Let’s Play Game to determine why Xbox One has always lost to PS4 in the console battle between rival rivals Sony and Microsoft.

Long resentment

The battle for gaming console devices may never end. Ever since Microsoft officially entered the console market in 2001, the competition between the US tech giant and its Japanese rival, Sony, has always received special attention from the gaming community.

Lịch sử console war: Xbox One đã bị PS4 đánh bại như thế nào

Looking back at the 6th generation console, Microsoft, as a “king” on the PC segment, decided to invade the Xbox brand’s console segment. Competing directly with the Xbox is two experienced rivals: Gamecube from Nintendo and Sony’s PlayStation 2. Concluding the “battle”, Sony’s PS2 showed the badass when it was alone on the finish line with sales utterly superior to the two competitors.

However, the Xbox brand’s initial stumbling could motivate this console to turn the situation on the 7th generation console with the Xbox 360. If Nintendo’s Wii, along with a rampant horse in market share for casual gamers with a relatively new touch feature, the two-horse race in hardcore gamers between PS3 and Xbox 360 more fierce.

Lịch sử console war: Xbox One đã bị PS4 đánh bại như thế nào

With an easy-to-develop game hardware architecture and an Xbox Live platform that aims to create a gaming console community, the Xbox 360 has an advantage over the PS3 rival. Despite its significantly more powerful configuration, Sony’s console has caused game production studios to struggle because of the relatively complex hardware architecture.

As a result, most multi-platform games running on Microsoft systems are always rated better than the PS3 version. This, of course, has a substantial impact on both systems’ sales when the PS3 had a rough start, and the number of units sold was only average. Meanwhile, the Xbox 360 has a lower price always in the lead than competitors in markets such as North America, England,… It was not until 2013, when the PS3 was near the end of its life cycle, the sales of the system it catches up with the Xbox 360 thanks to a series of exclusive, quality titles that are continually being added to its gaming library.

Lịch sử console war: Xbox One đã bị PS4 đánh bại như thế nào

By the end of the seventh-generation console battle, the Xbox 360, although not the best-selling console, was like a big push to help Microsoft gain a specific position in the console market before the two competitors. Experienced in Japan are Sony and Nintendo. The success of the Xbox 360 and the sudden decline of the Playstation brand makes many gamers wait for the “great battle” of PS4 vs. Xbox One in the 8th generation console.

When Sony did well, Microsoft “shot itself in the foot”.

Launched in mid-November 11/2013, the battle between PS4 vs. Xbox One seems to have an obvious answer after more than four years. According to Sony’s statistics, up to now, the PS4 has sold a total of 70 million units worldwide – an impressive number for a new system that only has half the life cycle (if counting the cycle time life of about ten years). In the opposite direction, Xbox One sales are not fully listed. For some reason, Microsoft has always “evaded” the number of devices sold globally since 2015.

Lịch sử console war: Xbox One đã bị PS4 đánh bại như thế nào

Lịch sử console war: Xbox One đã bị PS4 đánh bại như thế nào

Many experts said that the decision to refuse to share Microsoft’s sales partly showed that the Xbox was losing its battle with the PlayStation, at least in terms of sales. According to a report by Electronic Arts (EA), Microsoft has sold more than 19 million Xbox One devices globally by the end of 2015 – less than half of its rival PS4, which sold nearly 40 million units simultaneously.

The poor performance of Xbox One (compared to its predecessor Xbox 360) before PS4 has many causes. Back in 2013, the launch was a disaster at E3 that year, which is one of the reasons why Xbox One suffered a lot of criticism from the gaming community. With the announcement of a series of unimaginable policies online 24/7, not allowing trading – exchanging old games and high prices (more than $ 100 PS4), both Xbox One and Microsoft were stoned no mercy.

