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SONY vs MS: Who has effectively listened to it's playerbase most this gen?

youd say that but the last update n portable harddrives says youre wrongggg

External HDD support is something other consoles have had for half a decade.

I wont give Sony points for finally adding something even the 360 and Wii U had years and years ago.



First Party hasnt been great outside of Naughty Dog (and finally GG had a big win with Horizon) but they are super lucky they managed to have some luck with Japanese 3rd parties to pick up the slack since they needed to go somewhere with the Wii U floundering the the 3DS at the end of its life but before Switch.
 
Sony has done a ton of stupid shit this gen like PS Now, PS2 Classics, not allowing EA Access, Bethesda Mods, PS4 Pro reveal. Microsoft got the majority of their bullshit out of the way early on but every once in a while they do something dumb like the Tomb Raider exclusively.
 
How many Xbox One exclusives have a metascore of 80 and higher?

How many PlayStation 4 exclusives have a metascore of 80 and higher?
 
Microsoft. Sony started the generation out strong but they've been status quo ever since. Microsoft has worked hard to improve the dashboard, improve games with gold, offer hardcore players more options like the Elite controller, etc.
 
Sony hasn't listened to anything. Releasing games doesn't count. When you're a console maker you're supposed to get games for your system. Like the old adage says, you don't get praised for doing what you're supposed to do.

MS has done a way better job.
 
Nintendo.

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This is bad logic. The good that Sony does does not negate the bad

Nothing I said suggested that it does. I also don't look at these things as "good vs bad". Sony not including or addressing things like BC or 4K BluRay isn't because they are bad, it's because they are calculated business decisions that take into account things like finite resources and the wants/needs of the market as a whole. If Sony decided to introduce some kind of PS3 BC, it wouldn't be because they are "good guy Sony" again, it would be because they determined it made the most financial, business and market sense to do so. You can never please every single individual consumers, you have to do what will please the most of them, and by the easiest measuring stick (sales) Sony is doing the best job of that:
 
Sony's been doing a staggeringly good job of support for the PS4. The 50+ million userbase helps to support demand for those titles, however niche or AAA they may be.
 
Sony hasn't listened to anything. Releasing games doesn't count. When you're a console maker you're supposed to get games for your system. Like the old adage says, you don't get praised for doing what you're supposed to do.

MS has done a way better job.
I fail to see how games does NOT count when we're talking about gaming consoles, but ok.
 
I wanted games and Sony listened. Don't really care about all the crap.

Does releasing games really count as listening? I mean people wanting games for their game console, isn't that a given for every single console ever? (except maybe the virtual boy because I didn't want any more games for that because it sucked)

I fail to see how games does NOT count when we're talking about gaming consoles, but ok.

That's something they needed to "listen" to? Like as if a console holder wouldn't naturally want to release games for their console regardless of what people want?
 
Sony started off real strong and then fucked up.

PS Plus free games have become shit for awhile.

No 4K Blu-ray Drive in Pro

Ya'll got to get in on playstation plus asia, it costs around 30 us dollars (give or take depending on exchange rate) and in the past year alone I got the following games that I wouldn't have had if I got the US PS Plus:

1. Life is Strange
2. Until Dawn
3. God of War Remastered
4. Gravity Rush Remastered
5. Alienation
6. Little Big Planet 3
7. Tales of Zysteria

On topic, I think Microsoft did but only because they're coming from a low base (ie things were really bad).

Except in terms of games, Sony has them beat for sure in that department in terms of listening to the customers ( building the list, some revivals, and just getting the kind of games people want from sony in general..
 
I feel like both have listened to a lot of things people complained about but for some people there is one particular thing they still want so they feel like they haven't listened to anything
 
Though Microsoft clearly have done some pretty positive things, I don't personally feel satisfied as an Xbox One owner. They simply aren't providing the thing I want most. They're providing lots of things I think are kinda cool, but don't actually use (like backwards compatibility, and EA Access), but they don't actually have a games lineup that warrants me switching the console on in the first place.

In almost every way, Microsoft seem to be on the right track, but I don't actually think there has been any evidence they're on the right track with their exclusives.
 
Sony hasn't listened to anything. Releasing games doesn't count. When you're a console maker you're supposed to get games for your system. Like the old adage says, you don't get praised for doing what you're supposed to do.

MS has done a way better job.

This post contains a staggering amount of nonsense.
 
