start on PS5. This generation has been very messy as the value of upgrading came more than 3 years after PS5 (and XS:X/S) launched. The only question remaining is of Switch 2 will be like PS4 to PS5? I mean we know Nintendo will kill Switch fast but will the Switch 2 HW and games be worth shelling out this gen and will people see a difference in game quality or will killing Switch and making games that could easily run on the original model Switch exclusively for Switch 2 be the only actual reason to... well... upgrade? You thought I was going to say switch, didn't you?

[bigfish]

I don’t see it as a loss, more like MS have joined forces with Sony to make gaming more accessible and better for all gamers. I’ve yet to buy a MS game for the last couple gens, and Indiana jones will likely be the first. But If MS can pump out quality titles that are accessible on the PS I see them as becoming the favourite publisher for many PS owners.

[Travesty]

Y’all should’ve seen this site back in 2005-2009.. Along with IGN, Gamepro, 1up.. the message boards were definitely lit lol.. PS3/360 gen had by far the most hardcore fan base.

[MaximusPrime_]

I remember that time.

Xbox fans said the Xbox 360 sold more than PS3
PlayStation fans argued that Xbox 360 had a year head start, if sold at same time Sony actually sold more. Also, thanks to Xbox 360's one year head start, Xbox 360 suffered high failure rate, the infamous Red Ring of Death.

Basically Playstation won the stupid debate.

[Travesty]

Those were the days. Every getting “pwned” and everyone had seemed to have a lot of aggression.
The gaming community was definitely hardcore.. people camping outside retail stores for the release of the PS3 and for games like Halo. Before the such thing of pre-order existed..

[B5R]

Yeah. PC won.

[MaximusPrime_]

Title said "Is the console war finally over?"

PC isn't a console..

[B5R]

Exactly. The console wars are over because PC won. Sony and Microsoft are giving up on console exclusivity. They're releasing their titles on PC. The only true console maker is Nintendo and it's not even competing in the high-end gaming space.

[SoloGamer1]

not until Nintendo first party games make there way to Playstation and XBOX.. imagine Mario Odyssey or Breath of the Wild on PS5...i doubt that will happen though. Nintendo is selfish 😁