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Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Who Won The Gaming Platform Wars in 2013

Two new gaming platforms were released late last year and while supply was tight, demand was fierce.  Both Sony and Microsoft are trying to dominate the game platform space with the PlayStation 4 and XBox One respectively, and now we have a winner.  Announced at the CES, the PS4 outsold XBox One 4.2 mm over 3 mm devices in 2013, a healthy differential of 1.2 million consoles.  Ding, ding, ding we have a winner.

And in my own family, my son, faced with the same choice, also opted for a PS4.  His rationale, a better gaming device and more desirable games.  Of course, we had to wait in line for hours on a Sunday morning in front of a Best Buy to get the golden ticket and allow us entry into the store to purchase the player and accessories. 

For him and others that chose the PS4 comes more good news.  Sony announced that the PS4 will be enabled with backwards compatibility in order to play its older games.  In addition, "The company also on Tuesday unveiled a cloud-based TV service featuring live TV, DVR and video on demand."  It seems the next move now rests with Microsoft and their efforts to further differentiate the XBox One.  And let's not forget Nintendo and its Wii U console, a favorite it seems for younger audiences who have not yet graduated to more hard core gaming.  For now congratulations Playstation, you won the first battle of what still looks to be a longer war.