ALL three of the big console makers have now held their first showcase for the year with some of their biggest games coming in 2023.
We’re spoiled for choice this year, but one console from Nintendo, PlayStation, and Xbox has to come on top.
Nintendo is just one of the big three.
We’ve gone through each of the showcases and broken down the games shown for each console.
Here’s the best and the worst of each console showcase shown in January and February 2023.
Number of games announced
When it comes to the sheer number of games there was no contest.
Xbox chose to show longer in-depth videos of its five biggest games releasing in 2023.
It should be noted that Xbox only showed first-party exclusive games, so it is inevitable that fewer games would be shown.
PlayStation was more fast-paced, showing off 15 games total, with an extended deep dive into Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.
Nintendo blew the other two away, showing 33 upcoming games, and that’s before you include the 20 Game Boy and Game Boy Advance games that arrived on Switch.
Winner – Nintendo
First-party & exclusive games
Xbox only showed Xbox first-party games at its showcase, giving us all a glimpse of what they can produce.
However, two of these, Minecraft Legends and Skyrim Online, are available on other systems.
Hi-Fi Rush was the star of the show, releasing immediately on Game Pass, and becoming an instant success.
Redfall is probably the most exciting upcoming release for Xbox players, as well as Starfield which will have a separate showcase later.
PlayStation chose to showcase Suicide Squad, but this isn’t a PlayStation exclusive game.
Of the 15 games shown, only two are PlayStation exclusives – Synapse, a PS VR2 first-person shooter, and Humanity, a unique platform puzzler.
Neither of these are big-name games, but Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is also scheduled to release this year.
Nintendo had a whole host of exclusives ready to show during its showcase.
Kirby’s Return to Dreamland, Bayonetta Origins, Metroid Prime Remastered, and The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom are all big-name exclusives for the Switch.
A number of smaller third-party titles, such as Master Detective Archives: Rain Code, are also scheduled to be Nintendo exclusive.
All of this is before the Pokémon Presents coming next week.
Winner – Nintendo
Value for money
PlayStation is known for not putting games on the PlayStation Plus day one, but it seems to be warming to the idea.
New announcement Tchia, like Stray before it, is scheduled to come to PS Plus as soon as it launches on March 21.
PlayStation has been known for the most expensive games, but this year Nintendo and Xbox will be matching their price.
Nintendo has already released a number of classic Game Boy and Game Boy Advance games to its subscription service as well as DLC.
There are no major releases here, but Nintendo’s service is notably cheaper than its competitors.
Finally, there is Xbox, which has long been thought of as the budget option for gamers, as it continues to add games to Game Pass day one.
While Redfall and Skyfield are said to cost £70 ($70), first-party exclusive Hi-Fi Rush sold for just £30 ($30).
Prices are going up across the board, but Xbox is keeping things affordable when possible.
Winner – Xbox
Technical capability
Nintendo has always been known for innovating new technology, rather than having the more powerful hardware.
Games on the Switch can still be beautiful, but often have to be heavily stylised, rather than realistic.
Even when it comes to these games, there are complaints about barren worlds, such as Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, and Kirby and the Forgotten Land.
Xbox has two mainline consoles, and the higher-end Series X has the same technical capability as the PS5.
However, PlayStation is the only mainline console maker that has a VR headset, giving people more ways to play the games they love.
The PS VR2 also launched with an impressive lineup of 40 games, with seven more upcoming as shown in the PlayStation showcase.
Winner – PlayStation
Written by Georgina Young on behalf of GLHF.
Did you miss our previous article…
https://hellofaread.com/technology/psvr2-review-premium-quality-and-ease-of-use/
