25 years from now, on the brink of the next-next-gen, people will be asking one another in hushed tones "I wonder if so-and-so will pull a Sony like they did with the PS4..." History was made yesterday, and it's for a very simple reason: gamers won. For the first time in years, a multi-billion dollar company paid attention to the heart's desire of gamers everywhere. Plenty of fantastic games were shown, but that didn't matter.
It didn't matter because, due to the Microsoft PR whirlwind that began earlier this year and spun out of control three weeks ago at the Xbox One reveal, gamers were afraid of E3 for the first time in a long time. Many of the gamers who tuned in to the conferences weren't waiting to hear "new Halo" or "new Uncharted" or "new Battlefield". Their ears were perked for other phrases like "online required" and "camera required" and "no used games" and "599 dollars". Though Microsoft haphazardly tried to assure us over the last few weeks that E3 was going to be "all about the games", sadly, E3 was not all about the games. Looming, unanswered questions prevented gamers from getting excited for any announcements before they knew the real deal regarding the next-gen of DRM.
Nintendo had their own failing, of sorts. Their console, the Wii-U, has received its own bad batch of press over the last few weeks, although nothing as bad as what Microsoft dealt with. Whether it was snarky comments about development on the Wii-U from EA employees or the utter lack of videogame releases, Nintendo also had something to answer this E3: where are the games? And instead of answering our fears, Nintendo simply said "here are some Nintendo games you all knew were coming anyway". Now, I don't want to downplay the announcements Nintendo made. Personally, I am on the Hype Bullet-Train for games like Mario 4p Meow Meow, Donkey Kong: Part 2, Xeno-Robots, F-Zero: Mushroom Kingdom, and - FINALLY! - a new Smash Bros game. However, similar to Microsoft, Nintendo sort of did their own thing without addressing the concerns of Nintendo fans. Where are the games? In an interview, Reggie Fils-Aime kept (awkwardly) trying to convince us that first-party games would be enough to please potential buyers. Maybe, or maybe not. But instead of addressing the glaring lack of third-party software, Nintendo tried to shuffle us away from the man behind the curtain. They didn't even take a stand and say "look, our games outsell third party games by a landslide. If third parties want to join the Wii-U ecosystem, they are welcome to do so, but until then, they're the ones who are abandoning profit". Boom! That would've been awesome.
That's why Sony won. Sony spoke to gamers. It wasn't just the $399 announcement. It wasn't just the no-used-game-restriction announcement. It was the fact that someone in the game industry finally listened to the gamers and put their foot down on an issue that has been spiraling out of control ever since the first Horse Armor showed up as downloadable content. Did Sony have the best showing of games? Eh, it was okay. People who said they "didn't show off anything new" clearly didn't watch the show, but I don't think Sony won simply for showing off an overwhelming number of exclusives, because they didn't do that. Sony knew that - because of all the negative PR surrounding the Xbox One - to leave questions unanswered would only raise more doubts and make gamers more nervous.
There were people like me who were willing to swear off the next-gen entirely due to these DRM restrictions and online and camera requirements. If you think I'm flip-flopping, I'll link you to my own comments made prior to E3: http://n4g.com/news/1274646... , http://n4g.com/news/1274613... , and http://n4g.com/news/1273815... .
Sony didn't win because they showed off way more exclusives or way better graphics. They didn't win simply because they announced a better price-point. They won because they proved they've been listening, not just over the last few months, but during the entire 7th generation. They've been learning from their mistakes, and that's the sort of game company we need right now. We need a company that will set aside its pride, admit its mistakes, and really put in the effort to earn our money.
People like me were cheering "Sony! Sony!" along with the crowd because I was glad I would now be able to participate in the next-gen of consoles. I refused to tolerate online-required and used-game restrictions, and so I thought Sony and Microsoft would be pushing me out of the market by making bad decisions. Instead, Sony made it so that I can build up a sizable next-gen library and enjoy it forever, just like I can with every other console I currently own.
Every E3, I hear the same phrase "gamers won!" It's a phrase meant to diffuse the console war arguments that inevitably spring up during E3. If gamers won this time around, it's because someone stood up for them. It wouldn't have mattered if it was Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo, or PopCap Games. SOMEone needed to finally speak up, and Sony was the smart one to do it.
Nagoshi Studio’s YouTube channel with the Gang of Dragon trailers appears to have been removed following reports that NetEase will stop funding.
Dear team,
Xbox has always been different.
We started with a simple idea. Games should bring people together through shared experiences. That led to the first Xbox in 2001, Xbox Live in 2002, and new ways to connect, from friends lists and achievements to parties and play across devices. Today, Xbox reaches over 500 million players around the world, with some of the most important franchises in entertainment.
re-evaluating exclusivity 💀
PS players will need to go back to pretending to dislike Xbox games
Or meaning since it’s doing so good they might just do everything day 1.
