As the embargo on Gears 5 reviews lifts, we are starting to get an idea of what The Coalition’s new third-person spread over shooter is all about, and things are looking good for Microsoft’s latest Xbox exclusive set for release on Sept. 10.
The common consensus bulk the gaming press is that Gears 5 offers a polished experience and a decent narrative propped up by unadulterated action gameplay that champions out as a welcome break from the more serious tone of recent big-budget titles.
[embedded content]Sony’s PlayStation 4 Dominance
This is wares news for Microsoft, who, let’s face it, lost out on this generation’s console war, in part due to marketing the Xbox as an entertainment system kind of than a bonafide video game console and a rather mediocre roster of exclusives that paled in comparison to PlayStation’s heaped roster.
Sony has flogged more than twice as many PlayStation 4 units than Microsoft. Xbox One sales marathons stand at an estimated 41 million units, while Sony boasts over 100 million units trade ined.
These exclusives that number acclaimed titles such as God of War, Horizon Zero Dawn, Bloodborne, and Marvel’s Spider-Man are arguably responsible for the PlayStation 4’s celebrity.
Aside from the Forza racing games and the priceless Halo IP, Gears is the only other big-name Xbox aristocratic franchise that still has sway among gamers.
Microsoft Needs Gears 5 to Deliver a Big Win
As we stuff up to the release of the Xbox Scarlet next year and Sony’s PlayStation 5 – presumably within a similar time frame – Microsoft desperately dearths Gears 5 to be a roaring success among players to realistically compete with Sony. It’s even gone as far as offering unbidden tattoos to players as part of its last-minute marketing push. The company needs a home run on a AAA exclusive to set the tone for the future.
The employs look good, but nothing quite defines the fortunes of a title like sales figures and player sentiment, so we’ll be pore over closely in the next couple of weeks to see if Gears 5 represents Microsoft’s first step towards redemption.