Microsoft is on the back foot going into E3 2014.
- So far in the competition to be the leading next generation console, Sony has won every round against Microsoft and both have utterly destroyed Nintendo.
- Consequently going into E3 which kicks off in Los Angeles on Tuesday 10th June, Microsoft has everything to prove and a lot of market share to make up.
- Most of the big games are made available for both platforms and hence their ability to tip the scales one way or the other will be very limited.
- Exclusive games releases, hardware revisions, pricing changes, software updates and revisions to the user experience are the things I am looking for to see a change in the balance of power.
- Furthermore, stitching all of this together and making the console just one of the environments within which users can live their Digital Lives is going to be increasingly important.
- Here, Microsoft has a massive advantage with its position on the PC, tablet and mobile phone.
- Sony has the hardware assets but lacks most of the Digital Life services required for an ecosystem.
- Furthermore, the devices are far less compatible making cross pollination more difficult.
- If Microsoft can make more of its edge over Sony in the ecosystem and make good its shortcomings in the console then it has a chance make up for the fumbles it has made since last year’s E3.
- Facebook’s purchase of Occulus has pushed virtual reality into the spotlight again and I am expecting an attempt to capitalise on that momentum.
- I am also expecting developments in the independent gaming scene where Sony is once again ahead of Microsoft in terms of nurturing smaller games developers and distributing their games digitally.
- I continue to see Nintendo in big trouble and the absence of its president Iwata-san from the show is not going to help matters.
- Wii U badly needs killer games that bring users flocking to the platform but it remains too underpowered and too expensive when compared to PS4 and XBox One.
- Hence, I continue to expect to see Nintendo struggling along at the back, while the main event remains the two horse race between Microsoft and Sony.
- Microsoft has the assets to win the long game but at the moment all the momentum is with Sony.
Blog Comments
Andy Bates
July 25, 2014 at 2:58 am
“ Wii U badly needs killer games that bring users flocking to the platform”: Mario Kart 8 was the best-selling single-platform game in June, with almost 500,000 units in sales. To date it has sold over 2 million copies worldwide.
“but it remains too underpowered and too expensive when compared to PS4 and XBox One.”: The average consumer would be hard-pressed to declare what is “underpowered” about the Wii U without looking at a spec sheet. Meanwhile, you can buy an Xbox One (without Kinect) with no game for $399, or a PS4 with no game for $399…or you could buy a Wii U bundle with Mario Kart 8 and an extra controller and another free game for $329. I don’t see how you can say with a straight face that the Wii U “too expensive.”
“Hence, I continue to expect to see Nintendo struggling along at the back, while the main event remains the two horse race between Microsoft and Sony.”: As of June, the PS4 install base is 8.1 million, the Wii U is at 6.4 million, and the Xbox One is at 4.6 million. Until the Xbox One outsells the Wii U, this is hardly a two-horse race. And most people declared that Nintendo won E3 this year, and Super Smash Bros. is another hit game due out this holiday season. I think the race is far from over.