Voost Kain
Banned
I figured it would be interesting to actualyl compare retail exclusives between the Xbox One and PS4 from launch in 2013 till 2018. I've not included add-on games (No Kinect or PSVR) and focused on retail exclusives either owned by Microsoft or Sony, or if it's not a first-party IP, a game that was published/partnered with the console manufacturer worldwide. To be fair, remasters and collections are included since they were base games that attracted a lot of new buyers. Also no timed exclusives.
I know that some PS4 and XBO games were also on PC, however the thread isn't about that so please don't derail the thread with random drive-by or pointless posts about PC and lets have an actual discourse over this list. Intentionally doing so will result in a report to the moderators. I appreciate everyone cooperating on making this a civil thread.
Below are the top retail exclusives for Xbox One and PlayStation 4 from 2013-2018, if I missed a retail game that meets the above rules mention it and I'll add it. Please keep in mind that 2+ Xbox One games or PS4 games in a "combo pack" does not count as a retail release, those would already have retail releases individually.
I would like to hear your opinion and thoughts on this comparison. I will post my personal opinion at the bottom of the thread, you don't have to use my format if you don't want. Also feel free to comment on my opinion if you wish. Let's have a fun and civil thread!
Here are the charts:
2013-
2014-
2015-
2016-
2017-
2018-
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Voost Kains opinion:
When comparing the output of exclusives between the PS4 and Xbox One I think both sides have radicals that will spin certain situations or dismiss games out right based on their genre or whether they don't like the gameplay styles. Which is something I would like to see be less of a problem, or outright vanish next gen because it's extremely annoying and it destroys otherwise productive conversation.
As for me, I think the Xbox One's output was better overall, and not just because I think that the Xbox One edges out the PS4 in quality based on my personal opinion, but mostly because I think the Xbox One's output outside 2017-2018 was more consistent.
Retail wise, I think the Xbox One started out much stronger than the PS4, and this is a big deal especially for the time, since this was not far post-180 on the original DRM policies, and it's not just because Sony only had two major retail games either, it's that Xbox one offered a variety of gameplay styles and new games. A pattern MS would have for the first several years. Already in 2014 Sony was relying on old formulas and remasters while Xbox had new games with unique or refined gameplay and a remaster.
Starting with 2015, the PS4 clearly started having a higher output. I would give PS4 that year in most other cases, but the actual content that the Xbox One side had continued to elaborate on my previous point. Rare Replay catered to new and nostalgic fans with a slew of games. We had a remake of a classic favorite, the first real Halo game of the gen, another solid racer, and an experimental title that MS knew ahead of time to be a niche product aimed toward a certain demographic. While I enjoyed Bloodborne, and even Order 1886 to an extent, I can't ignore that we had two more remasters and a collection already continuing the padding of the PS4's library.
I know people will disagree with my view of 2014 and 2015 for Sony, but I think it should be taken into consideration to understand the opposing viewpoint. Sony and Microsoft clearly started this generation in two completely different directions with MS being more experimental and Sony playing it more safe and the library's up to 2015 have shown this so far. Sure, it's clear several of Microsofts games that wentt outside of the box didn't hit the home run they were hoping for, but they also had games that would cater to the core base as well. I have no issue with Sony playing safe with similar games, collections, or remasters, I just think that not only did they do it way too early, but it felt like it was used to pad the library almost every year.
So continuing on and talking about 2016.
The output this year was a lot more even, and both consoles had some great games. But once again we run into the same issue that has been annoying me since 2014 and not just me either, you can see opinions from many PS4 players, even fans, about this same thing when talking about the PS4 in a void by itself. On the Xbox One side, your opinion on the 4 games can vary, but they are all 4 brand new games. 3 of the PS4 games are not, you have 2 remasters and a remake.
Now sure, Ratchet and Clank is pretty much a complete remake (even to the fault of assassinating Chairman Dreks and Ratchets original characters, which I felt made the original game so good, but that's another topic) but when you have for several years padded out your output list with remasters/collections/remakes already its not really something I can actually overlook. I know some people will dismiss this opinion but it's a very common opinion even among PS4 only players. I just think that it's a criticism that should be considered regardless of whether it directly effects you or not, at least so you can understand the other view point. It's a fair criticism just like those that criticized Microsoft's output shrinking less and less after 2015 among other issues.
