console wars

Halo comes to PS5, but the console wars are long over

Honghao Wang

— 4 min read
Halo comes to PS5, but the console wars are long over

The Console Wars Are Over

Last week, GameStop — the world’s largest video game entertainment retailer — declared on X that the so-called “console wars” had ended, a claim that quickly stirred heated discussion among gamers.

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The spark? A symbolic handshake: Halo: Combat Evolved, Xbox’s iconic exclusive, is coming to PlayStation 5 in 2026.

In reality, consoles stopped viewing each other as primary rivals long ago — the “console wars” have been effectively over for years.

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Sony: Prioritizing Games Over Consoles

Sony moved past its fixation on exclusivity years ago. It has:

  • Gradually brought PlayStation titles to PC.
  • Released classics like Patapon and Everybody’s Golf: World Tour on Nintendo Switch — a longtime rival.
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PlayStation 5’s Winning Streak

  • 80M+ units sold globally — one of the best-selling consoles ever.
  • PS5’s ecosystem has earned more profit than all previous PlayStation generations combined.
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Despite this, Sony is more than a hardware business — it’s a content powerhouse. From Walkman to premium headphones and TVs, hardware matters, but Sony’s music and film divisions wield greater global cultural influence.

> “We are a creative entertainment company built on a foundation of solid technology.”

> — Takechika Tsurutani, Sony (China) President

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▲ Death Stranding 2, PS5 exclusive for 2024

Profit Model: Sell the Hardware at a Loss, Win Through Games

Historically, Sony:

  • Priced consoles below cost to encourage adoption.
  • Monetized through game sales.

But the real competition is no longer Xbox or Nintendo — it’s the smartphone. Mobile devices dominate leisure time via social media, videos, and games.

Rise of Micro Dramas

Short, bingeable series — emerging first in China — are now global hits. Example:

  • ShortReel: 70M monthly active users in the U.S.; if 10% pay, annual revenue could hit $1B.
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Mobile micro dramas are easy to consume during fragmented free time, unlike lengthy AAA console games.

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▲ Soul of Mount Youtei, PS5 exclusive for 2024

The Challenge for AAA Gaming

  • High production costs
  • Growing player expectations
  • Shrinking paying audience

Sony’s solution: reach more platforms, expand its audience, and treat consoles as optional premium devices rather than the sole destination.

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Microsoft Xbox: From Hardware Battles to Platform Ubiquity

When Halo was confirmed for PS5, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella remarked:

> “The competition for games isn’t other games, it’s short videos.”

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Pressures on Xbox

  • Microsoft targets 30% profit margins for Xbox (vs. historical 10–20%).
  • Actions taken:
  • Studio closures
  • Project cancellations
  • Game Pass price hikes
  • Thousands of layoffs

The costly “console war” model doesn’t fit this vision.

Game Pass as the Flagship

  • Declining console sales offset by growth in subscriptions and services.
  • Massive acquisitions (Activision Blizzard, Bethesda) expanded Microsoft’s first-party library.
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Microsoft wants players to play anywhere:

  • Consoles
  • PCs
  • Mobile
  • Cloud gaming
  • Smart TVs
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The Future Xbox: Hybrid PC-Console Devices

Nadella:

> “People think consoles and PCs are different. We build consoles to make a better-performing PC for gaming.”

Possible features:

  • Windows-based handhelds/consoles
  • Optimized “Xbox interface” over full OS
  • Support for Steam, Epic, and more
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Implication: The “Xbox” brand may evolve into a software/service layer rather than fixed hardware.

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Nintendo: Opting Out of the War

Nintendo still plays the exclusive card — don’t expect Mario or Zelda on PS5 or Xbox anytime soon.

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Strength in Ecosystem Control

  • Hardware sales are a key profit driver.
  • Switch success comes from compelling first-party titles, not powerful specs.
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Switch 2 Strategy:

  • Support for third-party blockbusters (Cyberpunk 2077, Hogwarts Legacy)
  • Expand versatility: console + handheld + unique gameplay (Ring Fit Adventure)
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Beyond Gaming

Nintendo is evolving into a full IP entertainment company:

  • Theme parks
  • Movies (The Super Mario Bros. Movie)
  • Cross-media storytelling to keep characters culturally relevant

Miyamoto:

> “Nintendo won’t chase high-spec hardware wars. We’ll make unique entertainment across games, movies, parks, and more.”

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The Bigger Picture

The “console war” ended when the real fight shifted to competing for audience time.

  • Sony → Content-first
  • Microsoft → Services-first
  • Nintendo → Experiences-first

For players, there’s no need to choose a “side” — the goal is simply finding joy, whether gaming, streaming, or scrolling social feeds.

And for creators, the parallel is clear: cross-platform strategy is king. Tools like AiToEarn官网 show how AI-powered content can be produced once, then distributed everywhere — YouTube, Bilibili, Instagram, Douyin, and more — with unified analytics and monetization.

Just as Nintendo extends Mario into films and parks, creators (and game publishers) will increasingly extend their content beyond a single platform — because the real competition now is for attention.

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