If you're strictly speaking in the US sense, I would probably say MS in terms of all the features they've been adding. Where as Sony plays catch up in that department (external HDD support, etc.) No credit to MS for catch up features though (removing media apps from gold sub requirement.)

Worldwide impact though? Sony.
A lot of credit needs to be given to SIEJA Localization Team (Taiwan). They are the ones that bought us the Asia edition of Demon's Souls, which opened up that game to the curious western audiences.

They are the ones that did the Asia localization of the SAO games (the lol hollow fragment translations, Lost Song), Jojo: EoH, FF0, Nier Automata, FF12HD, FF15, MGS5, Yakuza 0, Yakuza 6. Their effort convinced SE, Sega, etc that there are foreign market for these games and possibly helped the English localization effort of the Yakuza games.

They are the ones that convinced Namco Bandai that there are actually a foreign market for niche Japanese game, and to open up their own Asian localization team in Taiwan. They are the ones that eventually led to the collaboration to do the first ever Chinese localization of the SRW games and convinced the producers that it's feasible. This would eventually lead to the first-everl English localization of SRW games in SRW OG3 and SRWV.

Asian XBOX gamers also have a lot to thank them for their contribution to the FF15 Asian localization (Sony published the PS edition, Namco Bandai published the xbox version. SIEJA did the entire Chinese localization)
 
Does releasing games really count as listening? I mean people wanting games for their game console, isn't that a given for every single console ever? (except maybe the virtual boy because I didn't want any more games for that because it sucked)



That's something they needed to "listen" to? Like as if a console holder wouldn't naturally want to release games for their console regardless of what people want?

Having games doesn't magically sell a console. They have to read the market and know what kinds of games people want (listening!) which is probably the single most important and difficult thing a company in the business of selling video games has to do, and yet you just right it off as if having good games that millions of people want is some afterthought.

Consumers of video game consoles want good games, above all else, and they tell publishers this (listening!) with their wallets.
 
It depends what year you want to focus. Sony clearly had the early advantage and carried it through. MS has gone gangbusters catching up.
 
Sony wins this debate hands down for me. They came out the gate strong with announcing they would not implement always online DRM like Microsoft and at $100 cheaper because they didn't bundle their camera with the console. Since then Sony has provided the most value because they have strong third and first party support. If you only had an Xbox you'd be missing out on Nioh, Yakuza 0, Persona 5, etc. Microsoft has far less exclusives.
 
This post contains a staggering amount of nonsense.

"Listening to the playerbase" to me is giving people what they want that is extraneous to simply releasing games on a console. Who makes a console and then doesn't release games on it?

Having games doesn't magically sell a console. They have to read the market and know what kinds of games people want (listening!) which is probably the single most important and difficult thing a company in the business of selling video games has to do, and yet you just right it off as if having good games that millions of people want is some afterthought.

I still don't get how that's "listening". Were people saying, man I wish I had a game about robot dinosaurs and then Sony listened and gave them Horizon?

If you're strictly speaking in the US sense, I would probably say MS in terms of all the features they've been adding. Where as Sony plays catch up in that department (external HDD support, etc.) No credit to MS for catch up features though (removing media apps from gold sub requirement.)

Worldwide impact though? Sony.
A lot of credit needs to be given to SIEJA Localization Team (Taiwan). They are the ones that bought us the Asia edition of Demon's Souls, which opened up that game to the curious western audiences.

They are the ones that did the Asia localization of the SAO games (the lol hollow fragment translations, Lost Song), Jojo: EoH, FF0, Nier Automata, FF12HD, FF15, MGS5, Yakuza 0, Yakuza 6. Their effort convinced SE, Sega, etc that there are foreign market for these games and possibly helped the English localization effort of the Yakuza games.

They are the ones that convinced Namco Bandai that there are actually a foreign market for niche Japanese game, and to open up their own Asian localization team in Taiwan. They are the ones that eventually led to the collaboration to do the first ever Chinese localization of the SRW games and convinced the producers that it's feasible. This would eventually lead to the first-everl English localization of SRW games in SRW OG3 and SRWV.

Asian XBOX gamers also have a lot to thank them for their contribution to the FF15 Asian localization (Sony published the PS edition, Namco Bandai published the xbox version. SIEJA did the entire Chinese localization)

For the non-Japan Asian region, I'd agree, Sony has done a really good job of listening to consumers. And MS has been the opposite when it comes to countries outside of the US and UK. It's like they don't care to listen to what people outside of those countries want.
 
