E3 2017: Sony won the war of views

This is in any case what emerges from the analysis of views on Youtube.

Sony comfortably prevails over Microsoft despite the lack of new features. The Xbox can say thank you to its cubic buddies and its Forza racing game. But it can also count on a small collection of indie games that have worked in its favor. We arrive at 14 million cumulative views for Sony games against 9 million for Microsoft. Not so bad after all. Explanation of this popularity calculation. Find in the second part an analysis on the potential strategies of manufacturers and their behavior this year.

Youtube views, the healthiest way to take the temperature?

There are a plethora of methods to analyze the popularity of manufacturers like Sony and Microsoft. We chose to focus on the number of views of each trailer for each platform's exclusive games. The calculation is divided into two.The first part is the result obtained by probing the official pages of the manufacturers and their European pages as well as the two largest media in the field. In a second step we also add views from independent channels that sometimes score much better than official networks.  

The analysis was carried out exactly 24 hours after the Sony conference in order to leave a sufficiently correct period of time in front of Microsoft. In black are displayed the views coming from the official media and big journalists. And gray represents the numbers obtained by independent Youtube channels. We have rounded the numbers for clarity. Do not hesitate to click on the titles of each game to find its associated trailer. We can still hope for a net increase in all figures by the end of the week, but the purpose of this article is to have a hot analysis, which makes all the magic of E3. Small titles and the Xbox One X ad are also not part of it.

Figures taken on June 14, 2017 in the late evening:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOE2BVRCUkM

The podium completely confiscated by Playstation

Kratos, Peter Parker and Deacon occupy the three main places in this endless duel between the two manufacturers. Action-adventure games are an area where Microsoft doesn't really have resources. We will also notice that testosterone still attracts as much! Heroes, whether fantastic or violent, are still popular despite a rise in more sensitive indie titles. It is therefore assumed that Microsoft prefers to delay this year relying on its games already released in the catalog. It was also the moment for the American firm to show its desire to conquer the multi-platform market. The Xbox One X that will offer a better overall experience than its competitor. Will this strategy pay off in the long run? It seems to us that it is still the library of exclusives that still convinces players best at the moment.

But what are they both playing?

Microsoft catches its breath and delays on its latest achievements

With his very (too much?) lecture compact of one hour, Sony gives the impression of having knocked down almost all its cards. Microsoft is a little ahead from this point of view. Let's not forget E3 2016 that brought Forza Horizon 3, Gears of War 4 and Halo Wars 2. The Xbox One can already rely on other big titles like Halo 5 which has never had any equivalent at Playstation. The time has come for the American to pass his turn by counting on the indies to bring a little lightness in 2017/2018 and the Xbox One X with its catalog well supplied to convince the public who does not like to wait. Meanwhile, the big studios absent from Microsoft are quietly working on the games of the future.

Sony swept away by last year's momentum

That's the impression I get from it, Playstation had everything thrown everything last year. The Japanese had to build its catalog above all to catch up with Microsoft. It's mission successful in 2017! In addition, the majority of the big announcements of 2016 are almost ready to expand the collection of major games of the Playstation 4. This is almost the time to take stock for Sony. In the space of three or four years they have managed the feat of countering Xbox hegemony. The power of the PS4 has convinced cross-platform gamers. The weaker but better quality catalogue completed the last hesitant. The situation has been reversed compared to the previous generation. It is now Sony that sells twice as many consoles as its competitor. Most of the big studios have recently released or are about to distribute their games that are still as acclaimed as ever. And despite the cruel lack of ads we notice that what will happen soon is matured content and a very pleasant quality as evidenced by the many views on Youtube.

The challenges of tomorrow

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-gp-Voq6MQ

Why are we here?

Microsoft has officially fallen from its pedestal. Apart from Forza, the firm no longer has any developer producing pheasant games unanimously. The number of in-house studios has also shrunk compared to the Xbox 360 era. For its part, Sony reverses the trend and is strengthened by the presence of more and more studios with rich content. All they have to do is keep the momentum going. I consider that it was above all the technical superiority of the PS4 in the multi-platform that had played the most in its favor. In 2013/2014 Sony offered very few big exclusive games.They just had to surf the descent into hell that the Xbox had inflicted on itself. Nevertheless, the Xbox continues to hold the road and save the honor in view of these announcements by being exceeded by only a third in terms of Youtube popularity at E3 this year.

The second round starts now

Xbox prepares its revenge

Playstation's lead is still recent and fragile. We are witnessing a unique evolution, that of mid-cycle consoles. And this time it is Microsoft that has the best offer in terms of hardware. Whether with the drastically low priced Xbox One S or the enticing performance Xbox One X, Microsoft gamers have something for all claims. However, the installed Playstation 4 console base is already very strong. Can the performance advantage in cross-platform games be enough to boost the popularity of the Xbox as the PS4 had in its time? Is it now too late for Microsoft as the PS3 experienced? The Americans do not want to let themselves be done any longer and provoke their fate. History will tell them if they were right. They also know it's time to reinvest in the catalog by renewing it with new triple-A licenses. We know its financial and technological power.

Sony must take advantage of fate's help

Playstation is aware of the unique opportunity it has been able to seize, it has been flawless since the beginning of the Playstation 4. All the internal games are almost all remarkable, despite the financial difficulties the firm still manages to develop again. Enough to hold on during the violent assaults that its competitor will launch over the next five years. With the arrival of Days Gone to replace Naughty Dog on the decline, Until Dawn is also doing a good job on this side. The return of Hideo Kojima and Insomniac games to Sony. Guerilla, which has finally become a popular studio again thanks to a new license. God of War who tries his baroud of honor which looks rather successful. It's all set. We will wish them that everything goes well according to their plans.

Coming soon: the analysis of the most popular games of E3, all media combined. We'll try to see if cross-platform games have now become more influential than manufacturers' ones in the next column for E3 2017! See you soon on Just Focus.