Consoles have been a big part of gaming, with many classic and iconic games being console-exclusive titles. Each major console not only serves as a platform to play games with but also provides services and privileges to players using it. Since the launch of the first modern consoles, such as the PS1, Xbox, and N64, these companies have waged a long war for supremacy. Every new generation of consoles is made to one-up its competition with better hardware, better exclusive titles, more features, and customer-friendly services.
Rise of the Big Three
PC gaming was very relevant during this period as consoles were quite expensive. Players happily grinded away levels at World of Warcraft or farm PoE currency in the Grand Exchange during this period. However, this would soon change as consoles began to surge in popularity.
While we currently know the console war between the Xbox Series X, PS5, and Nintendo Switch today, this long-standing rivalry has gone on for 20 years. In the wake of Nintendo and Sega’s clash between their consoles, Sony had started developing their first console with the PS1, which had received much success, with the N64 in tow for the 3D generation.
Microsoft, still a PC manufacturer then, feared that Sony’s most recent console, the PS2, might replace the need for PCs. Sony’s rapid growth spurred Microsoft to begin its first foray into the console market with the original Xbox. Meanwhile, Nintendo has long since built its market and brand image with its long history of 32-bit consoles and its recent success in transitioning to 64-bit processing.
The 6th Generation War
The Big Three console companies officially started with Sony’s release of the PS2, while Microsoft finished development and published their first Xbox console. Finally, Nintendo has moved on to create their second 3D console with the Gamecube. During this era, the PS2 became highly popular due to its bevy of exclusive titles like Final Fantasy X, Metal Gear Solid 3, God of War, and Devil May Cry. Microsoft, on the other hand, released their own 6th-generation console, the Xbox. This console began building its popularity as it secured its own exclusives like Halo: Combat Evolved, Gears of War, Fable, and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.
Nintendo’s grip on the home console market had begun to wane, as their recent GameCube console was not as popular as its contemporaries and had fewer stand-out exclusive games. Nintendo struggled in this generation, but in the handheld console market, they still reigned supreme as their recent Gameboy Advance series had taken off with massive success. By this point, Nintendo would begin to lean more towards the portable gaming market.
This era is where the modern console war was born. This generation has seen many great games come out, and the Big Three companies are beginning to see each other as direct competitors.
The 7th Generation Consoles
In this era, the PS3, Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii were the primary consoles to come out. By this point, Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo began to escalate the war by rapidly innovating their console design. With the Nintendo Wii, this was the first ever console to feature motion-based controls with their new Wii remote and Nunchuk controller scheme. This also coincides with the release of the Nintendo DS, double dipping in both markets to continue receiving steady sales.
The Xbox 360 has received massive popularity in sales due to the mass appeal of Halo 3, cementing itself as an all-time classic game that spurred people to buy the console just for the game alone. Halo 3’s success cascaded sales of other Xbox 360 exclusive games, which lead to the console receiving more sales. However, it also gained a lot of infamy for its many hardware faults, with the Red Ring of Death being chief among them. Despite its hardware issues, the Xbox 360 took the top spot in the 6th generation console war.
The PS3 fell behind in this generation, as it was more expensive at the time compared to the Xbox 360. With the introduction of the BluRay, it still had many of its original exclusives propping up its sales with Metal Gear Solid 4, the many Yakuza games, and Gran Turismo. However, the PS3 still lagged behind in sales when compared to the popularity of the Xbox 360. Sony had also begun to experiment with other console types like the PlayStation Portable and the PlayStation Move.
After this generation, console-exclusive games as a practice have started to fade out as more developers are branching out their games to become multiplatform as the 8th generation of consoles has come out.
Smoothing Out Exclusives
The 8th generation of consoles consists of the PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. While Sony and Microsoft have much fewer exclusives to boast about, Nintendo has successfully grown in both the home and portable console markets with the Switch. This console has the unique feature of turning the handheld Switch into a plugin TV console, making it the first ever hybrid console to exist.
As for the PS4 and Xbox One, these consoles operate on the same level in terms of hardware specs and performance, but compared to the previous generation, they are far more improved in that department. In this generation, many live-service games have started to boom, with the likes of Fortnite and Apex Legends available on both platforms. Many a Fortnite account has been made due to its nature as a free to play game without becoming an exclusive.
Sony had only a few standout exclusives with Bloodborne, while the Xbox One had Halo 5: Guardians. Suffice it to say, console exclusives are becoming rarer as the generation went by into the current 9th gen consoles.
Present-Day Console Generation
We now go to today with the PS5, Xbox Series X, and a surprise entry into the console market. Valve released their very own console, the Steam Deck, which we now know has the means to do PC gaming on the go. Nintendo finally has some direct competition to the Switch, as many PC games don’t have any platforms on handheld devices, helping the Steam Deck tap into a massive pool of games.
The PS5 and Xbox Series X are deadlocked as these were released during the COVID-19 pandemic, which affected their production and pricing. This made them difficult to acquire due to the rampant scalping of the consoles and gamers learning to build more powerful PCs for the same price point as a console.
While there is still a market for consoles, the future is uncertain for the Big Three companies. With every console generation upgrading its hardware, this could bump up the next gen’s pricing point, making it more difficult for gamers to find a reason to buy one. If these consoles are cheaper or ultimately outperform the current generation by a large margin, perhaps console gaming may see a better future.
