Lay down your gamepads and stop the button mashing: Microsoft has admitted that Xbox "lost the console wars". As a proud Series S owner, this concession feels freeing. I'm more excited than ever to finally buy a PS5 and reap the benefits of being a multi-trick pony.
No matter which side of the proverbial line in the sand you stand on, I'm hoping we can all agree that the term "console wars'' is unnecessarily dramatic. It's divisive and distracting, dragging us into a corporate rivalry that really has nothing to do with a shared love of games. It's an exciting time to be a console player, and now that the FTC has crowned a winner-by-numbers, I'm all set to expand my collection and welcome PlayStation back into my life.
Soldier for the controller
Even before the recent 'Sony versus Microsoft' scramble to acquire major studios, it's a fact that many of us feel the need to defend our consoles of choice with blind faith. At its core, infighting between gamers in the so-called "console wars" is predicated on the myth that you must choose a side and stick to it. But loyalty to a company feels dubious at best, especially when most of us have long moved on from the first consoles we ever played.
I still have my brother's old PS2, quietly gathering dust in its bubble wrap after making the successful jump across the world with me when I left Hong Kong in 2022, but I keep it more for nostalgia than anything else. I last used it to replay Resident Evil Dead Aim, mainly to prove to the naysayers that it is actually a fun and silly spin-off in the Resident Evil timeline. When I found that it was a PlayStation exclusive, I felt instantly grateful to have played it at all – and a little bit sad for my friends that never did.
In the grand scheme of things, sticking to one console has done nothing but hold me back. I was raised on PS2 games, but I'll admit it: I love my Xbox Series S, and have no shame in that. Nor should I – it's small, sleek, and makes an excellent Game Pass machine to play day-one releases. Paired with the attractive low retail price being an obvious draw for your average millennial, Xbox seemed the logical choice when I decided to deviate from my PC-only preferences earlier this year.
But the lure of Sony's gleaming flagship console is too tempting to deny any longer. Sony and Microsoft are home to top-range machines, ones that far outshine the humble Nintendo Switch in power and libraries alone. Recent studio acquisitions means that upcoming first-party exclusives, like Starfield and Marvel's Spider-Man 2, won't be playable on rival consoles. It's been on my mind for months, but I'm finally committing to picking up a PS5 as soon as financially possible.
Playing the even field
At its core, infighting between gamers in the so-called "console wars" is predicated on the myth that you must choose a side and stick to it.
Game exclusivity is nothing new, but it's certainly one reason for the Xbox versus PlayStation divide among console players. In-house constraints of various titles means I never got to play Fable until 2023, and I've never felt deprived of Halo thanks to being wholly uninterested in the franchise in general.
I'm lucky that my older brother has excellent enough taste that we were never short on stuff to play, but his reassurance of the PS2's supremacy over Xbox 360 meant I felt entitled to judge other kids on their console of choice.
Having picked up an Xbox in my late 20s and finally seeing what all the fuss is about, though, I'm starting to question the infighting altogether. Browsing Game Pass, I've been able to play games I've never even heard of thanks to console exclusivity. Filling in the gaps of my games knowledge has been a joy with my Xbox, and it's making me wonder why I've been holding back from picking up a PS5 now that they're no longer in short supply.
I'd like to think that it was more of a money-savvy decision on my part, but in hindsight, I realize that the fear of being a "double agent" was baked into it as well. Being a PC player lets you occupy a safe middle ground in many ways, with plenty of exclusives eventually making their way to Steam (thank you, The Last of Us Part 1). It was my way to avoid choosing a side. Now, unshackled by the corporate numbers game, it's a relief that I no longer have to.
There's a litany of new games for 2023 and beyond to keep an eye on, no matter your preferred platform.
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