Xbox and PlayStation have a lot to prove

Bad things out there.

Even 2026 is shaping up to be a good year when it comes reality gameIt can’t be too bad for the people who make it or for the industry as a whole. Hardware prices continue to rise, The layoff showed no signs of letting upand even the biggest titles sponsored by big companies can be dangerous.

All of this makes it a tough time for Summer Game Fest, the week-long show that kicks off on Tuesday. Splashy’s announcement won’t do much to dispel misconceptions about the industry. But given problems with console games in particularMicrosoft and Sony have a chance to show gamers why they should buy these very expensive set-top boxes.

Let’s start with Sony. On June 2, the company will be presenting its latest State of Play with “more than 60 news and announcements about games coming to PS5,” hosted by Insomniac’s. Wolverine, which starts in September.

Sony is facing two major challenges at the moment. One is that the PS5 is very expensive: The basic console costs $499 at launch, and it went up to $649while the most expensive model is $899. and PS5 sales are down nearly 50 percent year over year. Sony soon it completely changed its strategy and focused only on the consoleafter a few years of playing PC games, and it’s going to take a few grand to sell people on the PS5 at its current price.

Another issue is the game itself. Like many companies, Sony has bet big on live gaming in an attempt to replicate the enduring, successful success of online behemoths like. Fortnite. But the results have been disastrous for the entire industry and Sony in particular. The company’s biggest investment was spending $3.6 billion to buy The future developer Bungie in 2022. Since then, Bungie has been hitting with many layoffsstudio announced plans to end aid Destiny 2and it was released Marathon, a powerful online shooter that is struggling in a very chaotic market though Fortnite they have problems.

The problem is not just that there are too many places to play in the resort. It’s also said that Sony has built a modern reputation for a high-quality single-player game title. People buy PlayStation to play games God of War or The Last of Usno dangerous Concord or anyway Fair game and. State of Play should make it clear that Sony has moved on from those mistakes, and is ready to focus on what it does best. Wolverine game from the team behind Spider-Man it’s a good start, and we already know it The Last of Us Studio Naughty Dog is working a new sci-fi universe. But Sony will need more than this to re-establish PlayStation as the home of these premium experiences.

Xbox, on the other hand, has more to worry about. Yes, it had to deal with inflation like everyone else its hardware and its Game Pass subscription service. (Although it has recently become cheaper.) But the main issue with Xbox is that no one really knows what it is. Microsoft spent years undermining the brand advertising campaigns, Multiplatform solutions for startupsand tampering with hardware processes.

After an unexpected shock to the authorities in Aprilthings seem to be changing — we don’t know how much. New Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has been doing and saying the right things so far, removing things that players hate and they seem to be listening to what they want from the brand. Most of these changes, like any variation of the word Xboxit is only superficial. But it seems to indicate that a big, positive change is coming.

SGF would be a good place to show this. Microsoft’s event — called the Xbox Games Showcase, and airing on June 7 at 1PM ET — is all about games, and games you can play on Xbox. The company has been doing well recently, launching everything from an international athlete Forza Horizon 6 to goofy racing game Kiln. But if you appreciate this moment like “return to Xbox,” what Sharma has done, you need more than that to say. Myth, Weapons: E-Day, and Hello revise – and amazing.

Xbox and PlayStation aren’t the only ones struggling right now. Almost everyone, from major publishers to indie studios, is struggling in one way or another. nintendo, which is usually active in its corresponding environmenthe had to change his strategy to deal with these external forces, right Valve has also seen its big hardware plans fall apart. And I should not mention the elephant in the room. Grand Theft Auto VIwhich starts in November and this will lead to some kind of console sales, which is a temporary relief.

But the stakes are high for Sony and Microsoft. We’re six years into the current generation of console games, which is usually when these devices reach their peak and people start wondering what’s next. And when there is already an issue and PS6 and Xbox”Project Helix“There is also very little noise, which is not surprising given the current state of affairs.” Just thinking about the number of next-generation video games is enough to scare anyone.

This is why console manufacturers need to use their brief windows to SGF looking here and now: There is no way around that everything is expensive, but there is an opportunity to prove that these prices are worth it.