Playstation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch OLED? The console year 2022 had a lot to offer, especially technically. And then along comes Valve with its hybrid gaming device, which is about to shake up the world of gaming hardware. The battle of the consoles was an exciting one. Still, there can only be one winner.
One could simply name the winning console 2022 based on the sales figures, but given the current world situation and the past challenges of the corona pandemic, that would be far too simplistic. This year is about more, above all it is about a comeback that was basically none: that of the Playstation 5. The year 2022 was undoubtedly the year of Sony and the PS5.
Playstation 5 finally serious competition
So facettenreich wie 2022 war ein Konsolenjahr schon lange nicht mehr: mit der Playstation 5, den beiden Microsoft-Konsolen Xbox Series X und Xbox Series S, dem neuen OLED-Modell der Nintendo Switch und der neuen, durch Valve eingeläuteten Hybrid-Generation war die Auswahl riesig. Vor allem war ist sie inzwischen auch technologisch in der Gegenwart angekommen. 2022 war das Jahr der neuen Current-Gen-Geräte: Gaming in 4K-Auflösung bei 120 Hertz auf dem heimischen Fernseher ist der neue Status-Quo, der sich nun auch bei der Masse durchsetzen konnte.
For a long time, supply chain problems and scarce resources had prevented the breakthrough of the Playstation 5 in particular - this dry spell is now over. In 2022, Sony was finally able to enter the ring as a real competitor, especially with the Xbox Series X. If you drive the technology track, the console fight is more of a console duel. And before that, the clash was pretty one-sided due to Sony's problem factors. On closer inspection, one could say that again – now from the opposite perspective. Because: What does Microsoft have to show for 2022? Nothing! The new generation of consoles had long been on the market, highlight titles such as Starfield, which fans had longed for, were promoted. There were no real milestones to celebrate for the Redmond-based company in the console segment.
| Preview | Product | Rating | Price | |
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Xbox Series X* |
509,00 EUR |
Buy |
Instead, negative headlines were made: Games in the United States will be around ten dollars more expensive at the beginning of the year. Microsoft also has to deliver for this. It remains to be seen whether the hardware prices will also be raised, as Sony has already done.
Sure, the Xbox Series X and its little brother Xbox Series S have established themselves on the market and among fans - instead of hardware, Microsoft is more concerned with the further development of the ecosystem. In any case, it succeeds. The service subscription Game Pass is profitable for the group for the first time, cloud gaming is picking up speed and Microsoft is expected to support this with a pure streaming console. Basically, Microsoft was able to save its Game Pass subscription thanks to good third-party games such as A Plague Tale: Requiem, High on Life, Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga or Disney Dreamlight Valley. What, on the other hand, came first hand? Nothing worth mentioning!
The Game Pass as an enrichment
The Game Pass is still an asset. For the Xbox community, he is above all a constant in the games world. And the really good first-party titles are yet to come. The mega deal, the takeover of Activision Blizzard, has also stalled. Great hope was followed by great disillusionment and now also legal wrangling. 2022 just doesn't seem to have been the year for Xbox. 2023 will be significantly better for Xbox against the background of good releases. Will it be enough to win the infight against Sony? That remains unclear, because at least it is already clear that Sony has a pretty hot iron in the fire with the Playstation VR2. At Microsoft, there is nothing of the sort in terms of technology - so Sony could clearly set itself apart from the Redmond company in purely technological terms in the coming year.
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PlayStation 5 + Horizon Forbidden West Voucher * | 599,00 EUR | Buy |
Sony konnte deutlich mehr Akzente setzen. Vor allem konnte das Unternehmen dank besser Liefersituation auch Konsolen in Massen zu den Fans bringen. Die Playstation 5 verkaufte sich in großen Mengen, übertraf in einigen Monaten sogar die Absatzzahlen des Verkaufsprimus Nintendo Switch.
Sony with great games
In retrospect, things are also looking good for PS5 lovers with the top games, some of which are exclusive: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Rise of the Ronin, Street Fighter VI, Horizon: Forbidden West, God of War Ragnarök and even that at the start Microtransactions crashed Gran Turismo 7 - the list speaks for quality. Sony ends 2022 with many contenders for the "Best Game of the Year". And then there's the Bungie deal. Sony has also been on a shopping spree for a long time now, having grabbed a top-class studio with the long-running hit Destiny 2.
Sony is now pursuing the focus of "Games as a Service" more consistently. That binds customers. Not everything went smoothly at Sony, but in a direct comparison with the Xbox competition, they simply delivered.
Rumors about a new version of the Playstation 5 have been circulating for a long time. Sony apparently thinks ahead – and is doing some things right. This brings you strategically closer to the basic idea of Nintendo, separates from Microsoft and the concept of the Xbox Series X|S as hardware that can hardly be changed. Sony is already gradually putting together a package of devices, games and services.
Für das kommende Jahr wünscht man sich etwas mehr Konfrontation, mehr Wettbewerb, mehr Wettstreit zugunsten besserer Qualität und besserer Angebote. Fans würden davon profitieren. Zumal Nintendo erstmals schwächeln könnte, weil man sich mit der Nintendo Switch in einem Vakuum aus dem nahenden Ende des Lebenszyklus der Switch und des immer noch nicht offiziell angekündigten Nachfolgers befindet. Denn: Bei all den Duellen zwischen Xbox und Sony hat Nintendo mit seinem Kassenschlager und der großen Zahl an grandiosen Spielen und Franchises die Nase vorn – der japanische Konsolenriese schwimmt quasi außer Konkurrenz weiterhin auf der Welle des Erfolgs.
The fact that an almost six-year-old current-gen console from 2022 can still be a source of fear should give both Sony and Microsoft food for thought. Nintendo is not sleeping, it certainly has plans for its own next generation, just not revealed them yet. A circumstance that should make the two competitors tremble.
However, Nintendo cannot just rest on its laurels, because Valve is already lurking in the shadows. The Steam Deck impressively demonstrated what a hybrid console should look like in 2022. At the same time, the device was possibly a first taste of the future of video gaming.
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Nintendo Switch console (OLED model) White * | 335,00 EUR | Buy |
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