Wondering how the Playstation 4 and Xbox One lineups have shaped up, half a year since launch? We have a comparison chart to show you the difference.
As you can see, the two compare very well to each other at the onset. PS4 has three more games at launch month in November, but Xbox One owners got cheaper games in Crimson Dragon and the literally free-to-play Killer Instinct. Truthfully, however, they had parity where it mattered, with both receiving Call of Duty Ghosts and Battlefield 4, as well as a smattering of other multiplatform games. Notably, all those multiplatform games were sequels as well. The Xbox One received an extra bump from EA DICE for BF4, receiving Second Assault 1st as part of the game when it was initially released to that console.
Similarly, December and January saw both consoles have similar density in lineups, with PS4 increasing their lead in terms of titles a little bit more. This time, their December lineup showed more variety in titles. January was notably anemic for both consoles as well, seeing as they only had Tomb Raider Definitive Edition as a major title to usher the New Year. PS4 owners did get Don’t Starve for that month as well, but truthfully, this wasn’t a AAA.
The multiplatform AAAs came in form February, with Rayman Legends and Strider the big highlights, and Thief being a commercial hit but critical failure. For Xbox One’s Plants vs Zombies Garden Warfare, PS4 has Outlast and another game.
And then we get to March. While both games get the surprise dud Ground Zeroes, this is where the two diverge. PS4 matches Xbox One’s Titanfall with Infamous Second Son, and brings a host of indies and other AAAs with it.
This miserable trend continues this month, where Xbox One’s poorly received Kinect Sports Rivals has to face Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn, the notably not-delayed or cancelled Amazing Spider-Man 2, and a host more indies. Next month, both consoles will get Wolfenstein: The New Order, and Watch Dogs, but PS4 will continue to increase its lead in titles published with their own MLB: The Show and other games.
If you take a look at the actual titles, it’s clear PS4 edged Xbox One out of volume simply because they had their indies program in order more efficiently. It is testament to the hard work of Shahid Ahmad, Playstation’s indie guy, that he got all these indies over, including Trine 2 and SteamWorld Dig, which found previous success in Nintendo’s consoles.
However, Sony also planned their major releases carefully, and had at least one big game to match each of Xbox One’s big games. Microsoft is only getting started at their ID@Xbox now, but they need to revamp both that and their overall software strategy. If I would be so bold, the deals they made with longtime partner EA, for exclusives and 1st dibs on some content, just won’t cut it.
Rest assured, Xbox One fans, that the new head honcho Phil Spencer has not rested on his laurels. Here’s what he told fans about what’s coming up for E3.
@WolfPackZX @jermaine611 Bringing more than hype, bringing games.
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) April 18, 2014
We’ve heard all this before, of course, but unlike then, now Microsoft has Direct X12. Will it be the game changer many speculate it will be? Or will Microsoft find another ace in the hole? Or will they just catch up by doing their jobs right? We look forward to telling you what they have to reveal this E3. You can check out the full chart below.
