How the heck did Sony manage to retake the console market again?

[torok]

This is connected to several factors:
- Sony usually isn't prone to mistakes. The ones they do are usually easier to fix. PS3 price was solved with redesigns. Their competitors usually screw up badly. Nintendo put cartridges on N64, mini-discs on GC, tablet controller on Wii U. Those things can only be fixed by a new console. MS with the X1 solved most issues, but the combo of forced Kinect, always online DRM, weaker console and higher price in the reveal was a massive damage to their image. Good old Sega was a case apart with their giant screw-ups. PS4 has only minor flaws, while X1 had bigger design issues and Wii U was a bloody mess. This is the number 1 factor. Most tech markets allow you to fix a mistake in a year or so (Samsung screwed up the Note 7, but S8 is already here and the Note 8 will take some months). With consoles, you have to deal with the error for 5 to 7 years. Playing safe is better than trying crazy stuff, because the odds are the most dangerous of the tech industry.

- Sony has a bigger global presence. MS is weak in Japan and a bit on EU. Sony has an advantage on EU, is competitive in NA and Japan. Their ROW presence is also higher.

This gen they also had a bunch of advantages:
- PS4 has more exclusives than X1 and the 3rd party games run better on it, even if both consoles have the same price. PS4 also has more exclusive-content deals. Nintendo has more high-rated exclusives, but as it lacks 3rd party games it still results in a big disadvantage.

- They associated their console to a "games first" image, while X1 ended up as a multimedia device and Wii U as a casual console. Media was important to PS360, but now we have Smart TVs. It makes zero sense to turn a console on to see Netflix when your TV already does it.