The following just sumarizes my main thoughts based on what happend during 2015. I hope you all enjoy and look forward to your thoughts as well.
1.) I personally believe that the PS4 will not outsell the PS2 in the long run. PS2 had an abnormally long shelf life do to the PS3 ridiculouis price. PS2 was still selling well against the X360. This isn't going to happen again. Reason: PS5 will be backwards compatible with the PS4 as it will use similar architecture for no additional charge. PS5 will have built in 4K support and more that the PS4 isn't capable of doing properly due to the HDMI restrictions, and Sony learned from all the losses they took on the PS3.
2.) Virtual Reality is going to be huge. Even if you don't like it, even if the thought of virtual reality makes your stomach turn...there is a reason so many big players are investing in VR. Samsung, HTC, Facebook, Google, and more. That doesn't mean the PSVR will be huge... I personally think that the PS5 will be the system that pushes VR.
3.) Exclusives matter. List wars matter. People look at lists. If one has twice as many games, than that is often the breaking point to the uninformed casuals gamer.
4.) Indies do matter. I'm floored by the amount of people saying blah blah...PS4 is indie station. Then go on saying how Ori is amazing, and hyping of Cuphead as the next big thing. Either Indies matter, or they don't. You can't selectively choose which Indies matter. I believe Indies do matter, and I would purchase a sytem for the right indie exclusives.
Upcoming Highlights: Rime, No Man's Sky, Cuphead, The Witness, Yooka-Laylee, Unravel, Hyper Light Drifter, Hellblade.
5.) Power at price parity matters! If a gamer is primary interested is third party games. Then you buy the system where the games perform better. The better a game performs, the more the experience will be.
6.) PS4 will be getting more exclusives as time goes on due to install base, sales parity, and lopsided sales in Europe and Japan alone. Third party games that sell more in Europe and Japan might not be worth the opportunity cost to develop an Xbox One version. Eastern titles being the prime example. This is only going to become more frequent as time goes on if things don’t change.
7.) Xbox One is selling well as a console. Stop trying to discredit this.
8.) Losing exclusives to the PC matters. PC gaming is becoming more mainstream. This counts for both systems. Why buy an Xbox One if the games I care about are on PC, and will run better with proper hardware? Why buy a PS4 for Street Fighter, when I can get the PC version?
9.) Xbox One competes with the PC. Xbox One is a closed OS while the PC is open. People buy games through Steam instead of Microsoft on the PC. The idea that they are one in the same needs to die.
10.) Wii-U is awesome. It might not be the it console, but there are plenty of reasons to own a Wii-U. Nintendo makes great games that can’t be found anywhere else.
11.) Momentum matters. PS4's momentum will only help the system. The PS4 is talked about a lot more on social media. Friends are buying the PS4 because their friends own it. What worked for the 360, is now working in favor of the PS4.
12.) Things can change! NX might be the next Wii. PSVR might have the same affect that Kinect had for the Xbox 360 allowing it to eclipse the PS2. Internet might improve to the point where Streaming games provides the same experience as traditional games. Microsoft might try pull another 360 by releasing the next Xbox One early to shake the boat. This is an exciting time for gamers. 2016 is going to be huge! I can't wait for the new year!
"And everyone's Kickstarter has merit." - Malory Archer
