This (2024), has been an interesting year for me. I have dedicated the entire year to hunting down N64 cartridges that are still missing in my collection, all while playing some of the newest games around. My year ends with a Sega Saturn purchase, and a general 1990s vibe. But what was the year in gaming for every one else?
Xbox Concedes Defeat in the Hardware Space…Despite Having its Strongest Year in “Exclusive” (Not So Exclusive anymore) Games for more than a Decade?
In terms of significant developments, these news could prove to be one of the most consequential in the long term. By acquiring numerous major studios, Microsoft has effectively positioned itself as the world’s largest video game publisher. A few years ago, it seemed that this strategy might be the key to outmaneuvering Sony in the race for exclusive content. With virtually unlimited financial resources, Microsoft has the potential to significantly impact Sony, should it choose to fully leverage its power. However, given Microsoft’s track record, it is clear that the company’s leadership is focused on strategic decisions that ensure long and short-term profitability rather than pursuing aggressive moves that could result in financial losses.
The ongoing hardware war with Sony was proving to be a significant financial burden for Microsoft, and the company was determined to avoid further losses. Rather than focusing on hardware, Microsoft sought a swift return on its recent investments in studio acquisitions. Consequently, the company’s future strategy centered not on hardware sales, but on expanding its presence in game publishing and distribution across multiple platforms.
This is excellent news for PlayStation 5 owners, who will eventually have the opportunity to experience some of Microsoft’s highly regarded and long-running franchises, such as Halo, Forza, and Gears. Additionally, these gamers can look forward to newer titles like Indiana Jones, Hellblade 2, and, likely, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2. These gamers (and all of us Console owners) will also likely have to pay a higher premium for hardware going forwards.
Long-time Xbox Series X owners may feel disillusioned by Microsoft’s decision to exit the hardware competition with Sony and, to a lesser extent, Nintendo. The primary appeal of purchasing an Xbox Series console—Microsoft’s exclusive games—has now effectively diminished. Given the developments over the past year, there appears to be little incentive for consumers to continue owning or buying an Xbox Series console.
Microsoft Finally Beat Sony Out in New Exclusive Content…But It Didn’t Matter
With games like Hell Blade 2, Indiana Jones, and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 being released in 2024, Xbox finally had a year with more new AAA exclusives than the PS5. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth will make its way to PC, and Wukong runs better on PC than it does on PS5. Â Still, despite what was a good year for Series console owners, the news that Microsoft will no longer be developing games exclusively for Xbox consoles felt like a punch to the gut.
The future of the next Xbox experience remains uncertain. It’s possible that Microsoft could develop a device similar to the Steam Deck, but integrated with Windows 11, potentially offering a portable gaming experience. However, this is speculative at best. Game Pass continues to be a central focus for Microsoft, and without a dedicated Xbox platform to support and expand the service, the long-term outlook for its success could be uncertain.
Still, it was odd for Microsoft to handicap its own hardware sales coming into their strongest Holiday Season lineup since, perhaps, the Xbox 360 days.
Astro Bot Wins The Year, and Wukong Delivers Its Biggest Commercial Surprise
If you haven’t played Astro Bot, do yourself a big favor and try it out now. The game is platforming Nirvana, and probably the best platformer since Mario Galaxy. It won game of the year for all of the right reasons.  Wukong: Black Myth on the other hand was perhaps the year’s big commercial success, and it proves that the action hack and slash/souls like is still perhaps the most bankable gaming genre despite having major technical hiccups on PS5 (and PC). No, the game is not unplayable, but it is clear that Game Science (the developer) has little idea on how optimization works on home consoles.
Sony Wins the Console Wars Against Microsoft, but Loses $4o0 Million on Concord Flop
Concord was a bad idea from day one. The game earning a “woke” label before launch only served to hasten its demise. We have to give Sony credit on one regard, once the live service game flopped on its launch Sony quickly casted the property aside.
Beyond that, Sony who had nightmares about Microsoft driving them out of business (look at the court documents in the Activision case) must be breathing easy now that Microsoft has shifted its focus from its Xbox Hardware into becoming the biggest Video Game Publisher in the world.
Sony now faces competition primarily from Nintendo, as it holds a dominant position in the premium home console market. While Microsoft has announced plans for a new Xbox, the company’s strategy of making its games available across multiple platforms—Sony consoles included—has significantly diminished the incentive for consumers to purchase an Xbox.
With this, Sony has free reign in charging what ever they want for their next generation hardware. Don’t believe me? The PS5 Pro is $700…without a disc drive.
This happened because Microsoft was not interested in offering a competing product, thus Sony has not price point to compete with.
Welcome to the future of home console gaming!
Square Enix Will Go MultiPlatform After FFVII: Rebirth Despite Critical Acclaim Fails to Set the World on Fire
Rebirth has sold about as well as Astro Bot has. This wouldn’t be bad, if Rebirth hadn’t cost much more to develop, and had not been released nearly 6 months prior to Astro Bot. Final Fantasy is no longer a system seller. It has not been that type of franchise since the early PS2 days more than two decades ago.
Games like Elden Ring, and yes, Wukong, now occupy the commercial space that Final Fantasy once did. Despite Final Fantasy VIIÂ being Square Enix’s most popular international brand, the “Remake” project has underperformed. I am not quite sure that appearing on Xbox would drive the sales up in a way that the series regains any of its mid 1990s to early 2000s glory, but it would certainly sell at least a million units more per game.
That said, that 20 to 30 million mark that Zelda, Elden Ring, and Wukong have hit recently, remains a far fetched dream for Final Fantasy games in todays market space. Quite simply put, gamers have moved on from this series, even the older ones.
I Still Prefer 32-Bit to 64 bit Era Games
My most significant gaming investment this year was acquiring a functional Sega Saturn unit, which I purchased for over $200, including shipping. The Sega Saturn has always intrigued me, especially considering I grew up playing the Nintendo 64 and, to a lesser extent, the PlayStation 1 during my middle and high school years.
The Saturn is the console that sealed Sega’s grim fate as a hardware maker. A system conceived as a 2-D powerhouse with an extra SH2 Hitachi CPU (28.6 MHz) thrown in at the last second in order to increase it computational capacity for polygonal graphics. On paper, the two twin cores should have pushed the system past the PlayStation in terms of raw computational power.
In actual practice, however, the multi core system wasn’t well thought out by Sega, and literally no one could squeeze its capabilities to the max without a herculean effort. But all of this made the system a truly unique machine. The final nail on its coffin was that it was expensive to make (give its unique multi core approach) and it debuted at $100 dollars more than Sony’s system did.
Beyond that, I also spent most of my gaming money this year buying old N64 cartridges from used game shops. Aydin Chronicles, Xena Warrior Princess, and Mortal Kombat 4 were quite the finds!
I also bought copies of Tomb Raider 1 and 2 for the PS1. Playing through the first iteration of this venerable series, I was impressed by what the PS1 could churn out in 1996, and in its ugly clunkiness I also remembered why I stuck with the N64 when it came to exploring big 3-D worlds.
One machine was literally designed with Mario 64’s open sand box (large 3-D world) experience in mind, and the other was better suited for the popular arcade genres (fighting, racing), and the popular blend of pre-rendered back grounds and polygonal characters that Squaresoft and Capcom excelled in at the time.
I miss the days of zero internet connection, and no updates. Just plug in a play goodness!
So, if God wills it, expect plenty of Retro content from me in 2025.
Happy New Years!
Agree with the author? Couldn’t disagree more and are frothing at the mouth to tell him? Leave a comment here, on Facebook or send an email and make sure to follow Never Ending Realm on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube!