With the finalisation of the Activision purchase, Microsoft is the clear winner of the gaming market for 2023. Does this mean game over for Sony, Tencent, Nintendo and others? Probably not and that’s how governing bodies also saw it by letting the Microsoft acquisition slide. After all I did get Mario Wonder on Switch for Christmas and I did return to Fortnite on PC following the OG season so Nintendo and Tencent are safe… for now.
But what about Sony? How is Sony doing in 2023? PS5 consols are finally available on hand in stores following the microchips shortage but is it too little too late? I was going through the most downloaded exclusive games for Sony and looking at the yearly releases, there was not much there. Only a handful of exclusive games (around 5) every year that are launched. Is it enough to justify the purchase of a console?
And what about Microsoft consols? XBox One, One S, One X, Series X or Series S anyone? Hard to follow and harder to justify the purchase of a 80$ game when a brand consol changes every three (3) years. I never went beyond XBox 360 myself moving back to Nintendo with Switch for the kids and my Nintendo nostalgia but now that the kids are all grown up, PC as become the platform of their choice. I can’t blame them, the games offering on PC is vast with gaming stores like Steam opening up to freelance developers and independent studios. And let’s talk game prices? Hard to justify a 80$ game on a 40$ allowance. I stopped paying for my kids games a while ago to develop their financial independence so 12$ seems to be the sweat spot for them, just the right price for them to convince their friends to join the fun.
So for 2023, why I am declaring Microsoft the clear winner if consols are on the outgo? Because Microsoft Activision best selling franchise games are Call Of Duty (COD), a series of games available on ALL platforms (Windows, PS4, PS5, XONE, and XSXS) including and most importantly on mobile as referenced in Activision 2022 annual report:
Wide adoption of smartphones globally and the free-to-play business model, which allows players to try a new game with no upfront cost, on mobile platforms have increased the total addressable audience for gaming significantly by introducing gaming to new age groups and new regions and allowing gaming to occur more widely outside the home. Mobile gaming is estimated to be larger than console and PC gaming, and has grown at a significant rate over the last five years.
Furthermore, Activision is embracing the new free-to-play model put forward by Tencent with Fortnite:
In addition, the free-to-play business model has begun to receive broader acceptance on PC and console platforms. This has provided opportunities for us to increase the reach of our intellectual properties and games through free-to-play offerings, which, in turn, provides opportunities to further drive player investment, as was seen with our Call of Duty: Warzone release in March 2020. We have continued to invest in these opportunities, with 2022 including the free-to-play releases of Overwatch 2 in October 2022 and Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 in November 2022.
So Microsoft wins 2023 and with their ongoing efforts to sort out their PC and mobile gaming store, it should make them a winner again in 2024. Meanwhile my old cheap ass will get back to Mario Wonder and Fortnite.
