The Fight for Second Place: Xbox One vs. Wii U

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In terms of sales, the PlayStation 4 is far ahead of its peers. Recent statistics show that Sony’s beastly machine has 40% more sales than Xbox One according to ArsTechnica. We believe that the ‘console war’ is now being fought between Nintendo’s Wii U and the Xbox One. It may get even more cutthroat as Microsoft’s CVP Yusuf Mehdi recently announced on Xbox Wire that Xbox One shipments to retailers are nearing 10 million. However, this does not give us any indication of consumer sales.

If we compare hardware, there is no question the Xbox One offers more power and graphical capability than the Wii U. The one thing favoring Nintendo’s little monster is that it is loaded with exclusives. Most recently, the stylish fighter ‘Bayonetta 2’ was released on the Wii U and became an instant hit and its 95/100 Metacrtic rating proves it. ‘Super Smash Bros.’ has already scored 85/100 rating on Metacritic and hopefully it will repeat the success when it releases on the Wii U on the 21^st of November.

The Xbox One may not have as many exclusives as the Wii U but some of their best include ‘Forza Horizon 2’, ‘Sunset Overdrive’ and ‘Halo: Master Chief Collection’. This year’s biggest Xbox One exclusive was ‘Titanfall’. Unfortunately, its sequel is reportedly going multiplatform.

But are gamers always looking for exclusives? Some may argue that exclusives offer a unique selling point for consoles. However, since the launch of Xbox One and PS4 in November 2013, the multi-platformers performed better especially ‘Assassins Creed 4: Black Flag’, ‘Battlefield 4’, ‘FIFA 15’, ‘Destiny’ and ‘Watchdogs’. ‘Assassins Creed Unity’ is one of the hottest third-party titles going into the holiday season. ‘Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare’ has already scored 83/100 on Metacritic and is a smash hit.

None of these new multi-platform titles are making their way to the Wii U. However, this does not help the Xbox One either because some gamers may chose to play the multiplatform hits on the relatively powerful PS4. The PS4 has sold 13.5 million units according to Sony’s official figures and there were fewer exclusives released on it as compared to the multi-platform titles. Thus, both Nintendo and Microsoft will battle it out on exclusives.

According to a report by Tech Times in June, the Wii U is on second place. When speaking to the Seattle Times, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime said, “We think that the Wii U has a long and vibrant life in front of it. What it needs are games like Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros for Wii U and Splatoon - those types of games that can really drive the installed base. We believe if we can do that effectively the Wii U has a long and robust life”.

Microsoft Xbox division head Phil Spencer will need to make sure they have the quality of exclusives to match Nintendo otherwise they may fall behind in the console race. The hotly-anticipated ‘Halo 5: Guardians’ and ‘Quantum Break’ look promising and a new ‘Gears of War’ will be greatly welcomed by fans.

According to The Motley Fool, the Xbox One is “a lost cause”, but Mr. Mehdi will surely disagree! 

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The PS4 has won the Console War!

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With over 13.5 million units sold according to Sony’s official figures, the PlayStation 4 has already crossed the finish line. That is around 40% more than the Xbox One according to ArsTechnica. The Wii U is a mere spectator. It is time to end the debate once and for all. Sony’s beast from the east was already a clear winner from the start.

Early last year, we had seen it coming. Sony blew everyone away with what the PS4 can do. On E3 2013, we saw the big reveal of the console itself. The sleek and sexy monster was powerful, according to ExtremeTech and screamed next-gen. Microsoft kept hyping up the Xbox One as the all-in-one entertainment machine with Kinect 2.0. PR blunders galore on used games and always-online nonsense, the Japanese juggernauts knew they had won the war before it even started.

Both consoles sold a million units in 24 hours on launch. Microsoft went back on their ridiculous DRM policies but it was already too late. I personally could not find a PS4 in stock anywhere but Xbox Ones were not hard to find. Despite price drops and Kinect-less SKUS, the Xbox One had lost the momentum. The PS4 was designed for success. Not only was it more powerful, it was developer friendly.

To be fair to Xbox One, ‘Titanfall’ was a major exclusive that kept consumer interest. Sony had ‘inFamous Second Son’ and ‘The Last of Us’ remaster. Both consoles relied exceptionally on third party titles on launch for sales but gamers had made their choice. They chose the more powerful console. Now I know, there will be a few who will debate about launch glitches. I will be honest, I knew people with BLOD errors on the PS4. But which recent console launch has not been plagued with glitches and console-killing bugs? Xbox 360 had the RROD and PS3 had YLOD. Xbox One had disc drive issues.

Lot of excellent exclusives and third party titles will be released on both consoles, but it does not matter. The war has been won. New console buyers would want ‘Assassins Creed Unity’, ‘WWE 2K15’, ‘Grand Theft Auto V’, ‘Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare’ on the better system. We can talk about ‘Sunset Overdrive’, ‘Halo Master Chief Collection’ and ‘Forza Horizon 2’ for the Xbox One in the same way we could about ‘Bloodborne’, ‘The Order 1886’ and ‘Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End’ on the PS4.

The case is closed. Sony’s PS4 is the undisputed champion!

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The Battle of the Exclusive Rages on!

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In the gaming business, games make the console. With three excellent consoles to choose from in this generation, which is the ideal one to go for? At least, two out of the three have similar third-party releases, but what sets them apart are the exclusives they offer. The PlayStation 4 leads in worldwide sales by 13.5 million units sold and the Xbox One at over five million units since they launched in November 2014. However, the Nintendo Wii U is around 6 million units, according to Gamespot, in the two years or so it has been around.

We take a look at some upcoming exclusives for each console. The Wii U may not lead in console sales, but benefits from a variety of exclusives. Some of the best ones to look forward to are ‘Bayonetta 2’ and ‘Mario Party 10’. ‘Bayonetta 2’ is a must buy for Wii U owners and is even more kickass than the original one on the PS3, Wii and Xbox 360. You play a sexy witch who can kick butt. What more do you want!

Coming to the Xbox One, we just saw the release of ‘Forza Horizon 2’ and Microsoft has now moved its focus towards gaming from entertainment in an effort to take on the PS4. ‘Sunset Overdrive’, ‘Halo: Master Chief Collection’ and ‘Quantum Break’ have been talked up a lot on several gaming sites and forums.

The PS4 seems to have better luck with third-party titles because it is better built for gaming than the Xbox One. However, ‘inFamous Second Son’ was one of their biggest exclusive titles this year and the hotly-anticipated titles include ‘Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End’ and ‘Bloodborne’.

Will any of the big three consoles have a killer exclusive? It is an exciting time for gaming and only when these titles are out and the numbers are available, we can see which console won in the battle of exclusives.

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