I like Xbox especially since Phil Spencer took over and I think Gamepass is one of the best things in gaming but until they start releasing exclusives it’s always going to be behind the PlayStation.
On day 1 we got Spider-Man, Demon Souls, Astro’s and even Sackboy...how long will it take Microsoft to release just 4 games of that quality and they‘re pretty much b tier exclusive for Sony.
To be fair they've not had a bad year first party wise, they just haven't planned well / recovered after the Halo delay which is what they centred launch around.
Gears Tactics (80), Wasteland Remastered, Wasteland 3 (85), Battletoads (72), Tell Me Why (78), Ori (93), Flight Simulator (92)
Obviously the last hasn't yet hit Xbox but it will be.
To compare, Spiderman MM (85), Demon Souls (91), Sackboy (80), Astrobot (90)
Had they positioned Ori and Wasteland 3 as launch games then it'd be a different narrative, when in reality it doesn't matter because all the current launch games could probably be played on last gen anyway (except Astro of course)
They've then added free upgrades to Forza Horizon 4 (92), Halo MCC (85), Sea of Thieves (69 - ouch), Gears 5 (84)
I appreciate metacritic is far from everything but clear to see there have been improvements and we are still to see the really strong investments made come to fruition.
It's a matter of time before they will be considered broadly to have a strong first party line up for me rather than an if.
Everything else is pretty much spot on. Hardware, approach, value prop, ecosystem, talent etc.etc. are all nailed down. Just that final crucial piece of the jigsaw to add.