Now looking at 2017 and 2018.
I actually think PS4 was better in 2017 than the Xbox One. The main reason is that this year Microsofts focus on experimental titles and core output shrunk in both areas to push services and hardware more. While I accept this in 2018 due to the software quality, 2017 releases did not have the quality to make up for it. 2 of the games were lazy Disney games to pad out the library. Halo Wars 2 and Forza 7 were nice surprises but that was basically the core of my personal interest. Cup Head was alright but I wasn't that much into it and the delays didn't help. Super Luckys tale was as generic of a platformer as they came, and while it wasn't bad it really wasn't very exciting or impressive. Sony's output just handled things better for me that year.
Now for 2018, the output was a bit more even. I actually give this year to the Xbox despite the low output. State of Decay 2 was good fun, Sea of Thieves provided a unique pirate experience and provided hours of fun, and Forza Horizon 4 was a great run through Britain. All 3 provided hours of fun and content.
On the Sony side of 2018, the games were good but for me they were mostly one and done games. Spider-Man for me was one playthrough without that much to do in post that was interesting to me. The same for Detroit which I found to be horribly written and limited despite the fact the game was made to be played through multiple times. SOC and God of War had similar issues, though I did get more content of interest out of God of War, but to me it didn't feel like Sony was aiming for content longevity that year.
So far, that's my opinion, I think the Xbox One generally stayed stronger and relied more on new stuff or experiments even if sometimes they didn't end up being the best of games all the time. While on the flip side, I was skeptical of Sony's constant use of remasters and collections along with games that would have poor post game content, at least for me, while I played Microsoft games for a longer period of time on average, even for Single-player games. With some exceptions like God Of War. The games were still good but when you spend $40-60 per games it starts to have an effect on you.
For me 2017 was the best year for Sony, which I also considered to be better than Xbox One's 2017. We'll see how 2019 ends up.
I'd love to hear your thoughts about the libraries between these two consoles, or if you have any friendly comments or disagreements with my opinion. Either way, share with a post.
I know that some PS4 and XBO games were also on PC, however the thread isn't about that so please don't derail the thread with random drive-by or pointless posts about PC and lets have an actual discourse over this list. Intentionally doing so will result in a report to the moderators. I appreciate everyone cooperating on making this a civil thread.
Below are the top retail exclusives for Xbox One and PlayStation 4 from 2013-2018, if I missed a retail game that meets the above rules mention it and I'll add it. Please keep in mind that 2+ Xbox One games or PS4 games in a "combo pack" does not count as a retail release, those would already have retail releases individually.
I would like to hear your opinion and thoughts on this comparison. I will post my personal opinion at the bottom of the thread, you don't have to use my format if you don't want. Also feel free to comment on my opinion if you wish. Let's have a fun and civil thread!
Here are the charts:
2013-
2014-
2015-
2016-
2017-
2018-
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Voost Kains opinion:
When comparing the output of exclusives between the PS4 and Xbox One I think both sides have radicals that will spin certain situations or dismiss games out right based on their genre or whether they don't like the gameplay styles. Which is something I would like to see be less of a problem, or outright vanish next gen because it's extremely annoying and it destroys otherwise productive conversation.
As for me, I think the Xbox One's output was better overall, and not just because I think that the Xbox One edges out the PS4 in quality based on my personal opinion, but mostly because I think the Xbox One's output outside 2017-2018 was more consistent.
Retail wise, I think the Xbox One started out much stronger than the PS4, and this is a big deal especially for the time, since this was not far post-180 on the original DRM policies, and it's not just because Sony only had two major retail games either, it's that Xbox one offered a variety of gameplay styles and new games. A pattern MS would have for the first several years. Already in 2014 Sony was relying on old formulas and remasters while Xbox had new games with unique or refined gameplay and a remaster.