Does releasing games really count as listening? I mean people wanting games for their game console, isn't that a given for every single console ever? (except maybe the virtual boy because I didn't want any more games for that because it sucked)

That's something they needed to "listen" to? Like as if a console holder wouldn't naturally want to release games for their console regardless of what people want?

Of course it does. Sure a console holder naturally will release games because it has to, but releasing games which are special to the fanbase doesn't happen often.

I mean, we just got a bunch of cool press conference moments because Sony listened to the kind of games that people want. I don't really see how that counts as not listening.
 
Microsoft: Features

Sony: Games
.


Microsoft has done a fantastic job with some of their features, especially backwards compatibility. But at the end of the day, looking back on this gen 10 years from now, which console will be remembered better? The one that plays 4K blu rays or the one that had a ridiculous amount of high quality games?
 
Microsoft: Features

Sony: Games
This.

It seems like MS has their fingers in their ears when it comes to what people want from first party, Sony wins there easily. But Microsoft has definitely listened when it comes to the hardware and services, with some huge U-turns and an almost unrecognisable proposition compared to what was originally unveiled.

But ultimately it's all about the games, sorry MS. But Scorpio will definitely become my new multi platform game player.
 
Sony's been delivering on the game and their first party output is just getting better and better. Even making Knack 2 (and yes, this is a serious point for me). So Sony.

MS has been doing a good job with software features though. But they're pretty much useless to me if I'm not interested in playing any games. First party output is pretty lacking.
 
Does releasing games really count as listening? I mean people wanting games for their game console, isn't that a given for every single console ever? (except maybe the virtual boy because I didn't want any more games for that because it sucked)

That's something they needed to "listen" to? Like as if a console holder wouldn't naturally want to release games for their console regardless of what people want?

Of course it counts. As much as I care about the console itself, most of the time I'm playing games. If Microsoft aren't providing the games I want to play, then you can be sure I don't feel listened to. Microsoft have, in the past, managed to put together a lineup of exclusives that I loved... but it's almost a decade ago.

I'll feel listened to when they announce a game that sounds right up my street, maybe a new IP, or maybe one from a franchise I love, and then actually deliver on it. It hasn't happened so far this generation. I've hopes for Sea of Thieves... but they are just hopes. As much as people like to talk up the narrative of Phil Spencer having turned things around, Microsoft's mishandling of the games lineup has continued under him.
 
Sony hasn't listened to anything. Releasing games doesn't count. When you're a console maker you're supposed to get games for your system. Like the old adage says, you don't get praised for doing what you're supposed to do.

MS has done a way better job.

This post is just pure nonsense.

As for the OP I would have to say what someone else in here already stated

MS: Features
Sony: Games
 
"Listening to the playerbase" to me is giving people what they want that is extraneous to simply releasing games on a console. Who makes a console and then doesn't release games on it?



I still don't get how that's "listening". Were people saying, man I wish I had a game about robot dinosaurs and then Sony listened and gave them Horizon?

Plenty of consoles are released that have games that nobody wants. They are called failures. You are taking the "listening" way too literally. The kind of market research and consumer analysis that goes into creating a hit game like Horizon is the way these huge companies "listen" to their player bases.

It's not like Sony can personally call up every single potential PS4 owner and ask them exactly what they want. They'd get a million different answers. They have to do what they think will appeal to the majority. There are probably diehard Killzone fans that would have preferred KZ5 over Horizon, should Sony have listened to them?
 
Of course it does. Sure a console holder naturally will release games because it has to, but releasing games which are special to the fanbase doesn't happen often.

I mean, we just got a bunch of cool press conference moments because Sony listened to the kind of games that people want. I don't really see how that counts as not listening.

Again, I don't define that as listening. I mean are you implying that console holders somehow aren't always trying to release something special? I'm pretty sure they hope each and every one of their releases is special. Just because a game is a disappointment doesn't necessarily mean they are not listening.

I can see an example where it would be them not listening though. Like say if everyone who played Horizon was saying, "This game needs multiplayer!!", like literally every single person, and then Sony released the sequel and it was single player again.

But just because a game doesn't live up to expectations doesn't mean they aren't "listening".
 
Microsoft's backwards compatibility is, if nothing else, an act of altruistic sacrifice for their consumer base. I doubt there is any tangible financial rewards to be had from it. It's literally just to build goodwill in a way that costs them real money. I think that overrules anything we might say about the competition. Sony did a good job with the "Building A List" campaign, though.
 
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