They didnt say re-evaluating their multiplatform approach.
🤣🤣🤣 Xbox is so dead. I know you scared🤣🫵ӿ 97;
Even when the topic is strictly Xbox he can't stop talking about PlayStation. Xbox has basically become the hate of PlayStation... and not much else.
Hurt over video games 🤣🤣
Lmao we all grew and got jobs but apparently you stayed home broke 🤣🤣.
Man I love loyal dogs like you. MS kicked Spit and slapped you around but you still come back on all 4s.
Good little boy 🤣🤣
My only question is what games are PlayStation gamers gonna play now? They don’t really come out with new games anymore. I’m looking forward to wolverine, but after that then what?
Lmao
There’s no way after everything it’s going back, the damage is done
What you are seeing now is the new management telling what the core fanbase (aka…you) want to hear so they are pumped full of hope and are more likely to invest in the next Xbox console
When Phil took over after the awful Xbox One reveal he did the same thing, he told people what they wanted to hear for damage control.
It’s crazy people are getting suckered into this again.
FWIW..... wasn't the new management speaking to the other staff.... not so much us (regular folk)?
And you'll now go back to again thinking exclusives suddenly matter, that multiplatform is no longer the future, or that revenue from multiplatforms doesn't matter, like all you flop flopping xbox grifters lol.
The whole post just sounds like the previous phil corpo slop talk to me, whole thing reads like a nothing burger lol.
“re-evaluating exclusivity”
She also said this.
“The model that got us here won’t be the one that takes us forward.”
I don't know if they have a model anymore it's flipped so many times since the xbox one reveal
There's a bunch just like him but that's what happens when some rely on dreams, hope and wishful thinking. lol
"pretending"? Bro gears hasnt broke 1mil on ps5, and starfield hasn't passed 200k, Hellblade 2 was even stated to be a financial disappointment in sales on its own console, let alone ps5. Im not saying people don't like them, but they certainly aren't setting the community on fire, Forza may be different tho
Xbawx is ''re-evaluating exclusivity''... Translation: After throwing all sort of crap to the wall to see if something sticks but clearly nothing worked, we, including our lord ''in charge'' Phil came to the conclusion that exclusives indeed do matter so please forget if we ever said otherwise.
Yup, I feel it in my gut, next gen belongs to xbox, PS6 is cooked...
Someone can’t sleep after those 5 million forza games PURCHASED by PlayStation owners🤣 🧌 💥
Well with the decreased price of gamespass even with cod off it there is no way it is profitable given the cost of making their 1st party games (not if you actually include that cost in gamespass costs which they typically dont but should) they will just make a loss without the sales on
If they go back to exclusive games it at least shows that they are finally getting it. They would be turning down immediate money for something that will potentially workout in the long term.
Only issue is they've already opened Pandora's box. A lot of their base has moved to PC or jumped to PS. So will be a long road to get back on track.
We have been saying this from day one exclusives are a must if you are going to be selling hardware look at Nintendo and Sony before Jim Ryan. That's the proven formula. You had some that were deluded and blinded by loyalty accepting that multiplat was the future and that MS was merely getting ahead of where the industry was headed, but at least they can finally see the light and agree with what everyone has been saying for a decade+
True, blame it on the rabid fanboys. MS can do no wrong and spinner this multiplatform move. While the actual fans moved on.
I feel like with the new Xbox coming they are hoping to bring back those old fans and then if it goes well. Bring back exclusives.
If the new console is performing like series x and one. Naw they staying multiplatform.
Actual fans dont move on... they can add to their hobby while waiting for the next new release. If you believe what you typed then I guess PS fans moved on too.... you know, since its been a Sahara for 1st party games this gen.
Funny world where Sony is pro consumer and Xbox is not? At least according to what you loyalists have been saying all this time 🤭
@itveds For how many years have you been doing this sad stuff? For how many years have you been creating fake accounts to troll? For how many years have you always been cl vnn
Pathetic incels with nothing better to do than argue over a box... Because they don't have any good games to play on theirs, obviously. If your precious box is so special, why don't you shut the fuck up and go play it?
I think it's too late, xbox sales were diving even before ABK, they got even worse since then even long before the full multiplatform push. I'd be surprised if they even went back to timed exclusivity at this point, Helix is basically a PC and is going to be expensive, they already struggle to sell cheaper xbox consoles, it will be low volume and they'll have a very small 'console' base to sell to, which has already been conditioned to just play via gamepass anyway.
I don't see them removing PC from the equation. Considering MS has a heavy enough investment in the PC market, it would be foolish to abandon them. I could see them taking away games from PlayStation or ensuring they are timed exclusives at the very least. Say what you will but if Call of Duty ends up becoming a timed exclusive to Xbox machines, that would hurt PlayStation, don't pretend like those games don't sell millions.
