The biggest problem with the Xbox One X is how Microsoft has positioned the new system as being the most powerful ever made. This is exactly the same strategy the company tried with the original Xbox and that console was destroyed by the technically far weaker PS2.
This is because the PS2 had a massive and varied gaming library, whereas the Xbox had a fraction of the choice in terms of the games it offered. Much in the same way the PS4 now has a growing library of games, from not only Western studios but Japanese ones as well, the Xbox One is clearly struggling in that area.
So doubling down on making the Xbox One even more powerful in the form of the Xbox One X is the wrong move for Microsoft to have made here. Technical potency doesn’t sell consoles, games do. Microsoft needs to get more games on its system, not only exclusives but also everything else.
What’s more, focusing on graphical potency in this current climate is also suicidal when many of the games already released on the standard PS4 are having a tough time breaking even for publishers.
This is why saying consoles such as the Switch are more of a threat is pretty much on the money. After all, publishers need a return on their investment. Development costs are lower on the Switch because it is not a graphical powerhouse, so the massive art costs in most modern game budgets are drastically reduced as a result. Compare that then to leveraging the power of the Xbox One X with a non-existent install base and it becomes clear that the Switch is arguably more viable here.
The same is partly true for the PS4, as developing high-end games for that system is incredibly expensive but still to a lesser degree than it will be for the Xbox One X.
So Sony should really ignore the whole graphical arms race nonsense that Microsoft is initiating once again. It failed for the original Xbox and it will fail again here. However, Sony needs to keep an eye on the Switch, as it may become an increasingly attractive system for publishers, as development budgets continue to rise across the board.
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