Microsoft's Activation move proves that the competition is no longer Sony, but much bigger, and the proposed acquisition of Activation Blizzard from Microsoft is now a black hole that, if not swallowed whole, at least changes the reality of other gaming news. The event horizon affects everything else. Although the news is not relevant, its specter looms large.
 |
| Microsoft's Activation move proves that the competition is no longer Sony |
It seems that something has changed. The way the industry worked, the size of all the players, the classes, and the interactions between the major publishers and console makers were all reliable. predictable.
The conversations that took place were cyclical because as time passed and releases came and go, players on the board remained in their relative positions at the turn of the century.
I don't think so after Tuesday. The conversation grew a lot. It's not just about console versions or games, it's more about companies trying to shape our global experience.
Like a bad Pokemon metaphor, within days, the scale of what we're talking about in games has evolved.
However, despite the scale of change in this model, much of the conversation among early adopters is still old-fashioned. We didn't feel it anywhere other than in the "console war" trenches.
It only takes a short trip to comment on one of the major publishers' tweets to see the vitriol hanging around among Xbox and PlayStation fans.
However, our approximation of opportunities appears to be much broader than before. In the old days, who was selling the most gaming hardware was the last and the last conversation.
This is a metric that Sony still seems to carry a lot of weight because its gaming market is completely tied to its hardware. They've recently tried keeping older versions on PC, but PlayStation has been certified at a much slower pace than the console they offered.
However, given Sony's laser focus on PlayStation hardware, it looks set to win within the current set of rules.
On the other side of the coin, it looks like Xbox is gearing up for the future. Play passes are getting bigger and bigger. This model will likely affect not only staying here, but also how games are released, and even created.
Earlier this week, Microsoft felt it was preparing for the future. It did matter at one point, but it wasn't here and now. I always felt it was possible.
This acquisition seems like a big change between the two approaches. The future that Microsoft is building is similar to the present. Increasingly, the conversation is about who sells the most devices, who has the largest market share, and who is moving away from members of their ecosystem. It appears to be less specific, analytic, or even more difficult to identify to the players on the board.
The competition looks less like a brand war and more like a giant company
Increasingly, it appears that it is not so much a competition as a battle with the brand and another battle between mega-companies. Microsoft is now embracing Tencent, Amazon, Google, and Facebook. This is not the X/S series from Xbox with PS5 and Nintendo Switch. That sentiment was echoed in a recent interview with The Washington Post by Xbox head Phil Spencer. Speaking of Sony and Nintendo, he said:
"They have a long history of video games. Nintendo won't do anything to harm games in the long run because that's their job. Sony is the same and I believe them. This valve is the same."
"When we look at Microsoft's other big tech competitors: Google has Search and Chrome, Amazon has Shopping, Facebook has social sites, all of these are big consumer companies... Games can be ours."
This is not a big surprise. Spencer acquired the Xbox brand after a direct dispute with Sony over the hardware space. However, since the beginning of his tenure, that conversation has become more cordial.
Good luck with PlayStation and Nintendo at the start of the E3 press conference, and growing as one of the biggest rejections in cross-play across all consoles that once seemed impossible. Now, oddly enough, the title doesn't give players the ability to play with friends on other platforms.
Advertising
Indeed, while the rivalry is still palpable, the fight for space can become one of the old brands against the "other". Which has been embedded for decades against them who might try to force their way into a place to throw it away when it's not working.
Large offshore companies are more likely to suffer long-term damage with a more volatile position. You can find it Microsoft, Nintendo, Valve, and Sony
Maintain a consumer attitude
Phil Spencer
Phil Spencer's role in the game industry is only growing (Source: Christian Petersen (Getty Images))
Now, it is important to remember that all these companies are not consumer-friendly despite all the funny messages. There is a lot of concern about what the proposed purchase of Microsoft Activation means for the culture of corporate integration.
Does it open the floodgates? Will the industry continue to feel more and more just?
In the short term, he has portrayed Spencer as a positive force for the industry, both legendarily and publicly, and even if all his fans say so, what will happen if he leaves twenty years later? Microsoft is huge, and should any consumer be trusted to have a long-term interest in their core?
The latter is not the answer.
This is the main reason why console wars have always been wonderful and tragic. A team of internet commentators is throwing themselves at the corporate sword. Technology brands have blended into their identities in such a way that racism has begun to influence others who have done the same thing but to a competitor.
Even for those who are still fighting this battle, the idea of an Amazon / Google / Tencent / Facebook fighter is probably a weird one. Hopefully, it provides a personal perspective on why their fight seemed so strange to someone who doesn't call people "point" or "exotic" on Twitter all day.
Advertising
At the moment, however, the long-running debate over "console warfare" seems to be as old as ever. It was ideal, but now it seems outdated, especially since the companies they focus on are more likely to find themselves on the same side of the industry change in the future.
Today's best Xbox series S Deal
