It’s not exactly a secret anymore: Sony struggled to offer any form of competence with their pre-orders on the PlayStation 5, resulting in retailers jumping the gun and a snowball of frustration for users eager to be one of the first owners of the newest technology.
It went so poorly, in fact, that Sony actually offered up an apology to their fans and stated that they will do better in the future. Granted, it’s a fair bit more long-winded than that, but that’s the overall gist.
Microsoft has taken a page from Sony’s hilarious 2013 E3 advert filmed in a hotel room and has used this to their advantage as they have offered transparency beyond their norm when announcing times and dates for availability for the Xbox Series X console.
The first wave has already come and gone, but Microsoft is once again on top of the demand: they’ve announced that more will be available to purchase on November 10 from retailers, giving fans a clear sight at what and when they should expect it. Strange, as many are noting that Micosoft is taking a page from Sony regarding the acquisition and locking of studios to ensure long-term growth for a console.
This matches what Sony has announced regarding the arrival of the PlayStation 5, making the inevitable holiday rush for consoles a thing this year: as is tradition.
PlayStation has further cemented a release schedule after baiting fans and attempting to intice them arguably blew up in their faces. A rare moment where everyone wins after corporate blunders, take a screenshot.
Many are predicting that Microsoft’s proverbial horse in the race is now going to gain a sizeable amount of steam after Microsoft acquired Zenimax which appears to promise the possibility of exclusive Elder Scrolls and Fallout (both becoming more troubled as time progresses in the eyes of many fans) skipping the Sony platform entirely in the future.
With Microsoft making a statement that they are planning on continuing to purchase game studios to offer more exclusive titles, thus combatting Sony in their preferred manner of console-combat, Microsoft’s statement that they’re seeing a ‘record-breaking’ number of sales and interest in the upcoming console believeable.
Even after the rough Xbox Games Showcase where the upcoming Halo failed to impress, and was roasted by internet denizens for its graphical fidelity and frankly mediocre-looking gameplay.
Since then, Microsoft has stated the delay of Halo Infinite to 2021 to ensure that they’re doing justice to the Master Chief and fans of the franchise, righting the wrong in the eyes of many. We won’t have the official numbers from either manufacturer until January, but it’s looking like the race could be a bit more interesting than originally thought.