Microsoft knows it’s fallen a bit behind in the gaming console market, with Switch recently surpassing it and Sony keeping a sizable lead with its PlayStation 4. It’s vowing to catch back up, with some big announcements planned for E3 in just a few weeks, sure to entice Xbox One owners to come back for more.

But one analyst believes that these aren’t necessary to really “win” the gaming market.

Michael Pachter, who works as an analyst for Wedbush Securities, recently spoke with GamingBolt about what the company needs to defy the odds -- and it’s not necessarily first-party exclusives.

“No, [it’s not too late]. I’m not sure that console exclusives matter as much as they used to,” he noted while speaking with the team. “I mean when Sony first launched the PlayStation, they had to have a lot of exclusives, because they needed to demonstrate why you wanted to switch from Nintendo to them. These things are so well established by now, though, that I don’t think you need tremendous first party support anymore. In fact, I’m not even sure first party support is why most people buy PlayStation consoles. I think they buy a PS4 because it’s a great device, and because they like PSN more than Xbox Live, and because it has a lot of cool content, third and first party. I think a major driver is the timed exclusive Call of Duty DLC content for the mainstream market…I think that’s helped.

“So, no, I think Microsoft is fine. Their first party quality aren’t necessarily bad games, I think they just have smaller addressable markets, because they don’t have the broad appeal that a Sony or Nintendo game has. And, you know, I personally think Sony has done a great job focusing on single player games. And Microsoft is so committed to focusing on multiplayer, that they haven’t done a great job with single player. I honestly think that’s the primary difference between Sony and Microsoft, not quality, Microsoft’s games are good (Sea of Thieves notwithstanding).”

While Microsoft has been doing well on certain things -- like backward compatibility and other features -- it does need to catch up on the exclusive front. And Pachter may have his opinion, but first-party strength goes a long way -- just look at what games like God of War and Super Mario Odyssey have done for their respective platforms.

We’ll see what Microsoft has planned in just a few weeks at its E3 showcase. Be sure to check back for the full recap!

Posted: Apr 30, 2018 9:10 am
Related Forum: Xbox Forum

Source: http://comicbook.com/gaming/2018/04/29/analyst-microsoft-doesnt-need-xbox-one-exclusives-to-win/