They would lose out on a lot of CoD sales tho. Doesn't PS make up most of the sales?
Their lifeline of solely the Xbox consoles is dry. Good-Great games on a 1st party scale can't be made at a loss so willingly - sent to the Xbox to only sell limited copies.
They invested billions scooping up studios and need to start making returns.
Sucks that nearly every company is publicly traded and have to be so shareholder biased but that's how it is.
Their words are strong but it'll take time to see what their actions accomplish. Lowering the cost of Game Pass and taking CoD off of it was a good clear start.
More like, allot of their base just played game pass. So now they need to encourage them to start buying again.
Despite all of that, it's clear that Microsoft's Xbox division is broken beyond repair.
PlayStation is currently draining money on flop after flop. It's Sony that needs to re-evaluate their strategy
Wonder how much money was lost on perfect dark, hellbalde 2, 300 million lost revenue
by putting cod on gamepass. The recent Jason schrier news that Xbox has cancelled dozens of projects, spent 70 billion just to see Xbox sales further collapse and gamepass see little growth.
The fact is this has been PlayStation's most profitable generation and they are making loads of money and selling plenty of consoles and games. While MS won't give you any sales figures or profit numbers for Xbox, says it all really.
It isnt. But I dont think they mean in 'games', rather, footprint.
They own the OS but as far as gaming is concerned, Steam dominate. I imagine the VAST majority of people who use the Xbox app/launcher are PC gamepass subs. No ones buying their 3rd party PC games through Xbox PC.
Insider Gaming writes: "Marathon was one of the best-selling video games in March 2026 in the United States. On Wednesday, Circna released the best-selling games of the month, and it featured six new releases along with two games returning to the top 20 after previously falling out."
Is it April fools day again?
The game is dead.
EDIT: the numbers are fudged. “digital sales on Nintendo and Xbox weren’t included in the data”
well it's not on Switch / Switch 2.. so their number would be zero.
The game had a decent launch however the userbase numbers are dwindling on Steam.
“ Is it April fools day again?
The game is dead.
EDIT: the numbers are fudged. “digital sales on Nintendo and Xbox weren’t included in the data”
Does it hurt you to hear a SONY game was BEST selling ?
You gotta let go of those OBCURED feelings 🤷🏿
I mean the only reason MLB was the best selling title was because it was multi-platform. Likewise with Marathon. Will ring true for MS games. Only Nintendo titles are truly flexing their muscles when they chart as they are only to be found there.
It's kinda funny how this Obscure guy lives rent-free in your head. lol
Does Phil also live there?
It's kinda funny how this Obscure guy lives rent-free in your head. lol
Does Phil also live there?
I’m sorry did you wrote something smart ?
Or are you trying to to be funny because you failed at both
Now kid run to mommy legs the grown ups are talking.
Don’t bother writing anything I will not respond to a bratty child like you
Yeah sure, yet the player count is no where near what they want for a AAA game with so much money behind it
Why people are trying to spin this game like it’s done overly amazing is baffling to me.
It won’t even be a blip on peoples radars by the end of the year .
You must me typically wrong cuz those Steam chart numbers (AKA where the game sold the MOST) is less than what Hunt has, and Hunt didn't cost $500 million to make lol
Can't really disagree with your points at all. Superb blog, as usual.
Oh thanks for directing me here, great blog man. Can't help but agree with you. Nintendo had a solid showing but they needed that one big absolutely surprising exclusive that no one would see coming and they didn't do that. And what you said about what Reggie should say concerning third parties, that would've been great.
You are absolutely spot on about why Sony won, it was because they showed that they have indeed been listening to us.
Overall though this E3 is one of the best in years in terms of the games that were shown off and I'm just glad that no matter the platform, pretty much everyone has something to look forward to.
tl;dr
Blah blah, Sony, blah blah Nintendo, Microsoft sucks. How expected. These blogs are no longer quality content, they're just entries into the contest to win the prize money N4g has been giving lately.
Great blog, Sony said all this back in February though, Xbox fans were just going damage control crazy, trying to claim everything negative about the Xbox One was going to happen to the PS4 as well.
I've known this wasn't the case for months and repeated it over and over again. There was even an old article stating this fact posted on here so people would remember but it changed from Approved to Failed because it was old.
Sony has been listening and have been very vocal in their replies to us. For me, this was expected, but I was still in amazement at how they presented the information at the conference. Rubbing Microsofts face in it big time made it one of the greatest E3 moments of all time.
All that excitement for things that have been standard practice for years. lol
Good blog. However, I believe they won because they are doing things that the Xbox One won't allow you to do.
However, I believe that multi-platform releases will have some sort of additional DRM attached to them, leaving it up to the publishers to decide whether or not to add that crap.
Don't wish to urinate on the parade, but I don't think we should all hold hands just yet. At least Sony games won't have DRM I guess.