It has now been a full week since the PS5 reveal. Sony provided a quality show that showed off a range of titles from some of their most popular franchises. Going into the show, it was rumoured that PlayStation would not have a big first-party game at launch with Xbox launching the Series X with Halo Infinite. This could not happen. Sony would need a big exclusive at launch for players to even consider upgrading. If there are no exclusives to play at launch, why would you pay the likely hefty price tag?
Luckily, Sony did not disappoint. Spider-Man: Miles Morales launches this winter exclusively for PS5. Despite this likely being a shorter story and not a full-priced game in the vein of Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (and not officially a launch title… yet), Miles Morales will ship PS5 units later this year. The original game from Insomniac that released in 2018 had sold over thirteen million copies as of July last year, making it the best-selling PS4 exclusive and best-selling superhero game of all time. What’s best to sell your new box with? The best selling game of the previous generation. It is a smart move from Sony.
As for Microsoft, a lot is riding on the success of Halo Infinite. Halo 5: Guardians was a disappointment to many and this is a big opportunity for 343 to reinvent Halo for the first time since taking the reins from Bungie. Xbox needs to come out swinging in the July event showing that Halo is back and why players need to pick up a new Xbox this year.
This is where things differ to Sony. Halo Infinite will be available on Xbox Series X, Xbox One and PC. So even if Halo Infinite is an incredible success and critically acclaimed later this year, gamers do not need to pick up the Xbox Series X. They could still just play it on their Xbox One X that they have owned for the last few years that the game will still look graphically impressive on.
Halo Infinite will be a launch title for Xbox Series X later this year.
For players that have played Marvel’s Spider-Man two years ago and really want to play the follow-up, then there is only one option… purchase the PS5! The game already has an established fan base like Halo and the brand is hugely recognised across the world, which arguably isn’t the case for Halo. This is why Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales is a perfect launch game for the PS5 to challenge the Xbox Series X and Halo Infinite.
What console do you plan on picking up this year, if any at all? And has Sony’s presentation last week influenced this? Let us know in the comments below.