Starting with 2015, the PS4 clearly started having a higher output. I would give PS4 that year in most other cases, but the actual content that the Xbox One side had continued to elaborate on my previous point. Rare Replay catered to new and nostalgic fans with a slew of games. We had a remake of a classic favorite, the first real Halo game of the gen, another solid racer, and an experimental title that MS knew ahead of time to be a niche product aimed toward a certain demographic. While I enjoyed Bloodborne, and even Order 1886 to an extent, I can't ignore that we had two more remasters and a collection already continuing the padding of the PS4's library.
I know people will disagree with my view of 2014 and 2015 for Sony, but I think it should be taken into consideration to understand the opposing viewpoint. Sony and Microsoft clearly started this generation in two completely different directions with MS being more experimental and Sony playing it more safe and the library's up to 2015 have shown this so far. Sure, it's clear several of Microsofts games that wentt outside of the box didn't hit the home run they were hoping for, but they also had games that would cater to the core base as well. I have no issue with Sony playing safe with similar games, collections, or remasters, I just think that not only did they do it way too early, but it felt like it was used to pad the library almost every year.
So continuing on and talking about 2016.
The output this year was a lot more even, and both consoles had some great games. But once again we run into the same issue that has been annoying me since 2014 and not just me either, you can see opinions from many PS4 players, even fans, about this same thing when talking about the PS4 in a void by itself. On the Xbox One side, your opinion on the 4 games can vary, but they are all 4 brand new games. 3 of the PS4 games are not, you have 2 remasters and a remake.
Now sure, Ratchet and Clank is pretty much a complete remake (even to the fault of assassinating Chairman Dreks and Ratchets original characters, which I felt made the original game so good, but that's another topic) but when you have for several years padded out your output list with remasters/collections/remakes already its not really something I can actually overlook. I know some people will dismiss this opinion but it's a very common opinion even among PS4 only players. I just think that it's a criticism that should be considered regardless of whether it directly effects you or not, at least so you can understand the other view point. It's a fair criticism just like those that criticized Microsoft's output shrinking less and less after 2015 among other issues.
Now looking at 2017 and 2018.
I actually think PS4 was better in 2017 than the Xbox One. The main reason is that this year Microsofts focus on experimental titles and core output shrunk in both areas to push services and hardware more. While I accept this in 2018 due to the software quality, 2017 releases did not have the quality to make up for it. 2 of the games were lazy Disney games to pad out the library. Halo Wars 2 and Forza 7 were nice surprises but that was basically the core of my personal interest. Cup Head was alright but I wasn't that much into it and the delays didn't help. Super Luckys tale was as generic of a platformer as they came, and while it wasn't bad it really wasn't very exciting or impressive. Sony's output just handled things better for me that year.
Now for 2018, the output was a bit more even. I actually give this year to the Xbox despite the low output. State of Decay 2 was good fun, Sea of Thieves provided a unique pirate experience and provided hours of fun, and Forza Horizon 4 was a great run through Britain. All 3 provided hours of fun and content.
On the Sony side of 2018, the games were good but for me they were mostly one and done games. Spider-Man for me was one playthrough without that much to do in post that was interesting to me. The same for Detroit which I found to be horribly written and limited despite the fact the game was made to be played through multiple times. SOC and God of War had similar issues, though I did get more content of interest out of God of War, but to me it didn't feel like Sony was aiming for content longevity that year.
So far, that's my opinion, I think the Xbox One generally stayed stronger and relied more on new stuff or experiments even if sometimes they didn't end up being the best of games all the time. While on the flip side, I was skeptical of Sony's constant use of remasters and collections along with games that would have poor post game content, at least for me, while I played Microsoft games for a longer period of time on average, even for Single-player games. With some exceptions like God Of War. The games were still good but when you spend $40-60 per games it starts to have an effect on you.
For me 2017 was the best year for Sony, which I also considered to be better than Xbox One's 2017. We'll see how 2019 ends up.
I'd love to hear your thoughts about the libraries between these two consoles, or if you have any friendly comments or disagreements with my opinion. Either way, share with a post.
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