INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The biggest PlayStation event of the decade was undoubtedly the PS4's reveal in 2013
This defined the brand's fortunes for the entire generation, as Microsoft took a poorly received (and quickly abandoned) stance on game
ownership that required online check-ins once a day
Sony, meanwhile, just focused on making and marketing a games console
years later, Sony ends the decade (and generation) as victors, while its rival, Microsoft, has spent the years since that E3 reveal
absorbing some of the lessons Sony learned from the PS3
games that ended up being hugely significant to the console's identity
Sony Worldwide Studios puts it, "We are very committed to the types of games we've been making at Worldwide Studios for the last decade:
big, spectacular experiences with story and characters at the core
We will keep making these games, because we love to make them."From Horizon Zero Dawn to God of War, we saw that direction crystallize over
was roughly level with Microsoft on sales, having lost the clear advantage it had over the previous two decades
From its ludicrous US launch price of $599 to the first model's lavish coat of varnish, it felt like the most ostentatious, pre-recession
console Sony could possibly have made
It was a swift left turn from the games-for-everyone blueprint that allowed the PlayStation and PS2 to reach the mass market in a way that
It took until the start of this decade for that to change, with God of War 3 and Heavy Rain giving people reasons to get excited about the
easier to figure out by comparison
"The biggest thing is we didn't want the hardware to be a puzzle that programmers would be needing to solve in order to make quality
titles," he told Gamasutra back in 2013
a console that was reportedly easier to develop for, nicer to use, and (eventually) the home of great exclusive games that have ended up
count The Last of Us re-release), which arrived 18 months into the console's lifespan
But then it didn't stop, with Uncharted 4, Horizon Zero Dawn, God of War and Spider-Man making the PS4 seem like a must buy.It's easy to
forget, but the PS4 did have some exclusive duds in the year-or-so following launch, like Knack, The Order: 1886 and Killzone Shadowfall.But
a slow start didn't matter, because the PS4 became the de facto home for multiplatform games to a lot of players
And Sony did something very smart at the beginning of the PS4 lifecycle: it backed Destiny, with an exclusive marketing and timed DLC
agreement that made Bungie's FPS hybrid synonymous with the console
Microsoft, meanwhile, backed Titanfall
The former became a phenomenon, creating a new MMO-shooter sub-genre that most of its competitors have failed to compete with
did, too, with easy party functionality and the clever incorporation of a Share button
The free games bundled with the paid PS Plus membership have generally been pretty good, as well.Still, Sony didn't get everything right
Despite being a fantastic handheld device to actually use, 2011's PS Vita didn't find the same audience that the PSP did, unsurprising in a
world dominated by mobile gaming
everything right with the PS4, but it's sold more than 100 million consoles for a reason
The blueprint is here for future success
responding with a spending spree late in this decade, acquiring developers of great games like Obsidian and Ninja Theory
But that's an investment with an eye on the future, and it hasn't solved Microsoft's short term exclusive software shortage next to its
Microsoft and Sony's interest in acquisitions comes during a generation where the consoles have mostly become indistinguishable in terms of
platform holders to own and sell games that get people excited, and Sony is currently at an all-time high when it comes to that
Buying Insomniac, a long-time partner, gives them another studio that knows how to make a great story-driven open world experience.Still,
there are some parts of modern gaming where Sony isn't the clear winner
With Game Pass, Microsoft has created the kind of all-you-can-play subscription service that truly gets people excited, while PS Now has
never felt like an essential part of our gaming lives
That's a strong sell for the Xbox Series X to take into the next generation, and it'll surely encourage Sony to revamp its own offering in
time for the PS5 launch.(Image credit: BioWare)That's coupled to what seems like a certain apathy from Sony to make the most of its
extraordinary back catalogue
Microsoft has done wonders with backwards compatibility in order to celebrate the Xbox's history, despite having less to sing about, and
that's resulted in a deeper and better library on Xbox Game Pass.PlayStation has had some highlights in this area, putting a disappointing
PS Classic release to one side: high-quality remasters of Shadow of the Colossus and the Uncharted series helped those games find a new
But Sony should do more about celebrating its history on PS5
as synonymous with indie games as it was at the start of this generation
That reputation now belongs to the Nintendo Switch, with games like Gris and Untitled Goose Game launching on Nintendo's console before the
hardware.We also get the sense that Microsoft is better prepared for the long speculated end point for consoles: that the device you play
games on will no longer matter
We are not at that point yet, but Project XCloud is about playing Xbox games on any device you own
everythingExpect Sony's PS5 output to follow the template established during this generation: narrative-driven open world games are the
this space to come: Ghost of Tsushima, set in Japan in 1274, which is out in summer 2020
to repeat its success with the PS5
It's hard to envision any nuclear-level goofs like the PS3's reveal ever happening again, but then the next year brings plenty of unknowns
Which console will have the best price and launch line-up? That will be extremely important, and Sony is going up against a Halo, and it'll
