While we have a next-gen discussion thread, a lot of seems to be very technical, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I thought it might be nice to have a smaller scope, slightly more pointed conversation around naming, branding and positioning of the two primary next gen consoles.
In my opinion, I believe the two consoles will be named the following:
Sony
Branding: PSV as the logo and in written form, still referred to as playstation 5 or PS5 when talked about verbally. I don't think Sony want to break their tried and true naming conventions for their console series, but I feel like the PSV moniker is too nice to pass up. Most of the time the roman numeral thing can come across as cheesy or try hard but I think it feels natural for this iteration, due to it only being one character, and the 'V' flowing nicely off of the 'PS'. A counterargument could be it's too reminiscent of the PS Vita. It also works well with the VR component - PSV/PSVR.
Positioning: I think Sony are going to double down and unique and creative experiences you can't find anywhere else, while still having powerful enough hardware to get all the multiplatform stuff. A way of thinking about where I think they'll end up as a mix between Nintendo and how Sony positioned themselves during the PS4 generation. Sony aren't going to be able to compete from a cloud perspective to the same level as Microsoft and Google (even though we're a few years a way from these platforms i.e. xCloud and Stadia being any sort of 'threat' it makes sense to start writing their own narrative for the future), as they simply don't have the infastructure. They could rent it from either MS, Amazon etc.. but they'll always be a step behind in terms of business model optimization, and won't have the same level of low-level access you get when you own your own infastructure. So I think Sony are going to continue to develop great machines, but also position themselves as 'the world's premium games publisher', providing those high-end 'Last of Us/God of War/Spiderman' level experiences you won't get anywhere else. On top of this (and to explain the Nintendo reference) I feel they're going to push further in terms of experience differentiation by i) trying to be 'THE' go-to console VR solution with PSVR2 and ii) continuing to create games/engines like Dreams that encourage community build content.
Microsoft
Branding: Slightly harder to nail down but I think it depends on if they continue to support/sell the Xbox One, Xbox One X as time goes on. If they plan to stop selling or phase out the previous console iterations, I think simply 'Xbox' makes sense for this next console, almost rebooting the brand, with the focus moving forward being on iterative hardware developments. However, you could argue this has already taken place with the X, and this new family of consoles has already begun. In that case, the new console will need a 'sir name' as it were. Considerations could be Xbox ∞ (Xbox Infinity when spoken), with future iterations being called Xbox ∞ X, and Xbox ∞ X+.
Positioning: Phil has said this himself, and I actually believe him. Microsoft don't care where you play games, as long as you're signed in on the Xbox ecosystem/platform. I feel like while they're going to provide (potentially the highest level of) powerful machines to play games, Microsoft want to be the layer behind any of your gaming experiences, no matter where you play. Gamepass is a huge part of this, and I see them continuing to invest massively into this service, continuing to make it available across more devices (I think we'll see Nintendo Switch soon), leading to the inevitable xCloud/Gamepass mega-service some years from now. Their studio acquisitions allow them to pump out some more quality first part content to compliment the big 3 (Halo,Gears,Forza) and stick them on gamepass, further incentivizing people to sign up on the xbox ecosystem. To that end I feel like the new xbox console is less important to Microsoft overall than the PSV would be for Sony, but we're not in that 'Xbox is everything' future just yet, so I see them operating somewhat traditionally with this next-gen console, relying primarily on sheer power, gamepass, and some solid (if mostly by-the-books) 1st part titles. Halo needs to be huge for them as if they can bring that franchise back to the forefront, I think their future is secure.
In my opinion, I believe the two consoles will be named the following:
Sony
Branding: PSV as the logo and in written form, still referred to as playstation 5 or PS5 when talked about verbally. I don't think Sony want to break their tried and true naming conventions for their console series, but I feel like the PSV moniker is too nice to pass up. Most of the time the roman numeral thing can come across as cheesy or try hard but I think it feels natural for this iteration, due to it only being one character, and the 'V' flowing nicely off of the 'PS'. A counterargument could be it's too reminiscent of the PS Vita. It also works well with the VR component - PSV/PSVR.
Positioning: I think Sony are going to double down and unique and creative experiences you can't find anywhere else, while still having powerful enough hardware to get all the multiplatform stuff. A way of thinking about where I think they'll end up as a mix between Nintendo and how Sony positioned themselves during the PS4 generation. Sony aren't going to be able to compete from a cloud perspective to the same level as Microsoft and Google (even though we're a few years a way from these platforms i.e. xCloud and Stadia being any sort of 'threat' it makes sense to start writing their own narrative for the future), as they simply don't have the infastructure. They could rent it from either MS, Amazon etc.. but they'll always be a step behind in terms of business model optimization, and won't have the same level of low-level access you get when you own your own infastructure. So I think Sony are going to continue to develop great machines, but also position themselves as 'the world's premium games publisher', providing those high-end 'Last of Us/God of War/Spiderman' level experiences you won't get anywhere else. On top of this (and to explain the Nintendo reference) I feel they're going to push further in terms of experience differentiation by i) trying to be 'THE' go-to console VR solution with PSVR2 and ii) continuing to create games/engines like Dreams that encourage community build content.
Microsoft
Branding: Slightly harder to nail down but I think it depends on if they continue to support/sell the Xbox One, Xbox One X as time goes on. If they plan to stop selling or phase out the previous console iterations, I think simply 'Xbox' makes sense for this next console, almost rebooting the brand, with the focus moving forward being on iterative hardware developments. However, you could argue this has already taken place with the X, and this new family of consoles has already begun. In that case, the new console will need a 'sir name' as it were. Considerations could be Xbox ∞ (Xbox Infinity when spoken), with future iterations being called Xbox ∞ X, and Xbox ∞ X+.
Positioning: Phil has said this himself, and I actually believe him. Microsoft don't care where you play games, as long as you're signed in on the Xbox ecosystem/platform. I feel like while they're going to provide (potentially the highest level of) powerful machines to play games, Microsoft want to be the layer behind any of your gaming experiences, no matter where you play. Gamepass is a huge part of this, and I see them continuing to invest massively into this service, continuing to make it available across more devices (I think we'll see Nintendo Switch soon), leading to the inevitable xCloud/Gamepass mega-service some years from now. Their studio acquisitions allow them to pump out some more quality first part content to compliment the big 3 (Halo,Gears,Forza) and stick them on gamepass, further incentivizing people to sign up on the xbox ecosystem. To that end I feel like the new xbox console is less important to Microsoft overall than the PSV would be for Sony, but we're not in that 'Xbox is everything' future just yet, so I see them operating somewhat traditionally with this next-gen console, relying primarily on sheer power, gamepass, and some solid (if mostly by-the-books) 1st part titles. Halo needs to be huge for them as if they can bring that franchise back to the forefront, I think their future is secure.
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