Today on Black Friday, shoppers will have a pretty significant choice on their hands when figuring out whether to pick up a PS4, Xbox One or Wii U for the holiday season. There are steep discounts on each, and based on the bundles you pick, the effective price of any of the systems is now somewhere between $150 and $250, depending on how much you value the games they’re packaged with.
We’ve already written some great Black Friday deal guides for each brand, but I wanted to talk a bit about the state of the console race. Obviously, when you buy one, you want to plan for the longer term. A console is not something you buy every year, after all. So which is worth it now, which is looking toward a bright future, and which is past its prime?
In my mind, the Wii U, Xbox One and PS4 represent the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future. This isn’t to say one system or another has no good games to play now or in the future, but I do think this is the way this console generation is playing out. Let me explain.
Wii U – The Past
Right now, the Wii U is the only system whose replacement has already been announced. Nintendo has been relatively light on the details of the NX to date, but we know that it is meant to replace the Wii U. The console has been struggling for years for Nintendo, lagging well behind not just its blockbuster predecessor, the Wii, but also its competition, Sony's PS4 and Microsoft's Xbox One, despite having a year’s head start on them.
Of course this isn’t to say the Wii U is an inherently terrible system with no good games. It has plenty, from Mario Kart to Splatoon to Bayonetta and others. But things become a bit murkier when turning toward the future. It is not that appealing of a prospect to buy a console that you know may be replaced within the year. While Nintendo has not announced an official debut date for the NX, all signs point to holiday 2016, as leaving the Wii U out to dry for another two years seems unsustainable.
There are two big-name releases planned for the Wii U in 2016 (that were originally planned for 2015), Star Fox Zero and The Legend of Zelda. Some may think it’s worth buying a Wii U for the new Zelda alone, but I worry about the fact that the game has been delayed already, and even after that, we’ve seen next to nothing from it. While it will likely come out for the Wii U, it’s looking increasingly likely that it may also be released for the NX like we saw with the Gamecube/Wii’s Twilight Princess. In that case, why get Zelda on a nearly dead console, when you can get it on a brand new one? All of this leads to the conclusion that the Wii U’s best days are probably behind it.
Xbox One – The Present
In holiday 2015, I believe we might be witnessing the peak of the Xbox One in terms of its moment to shine. Xbox One has produced more must-have exclusives the past few months than its competitors combined. It’s produced what could be the biggest exclusive of its entire lifespan, Halo 5, which is a phenomenal return to form for the series. It also has Tomb Raider, Forza and a remastered Gears of War collection while its competitors? With games like Zelda and Uncharted delayed, they have very few holiday exclusives to compete with them.
Additionally, Xbox One just underwent major UI plastic surgery, and the console has finally shed its cumbersome Windows 8 tile-based navigation system for one that makes much more sense for a video game console. And since the Xbox One is forever lagging behind the PS4 in sales, you are more likely see even deeper price cuts and bigger deals on bundles today and for the entire holiday season.
In present day, there might not be a better system to buy than the Xbox One. Picking one up for the holidays means instant access to a ton of top notch exclusives that were just released, something other console manufacturers can’t really brag about this fall.
PS4 – The Future
The issue is, however, that looking forward to the future, the Xbox might be a riskier pick than PS4. PlayStation 4 has won this console generation in terms of sales. Like, it’s over. The Wii U and Xbox One will not catch it, as it has such a huge lead, it would take nothing short of complete and utter self-destruction for the PS4’s advantage to collapse.
What does that mean? Probably a very, very long lifespan for the PS4, while that may not be true about the competition. We already know the underperforming Wii U is being replaced, and while the Xbox One is doing well in its own right, the fact that it’s so far behind the PS4, and that Microsoft has the resources to do pretty much whatever it wants, the Xbox One seems likely to be replaced before the PS4 will be.
And when I say the PS4 is the future, I’m mainly referring to the games we know are coming in 2016 from Uncharted 4 to The Last Guardian to the Final Fantasy VII remake. Xbox One may have had a great 2015, but next year is poised to see the PS4 release some serious heavy hitters.
Obviously there are exceptions. PS4 had Bloodborne this year, and Xbox One has things like the new Gears and Crackdown next year. But it’s hard not to see right now as the Xbox’s moment, while next year will favor PS4 instead.
-
I guess what it comes down to is how much you trust the future plans for a console. The Wii U has a lot of great games and is really cheap right now, but that’s because the system has struggled for ages and is about to be replaced, possibly within the year.
The Xbox One has been a personal favorite of mine in 2015, but looking ahead to its future games line-up, and I’m not confident it will ever have an exclusive cluster quite like this again. And while PS4 has sold strong from the start, it seems like 2016 is poised to be its strongest year to date, and “winning” the console generation implies it’s going to be pretty strong and a gaming mainstay well into the future.
But hey, buy what appeals to you. Or you know, play PC.
Follow me on Twitter, on Facebook, and on Tumblr. Pick up my sci-fi novels, The Last Exodus and The Exiled Earthborn, which are now in print and online.
Why do people still love The Walking Dead? Watch below:
