Xbox "lost" arguably the most important generation. I say "lost" and it's the wrong word as I moreso mean that they weren't even competitive. They didn't have to "win" that generation they just needed a better foothold than they ended up with.
That was the generation people began building a digital library and that allowed Sony to fuck up quite a lot as console generations aren't a clean start anymore.
You're in a way losing all your previous purchases if you jump to a competitor unless you keep hold of an old system (many want to sell if newer are backwards compatible) and have it permanently set up (not everybody wants generations worth of consoles set up and ready to go). Not to mention, cross-generation support has been better than ever which is likely to be a trend moving forward.
There's still only so much shit Sony can get away with and they're seemingly trying to find that limit, but it isn't like prior generations where one bad play can throw a whole console comfortably into lowest sales. They can get away with more, and only time will tell if they've fucked it bad enough.
Phil Spencer said this but honestly, "losing" a digital library by switching platforms is no different than losing a physical library by doing the same thing.
I feel it joins with the points of many just not wanting multiple systems set up when the could be condensed into a handful, especially when they're backwards compatible and literally play the exact same versions. Convenience, basically, alongside having less clutter.
As with the longer cross generational support, the convenience comes back in. Rather than hopping between Xbox One and PS5, just have the Series X/S. Or whatever combination.
Convenience and less clutter are bigger selling points than people might realise, especially in a gaming sub-reddit where people are probably more likely to keep hold of older consoles and have 10 systems to hand. That's not the average customer, though, and to them, it'll feel like losing a library rather than just needing to have the system to hand.
But the digital library being stuck on a physical system is mentally a whole different thing. The major part being that you can't recoup any of those digital game purchases if you wanted to. If you're somebody who replaces rather than upgrading when you get the chance, there's absolutely a difference at that point.
Switching platforms when you can sell or trade your console and most or all of your existing collection is way easier than when you have to start from scratch without the starting funds from cashing in your old platform. You aren't just losing your physical collection and calling it a day. You're losing it because you exchanged it for money to buy stuff on the new platform. With digital, you just lost it.
This is a big part of why I was adamant about getting a disc PS5. I've never been a day 1 guy for most games so the resale market is very important to me, regardless of if I'm switching consoles. I like getting my games cheaper and trading them in when I'm done or if I dislike it. Then when I am upgrading I definitely take advantage of that extra funding from selling my games.
Plus it's becoming more widespread general knowledge that no one owns their digital library. They can and will rip those games from us when they feel like so since I don't actually own my digital library, that is not something that will play into my decision on a new console
I feel like it will take sometime before they fully face the consequences of what they're doing, all things considered. It'll probably be more of an Ubisoft-type fall from grace than an Xbox One fiasco.
First signs are already there: people is still pissed at the disc stuff, about the Destiny stuff, about the generation feeling expensive and unmemorable, etc.
If the overall mood wasn't so bad, I think Wolverine would have probably achieves an 80 or 81. But reviewers are people, many are also gamers, so if they're in a foul mood they'll pay more attention to flaws they'd have relatively overlook.
I personally think the impact in the next 18 to 24 months won't really be that big. They'll keep the reputational hit, they may lose some PS+ subs, and they could see slightly lower sales of their next big releases because people is just pissed of and disengaged.
But there are 90 million PS5s out there, and I don't think most of these people, even the ones that care about this, will completely disengage with the console they already own. The real results will be seen when disc is phased out in early 2028 and next gen launches in 2028 or 2029.
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u/Tao626 15h ago
The difference this time is ecosystems.
Xbox "lost" arguably the most important generation. I say "lost" and it's the wrong word as I moreso mean that they weren't even competitive. They didn't have to "win" that generation they just needed a better foothold than they ended up with.
That was the generation people began building a digital library and that allowed Sony to fuck up quite a lot as console generations aren't a clean start anymore.
You're in a way losing all your previous purchases if you jump to a competitor unless you keep hold of an old system (many want to sell if newer are backwards compatible) and have it permanently set up (not everybody wants generations worth of consoles set up and ready to go). Not to mention, cross-generation support has been better than ever which is likely to be a trend moving forward.
There's still only so much shit Sony can get away with and they're seemingly trying to find that limit, but it isn't like prior generations where one bad play can throw a whole console comfortably into lowest sales. They can get away with more, and only time will tell if they've fucked it bad enough.