 |
| Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo now compete in different ways, raising questions about whether the traditional console war still matters. |
By Jon Scarr
CNBC’s recent article framing Xbox as “losing the console race by miles” is not wrong on paper. Hardware sales tell a rough story. But the bigger question is whether that race still matters in 2025. And honestly, it feels like we are arguing over a scoreboard most people stopped checking years ago.
Why the Console War Made Sense in the First Place
The traditional console war made sense when buying a box was the only way in. You picked a side, bought the hardware, and stayed there. That mindset still fits Nintendo and Sony, which continue to build tightly controlled ecosystems around dedicated consoles. Their success is still closely tied to unit sales.
But Microsoft is clearly playing a different game.
Why Xbox Stopped Treating Consoles as the Centre
Xbox stopped treating the console as the centre of everything years ago. Instead, the focus shifted to access. Console, PC, handhelds, phones, smart TVs, and cloud gaming. Wherever you already play, Xbox wants to be there. That change makes raw hardware numbers feel incomplete rather than definitive.
This is also why Xbox no longer emphasizes console sales in public reporting. What matters more now is how many people are playing, how often, and on which devices. Services like Xbox Game Pass say far more about Microsoft’s priorities than quarterly console charts ever could.
 |
| Xbox’s strategy focuses on playing across devices, not just selling a single console. |
The Console War vs the Reality of How People Play Now
This is where the CNBC framing starts to feel dated. Comparing Xbox console sales directly against PlayStation and Switch assumes all three companies want the same outcome. They do not. Sony and Nintendo still need you to buy their box to fully commit. Xbox increasingly does not.
When Halo shows up on PlayStation, that is not waving a white flag. It is Xbox saying the walls matter less than they used to.
That does not mean everything is fine. The layoffs, studio closures, and price increases are real. Trust has taken hits, and Xbox’s messaging has not always been clear. Criticizing the execution is fair. Pretending the strategy does not exist is not.
So Does the Console War Still Matter in 2025?
The bigger shift is this. The real competition in gaming today is not console versus console. It is ecosystem versus ecosystem. Subscriptions versus ownership. Flexibility versus lock-in. Time spent versus boxes sold.
So does the console war matter? It still does if hardware is your core business. It still matters for shelf space and exclusives. But for Xbox, the war everyone keeps scoring might already be over.
The more important question is whether Microsoft can make its “play anywhere” vision feel stable, fairly priced, and worth committing to long term. That outcome will shape Xbox’s future far more than who sells the most consoles this year.
And honestly, that is the race that actually matters.
Comments
Post a Comment
Comments are moderated. Please stay respectful and on topic.