It seems like the console war for your wallet has started to heat up, but not for this holiday period. As it stands, Sony and their defunct PlayStation Pro have this holiday season to themselves, mainly because both Microsoft and Nintendo have their sights on the 2017 period. But does Sony actually stand a chance during this holiday season?
Well, to put it mildly, they don’t. We have already seen Microsoft dominate the sales cycle with their Xbox One S, and the Sony alternative literally falling by the wayside in both the US and UK markets. With the PlayStation 4 Pro launching in November, it will be quite interesting to see if the launch of a not-quite 4K console could even make a dent in the continued onslaught by the $299 Xbox One S 4K capable console.
Moreover, with Nintendo announcing the Nintendo Switch, and Microsoft preemptively killing any hype the Pro had with a forward announcement of the Xbox Project Scorpio, gamers will have a tough choice between waiting for an actual upgrade or grabbing a rather mediocre in-betweener now. The choice seems clear, and Sony will have a very tough holiday period ahead alongside an extremely detrimental 2017.
This is further exacerbated by the fact that Sony has long delayed all their titles, with the holiday period being devoid of any big first-party releases. On the other side, Microsoft has stocked the shelves with extraordinary first-party games such as the blockbuster hit Gears of War 4, Forza Horizon 3 and others, not to mention the other third-party games vying for your money. Nintendo was smart to announce the Switch now, ahead of the holiday season to show gamers what they can expect if they waited a mere three months instead of opting for either Xbox or PlayStation 4 Pro.
From my perspective, the Xbox One S will be the default choice this holiday with awesome bundles grabbing spots under the Christmas tree, while hardcore gamers will wait for either the Switch or the Scorpio next year. It remains to be seen who the few people are who will rather spend the money now to get a console that will by all metrics be completely outdated in a few months, not to mention a year when the Xbox Scorpio releases.
Sony is literally between a rock and a hard place, with both Microsoft and Nintendo squeezing them from both sides. Nintendo on the casual front, and Microsoft on the hardcore front. Alongside the PC gaming platform growing exponentially, we might as well call the PlayStation 4 Pro dead-on-arrival.
Will you grab the PlayStation 4 Pro this holiday, or will you wait for either the better Switch or the more powerful Scorpio? Comment below.
Dreyer was a regular ICXM contributor between 2016–2017, publishing 139 articles across opinion pieces, game reviews, Windows and PC, and Xbox news. Their work focused on hands-on reviews, platform commentary, and breaking-news reporting during the Xbox One X launch year and Microsoft’s wider Play Anywhere / UWP gaming initiative. They post on X as @dreyer_smit.