Is there a console war in 2023? First-party games and disappointments

Console Wars is a term that basically used to be one of the most defining aspects of gaming in the early 2000s. Players defend their own gaming platform with their lives and are quite vocal about their distaste for the opposing brand. For the most part, the culture of console wars and players fighting over which console platform is superior has become a thing of the past.

However, remnants of that nostalgic banter over a plastic box still occasionally happen on social media, for better or worse. Nowadays, it does not matter which colored plastic box you choose or which brand you're most loyal to as long as you're having fun playing games on the system you spent your hard-earned money on.

With cross-play, cross-progression, and multi-platform release, you can play your favorite games, regardless of which console platform you pledge your allegiance to. However, the discussion of console wars and platform superiority has once again been fueled due to some recently released titles, which showcase some of the worst aspects of modern gaming.

This begs the question, are console wars still a thing in 2023? Are players still sentimental over which plastic box they choose for their hobby, or is it just a thing relegated to social media and irrelevant outside that online bubble? In this article, we try to answer all these questions while also looking at the disastrous releases that fueled this conversation in the first place.

Note: This article is subjective and reflects the author's opinions.

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What factors resulted in the resurrection of console wars in 2023?

To be fair, many factors resulted in the re-emergence of the "console wars" as a discussion within the gaming communities. From first-party console exclusives to game sales to the absolute disappointments that players had to face with every other new release, especially within the "AAA" gaming sphere, there's plenty that fueled the revival of "console wars."

Recently, Xbox and its first-party exclusives have been the major topic of discussion among fans, especially after the rather disastrous launch of one of its most anticipated titles, Redfall. It's no surprise that, in terms of popularity and quality exclusives, PlayStation has had the edge over Microsoft since the eighth console generation.

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Recent releases like Redfall and Forspoken have left players disappointed on both sides

While Microsoft and Xbox were the leading console-seller back during the Xbox 360 days, their shift in focus on building an ecosystem and less towards quality exclusives has had a massive impact on the Xbox brand as a whole. However, Microsoft did try to course-correct their approach towards gaming, with Phil Spencer taking charge and acquiring a bunch of quality third-party studios.

Unfortunately, we are yet to see any positive outcome from those acquisitions, with the only game that saw any modicum of success being Tango Gameworks' Hi-Fi Rush. Whereas on the PlayStation side of things, plenty of games justify the purchase of Sony's $500 box, with titles like God of War Ragnarok, Horizon Forbidden West, Returnal, and Demon's Souls being chief among them.

However, even PlayStation isn't immune to launch disasters, with the most recent example being the timed PS5 exclusive, Forspoken. PlayStation and Xbox are struggling with quality titles to entice players towards their platforms in the ninth console generation, with some really disappointing releases, like Forspoken and Redfall.

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PlayStation is still the leading console platform, but it doesn't matter much

Now, since PlayStation established itself by delivering some truly unique experiences during the PS4-generation and is still devoted to doing the same for the PS5-generation, Xbox is still fumbling with its first-party titles, with the only factor that entices players towards Microsoft's console ecosystem being Xbox Game Pass.

That's not to say PlayStation is the superior console platform, which it objectively is not, considering it's still falling behind Nintendo, which has its own share of woes and missteps. Honestly, I think the aspect of "console wars" or fighting over platform superiority should be a thing of the past now, especially with the rise in popularity of gaming and its accessibility.

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To answer the million-dollar question: Are there console wars in 2023?

Do I think it's illogical to defend your purchase? Absolutely not. I have been a vocal advocate for PlayStation and its games for far too long, and yet, most of my time is spent playing the phenomenal arcade racer from Xbox Game Studios, like Forza Horizon 5. I do go over to my PS5 from time to time to take a gander at the exclusives, and I'm genuinely excited to play Marvel's Spider-Man 2 and Final Fantasy XVI.

However, being excited about PlayStation exclusives does not necessarily have to mean that I'll start disliking things my Xbox can do. At the end of the day, the platform/ consoles you choose to play your games matter very little as long as you're having fun with the experiences you get there. So no, I don't think there are or should be console wars in 2023.

Whether you're playing on an Xbox or a PlayStation or the Nintendo Switch or PC, hell, you might even be playing on a 3DS; as long as you're having a good time playing a game, that's all that matters.