Lịch sử console war: Xbox One đã bị PS4 đánh bại như thế nào

Witnessing the opponent “shoot itself in the leg”, of course, Sony cannot miss a godsend opportunity. The company quickly attacked the weaknesses of the Xbox One by painting the PS4 image like a savior “because gamers, always listen to gamers”. On stage E3 2013, PS4 appeared and introduced an amicable policy to unbelievable gamers: No internet connection required, no 2nd disc blocking, allowing gamers to share and sell game discs limited and region lock.

For Microsoft, despite the effort to revise its controversial policies later, everything was too late for Xbox One when it was impossible to save the image in gamers’ eyes. At that time, a series of gaming news sites worldwide said that Xbox One had lost to PS4 even before the battle between the two consoles had not started.

Besides, Microsoft’s product orientation with Xbox One also has many problems. From the outset, the goal that the technology firm aims to create is a multimedia entertainment device. Xbox One is not merely a console for users to play games. They want it to do more. It is specifically a set-top box, a multimedia entertainment suite, the center of the living room entertainment system.

With a configuration perspective and gaming performance less critical than new technologies such as cloud computing, motion sensing (Kinect), or voice control, Microsoft believes these will be attractive features. of Xbox One compared to PS4 rivals.

Lịch sử console war: Xbox One đã bị PS4 đánh bại như thế nào

Meanwhile, Sony’s product orientation is the complete opposite. From the very beginning, the company had a simple and straightforward goal: Launching a traditionally configured console system for gaming purposes, especially for hardcore gamers.

One year after the launch of these two systems, the sales figures proved Sony’s product orientation was right. The PS4 quickly became the best-selling console worldwide, even including the North American market, which was considered the “home ground” of the Xbox.

Lịch sử console war: Xbox One đã bị PS4 đánh bại như thế nào

With Xbox One, the wrong product orientation caused Microsoft to pay the price. The original features that were expected to make a difference, such as the rapid motion sensor, were neglected and even forgotten by the company after just one year. And yet, with a price that is $ 100 more expensive than the competitor (due to Kinect), Xbox One has a weaker hardware configuration than the PS4. As a result, some multi-platform titles released on Xbox One always have to run at a lower resolution – a lower frame than the competing console. Not to mention that the PS4 owns many “more valuable” exclusive games, which of course has a significant impact on neutral gamers who are wondering whether to buy Xbox One or PS4.

Xbox One X and Microsoft’s counterattack

If Xbox One is considered a Microsoft failure, then Xbox One X will naturally be a corrected version. Launched as a configuration upgrade, Xbox One X has wholly overcome the previous weaknesses of Xbox One. It has a smaller size, more eye-catching design, and more powerful hardware than the PS4 Pro competitor – an upgraded configuration of the PS4.

Cận cảnh Xbox One X

The launch of a console with the most potent configuration also shows that Microsoft’s product orientation has changed. Instead of cramming unnecessary features, Xbox One X brings a simple message to hardcore gamers: This is the “ultimate gaming machine,” allowing you to experience the game in resolution. 4K at an affordable price instead of buying expensive PCs.

The Xbox One X’s appearance has somewhat changed the minds of many console gamers who always consider the PS4 as the default choice when buying games. Now, players will have to choose between the PS4 / PS4 Pro version or the Xbox One X version, which has better performance and better graphics.

Cận cảnh Xbox One X

Besides, Microsoft also proved very know how to please gamers. For example, the company supports “enthusiastically” compatibility with old games – the PS4 feature is inherently lacking. Gamers can experience the excellent library of Xbox 360 on Xbox One X with the resolution, FPS, or even improved graphics effects. At the same time, the Xbox Play Anywhere feature that allows you to own a PC version when you buy the Xbox One version (and vice versa) also brings great value to gamers.

Conclusion

With the Xbox One X release a few months ago, it’s still too early to conclude whether this console will help Microsoft succeed before Sony. What needs Microsoft now is how to retain gamers by creating more games dedicated to this system even more. However, the release of Xbox One X also shows that Microsoft is gradually taking the right steps in the battle with PS4. As for gamers? We are the ones who have benefited the most from these “war wars”.