OPINION : I ’ve been a “ PlayStation gamer ” since around halfway through the PS3 and Xbox 360 contemporaries when I decided to ditch my 360 for Sony ’s offering . But , like many I suspect , I ’m questioning the value that the PlayStation 5 offering . I do n’t have it away what may ultimately make me trade , but it wo n’t be Steam come to Xbox .
To vary level , it feels like I ’ve drop the last twelvemonth or so pondering if it ’s time to switch from PlayStation to Xbox . I ’m in the enviable position of having anXbox Series Salongside myPlayStation 5already but I ’ve commence spend more and more clip with the former . But , I ca n’t seem to go all in . PlayStation still has me on the hook for the promise of future exclusives but with so few megahit come in the close hereafter , it palpate like my exit is impending .
The musings of Xbox knob Phil Spencer around a calendar month ago ( viaPolygon ) may move many others in my position even further towards his console brand , but it is n’t the final nail in Sony ’s casket for me .
Steam and Epic Games Store coming to Xbox would be a gamechanger
Towards the end of April , Phil Spencer continued with his musings regarding an ever more loose Xbox experience . He ’s now spend age talking about the “ Xbox Anywhere ” scheme and it ’s been intriguing to see it grow , with speculation ofGame Pass landing on different platforms , game streaming expanding and , even , the announcement thatsome games would be steer to Nintendo Switch and PlayStation .
So far though , it has felt like the scheme is more about putting Xboxanywhererather than such an openness being reciprocate . However , Spencer has indicate he ’d be loose to other secret plan entrepot , such as the Epic Game Store , coming to the Xbox cabinet . It ’s a move that would have Brobdingnagian ramifications and it ’s not immediately clear how it would work in drill .
Nevertheless , this could be immense for solidify Xbox ’s approach to simply being felicitous to have thespian within its ecosystem in some agency , whether that beingXbox Game Passmembers or just using their console . If you ’re on the Xbox , even if you ’re playing your Steam games , the company will likely be happy in the noesis that you ’ve buy their console and will likely spend other money with them in the farsighted run too .
But , looking at it from a consumer point - of - panorama , it ’s not a move that would invite PlayStation - exclusive fans like me to make the jump .
A bad run of exclusives would spell danger for PlayStation
For many , you may think the console table wars are over but my purview is that Xbox is just play 4D chess . Instead of conk gust for blow with Sony , it ’s direct to undermine its central selling percentage point , by blab about recrudesce down barriers i.e. exclusives ( viaPolygon ) .
But , it ’s those exclusives that are keeping me hanging onto my PS5 by a yarn . I still finger like I ca n’t chuck Sony knowing that I ’ll lack out on those experiences if I resolve to go big and trade in my current console for anXbox Series X.
Xbox has certainly drawn me in with its Game Pass offerings , streaming capability and its PC options too . It function as a changeless admonisher that PlayStation is lagging across the board in this area and it ’s lacked any serious institution on this side of things for some time .
Its late get-up-and-go into accoutrement felt more like a transparent way of stuff more out of its players with the hope of enhanced experience but … for what game ? Do n’t get me wrong , PS Plusisn’t a baron waste but it ca n’t contend with Xbox Game Pass in terms of breadth and the lack of a truthful streaming solution remains a stark defect .
If the economical viability of exclusives is becoming unsustainable then Sony ask to get its act together and tight , especially if Xbox continues to pack its platform with such an inviting range of freedom – like if Steam , Epic Games Store and more did first appearance there .
The current expected slating of exclusive for the next class or so for the PlayStation 5 look rather bleak , with Marvel ’s Wolverine being the only big IP that grabs my particular interest . An open Xbox might not be enough to labor me away from PlayStation but a dwindling set of exclusive just might .
