The last few years have been pretty interesting for the ‘Big 3’ of video gaming. The PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Wii U have each made strides to define their consoles for better or for worse. At the moment, Sony’s PS4 has been leading in sales, but not all things are set in stone. 2016 will prove to be yet another battleground, and exclusives will play a big part when it comes to who gets the most attention.
Both Nintendo and Microsoft really impressed with experiences that could be found only on their platforms in 2015. Sony, on the other hand, took a more laid-back approach as they bought their studios some much needed time by making strategic third-party deals. But, the company is smart enough to know that they can’t expect to pull the same trick two years in a row. With the Xbox One picking up steam, and the Wii U having some huge titles on the horizon, Sony must put its money where its mouth is, and that’s what it intends on doing.
So, with all that being said, which platform has the best exclusive lineup for 2016? Let’s take a look for ourselves.
Nintendo Wii U Exclusives
When it comes to the Wii U and exclusives in 2016, Nintendo has got it pretty rough. That’s the case when it comes to quantity at least. To be honest, if it wasn’t for the delay of The Legend of Zelda Wii U and Star Fox Zero into this year, the Nintendo platform wouldn’t have a single leg in this race.
Sure, they have a few other exclusives worth being excited about. Pokken Tournament is yet another twist on the gargantuan franchise that is Pokemon, and it looks to shake up the fighting scene a bit. Then you have Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess remaster that’s sure to draw in the crowds the same way Wind Waker did. Project Giant Robot will allow players to build their own hulking mechs and do battle in an arena, but it’s overly simplified visuals may not scratch everyone’s giant robot itch. Outside of these exclusives, there isn’t much going on for the ailing platform at the moment. Nintendo is known for focusing on player experience above all else, but even knowing that, it’s almost impossible to not lament the scarce offerings of the newly started year.
There’s a good chance that the light offerings may have to do with the impending official announcement of the Nintendo NX (can’t wait to see what the final name is). With all hands on deck, it’s kind of difficult to reasonably expect a strong showing for their slowly waning console. But still, looking solely at the Wii U, the games may be great, but there really aren’t many of them.
Xbox One Exclusives
The Xbox One was on a mission in 2015. After a less than stellar outing, Phil Spencer steered the wayward ship into smoother waters with a new message and easily the Xbox platform’s strongest lineup. That slate of game releases began during the holiday season, but the bulk of it is set up to make 2016 amazing.
Quantum Break, the next game from Remedy and one of the reasons some people actually picked up an Xbox One, is due out in the spring with all of its time-manipulating action. A new season for Killer Instinct will keep the fighting game fans enthralled and offer some solid competition against one of Sony’s own exclusives. Gears of War 4 wowed those who saw the reveal at E3 2015, and with that scheduled for Fall of this year, the holiday season is looking mighty fine for the green machine that is Microsoft.
What really is going to help the Xbox One this year is variety. Outside of the AAA shooters and action games, the console has a strong selection of creative titles spanning several genres. Below presents an indie experience in the vein of the Souls games, only this time with permadeath. Keiji Inafune’s Recore takes robot mechanics and adventure and combines them for a potentially marvelous game.
It’s unfortunate that Scalebound has become the first victim to slip into 2017, but with everything else on the way the Xbox One definitely has a really solid lineup ahead of them. And that’s only going off what we definitely know to be releasing.
PlayStation 4 Exclusives
The PS4 played it cool throughout pretty much all of 2015. Bloodborne and Until Dawn ended up being highly impressive exclusives, but outside of those two, the console relied primarily on multi-platform offerings. There were a few third-party exclusives to keep things interesting, but the heavy hitters were games like Call of Duty: Black Ops III, Star Wars Battlefront, and Destiny: The Taken King. Although it was a good year for the PS4, it’s definitely exciting to see that they plan on kicking things into high gear in 2016.
First party is showing up in a big way with Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, Horizon: Zero Dawn, The Last Guardian, Gran Turismo Sport, and Gravity Rush 2. With most being sequels to already loved games, and two solid looking new IPs in the mix as well, the year is ready to impress. If it were these games alone, the PS4 could contend with its strongest competition on almost equal footing. But it gets a strong extra push from third party and indie studios.
Street Fighter V, Nier Automata, No Man’s Sky, The Witness, Shadow of the Beast, What Remains of Edith Finch, and more will help to bolster Sony’s already solid lineup. And, like the Xbox One, these titles run the gamut of genres and different narrative experiences. As things stand right now, the PS4 beats out both of the other members of the ‘Big 3’ in terms of quantity with ease.
Who Has The Best Exclusive Lineup of 2016?
Now that we know what each platform has to offer, it comes down to who takes the cake. Is it Nintendo’s focus on their particular flavor of unique experiences, Microsoft’s tried and true, or Sony’s biggest exclusive lineup thus far?
To be honest, it really comes down to preference. It’s difficult to choose a definitive winner, especially when you consider the fact that many of these releases will be followups to highly respected games. Of course, we are not going to ignore the elephant in the room. While there is no clear winner, there is definitely one that is lagging behind.
The Wii U needs to impress with the few exclusives it has going for it. The Legend of Zelda is likely to be a solid title, but that won’t be able to carry the console through wave after wave of exclusives from the competition. The NX may justify some of the current platform’s weaknesses, but Nintendo is the odd one out until then.
Still, each platform seems to be putting a strong foot forward, pulling ace after ace from under its sleeves, and it will be interesting to see how the upcoming year plays out.
Which lineup has you the most excited? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.
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