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After an extensive and hectic 12 months, 2024 is officially behind us. Gamers have a short duration to unwind before the video game release schedule kicks off in February with a whirlwind of significant launches. That concern is for next month, however. For now, we still have some opportunity to contemplate what has been a tumultuous year for the gaming sector, filled with unexpected successes, complete failures, and surprising absences.
At the heart of all this were the three mainstays of mainstream gaming: Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo. Although their dominance might be diminishing in the era of portable PCs like the Steam Deck, these console holders are still the key discussion points whose every action creates excitement. This year, all three companies found themselves in a peculiar situation. PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X reached the uncomfortable midpoint of their lifespans, while the Nintendo Switch struggled to stay afloat after its highly awaited successor was removed from the calendar for 2024. All three would need to be innovative if they aimed to finish the year on a high note.
The encouraging news is that all three accomplished that feat, even if none truly stood out. Each corporation had an asterisk by its record that rendered the year uneven, irrespective of the console in question. Continuing last year’s pattern, we’re once more wrapping up the year by assigning final evaluations to Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo. All three passed, but they will all need to put in more effort if they aspire to be top students in 2025.
PlayStation
If I were a strict evaluator, I would have solid reasons to grade the PS5 poorly this year. Sony’s 2024 was rife with failures and letdowns that made it seem bleak in isolation. Its major issue was Concord, a title aimed at heralding PlayStation’s future in live service gaming. Instead, it was a swift disaster that was taken offline within weeks, and the studio behind it was closed down. This costly calamity may have jeopardized years of preparation, completely altering what PlayStation’s future might entail.
This unfortunate news was compounded by some mild disappointments. The long-awaited PS5 Pro finally made its debut this year, but with lackluster specifications given its striking price point. This rendered the system a slow starter, raising doubts about how much additional power is genuinely required in a console. It didn’t help matters that the system’s AI upscaling feature, PSSR, encountered several bugs at launch. In other areas of hardware, Sony appeared to largely abandon its VR ambitions, providing scant software support for PlayStation VR2 (its major enhancement this year was PC compatibility). At times, it appeared as though Sony’s hardware division had come to a standstill.
Amidst these peaks, we received several third-party exclusives that provided the PS5 with the most impressive game selection of any console this year. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth garnered the praise that Final Fantasy XVI couldn’t quite reach in 2023, while Bloober Team’s Silent Hill 2 accomplished the challenging task of remaking one of the greatest games of all time in a gratifying way. Those highlights were sufficient to complete an inconsistent year where Sony relied heavily on unnecessary remasters like Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered. This might have been the PS5’s best and worst year simultaneously.
Grade: B
Xbox
With the introduction of the Xbox Series X in 2020, it was apparent that Microsoft’s console would embark on an extraordinary lifespan. Microsoft clearly stated from the outset that it was not primarily focused on delivering blockbuster games but rather on transforming Game Pass into an essential subscription for every gamer. 2024 would take this endeavor to some truly unpredictable territories that left Xbox supporters feeling dizzy; it seemed we oscillated between dreadful news and outstanding games each month.
The negative aspects were very negative. Xbox began the year with extensive layoffs, resulting in the closure of both Arkane Austin and Tango Gameworks. The latter was particularly confusing, as the studio had produced perhaps the Series X’s finest exclusive, Hi-Fi Rush, just a year earlier. Later in the year, Microsoft introduced a complicated price increase for Game Pass, transforming the “best deal in gaming” into a costly option. It also didn’t help that some of the service’s biggest titles didn’t perform as well as anticipated. Both Stalker 2 and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 were riddled with bugs at launch, whereas Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 and Starfield: Shattered Space debuted as lackluster offerings.
Throughout 2024, Xbox faced a continuous public relations crisis, even when it wasn’t justified. Xbox’s choice to release certain exclusives on competing platforms should have been received as a positive development, as Microsoft
eroded the irritating exclusivity barrier that separates consoles. Instead, this initiative ignited outrage in the console wars. Similarly, Xbox made significant advancements to enhance its game accessibility, introducing Game Pass to devices like the Amazon Fire Stick. This effort was also met with criticism, particularly due to the company’s “This is an Xbox” advertising campaign, which suggested that any device capable of running its games was essentially an Xbox. That move did not sit well with console traditionalists, yet I view the core message as a constructive progression for the gaming industry.
Although it wasn’t a monumental year for exclusives, Xbox succeeded in key areas. It wrapped up the year impressively with Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, two of the most acclaimed titles of this Xbox generation. Leading up to those significant releases, we enjoyed a consistent flow of “day one” third-party titles that still showcased the service’s worth. Both Dungeons of Hinterberg and Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess turned out to be sleeper hits that landed on Digital Trends’ best 10 games of 2024 list. With that in consideration, I’m inclined to grant Xbox a decent, albeit unremarkable, grade for 2024. However, I’m anticipating notable improvements in 2025.
Grade: B-
Nintendo
After achieving a sought-after A grade in previous year’s report, Nintendo faced a substantial challenge ahead — and it seemed destined to deliver seamlessly. After all, 2024 was undoubtedly anticipated to be the year we finally saw the Nintendo Switch 2, boasting a plethora of major exclusives like Mario Kart 9 and Metroid Prime 4: Beyond.
Well … that didn’t materialize. Following all the suspense, Nintendo’s new console was a complete no-show. Nintendo would confirm its existence after years of speculation, but it refrained from actually showcasing it or revealing even a single specification. This left Nintendo in a perplexing situation regarding software. It was evident that the company’s most renowned developers were diligently working on new titles for the platform, while the secondary team managed the Switch’s final full year. To Nintendo’s credit, it rolled out at least one exclusive each month from January to December, but the actual lineup was rather diverse.
Very few Switch exclusives that launched in 2024 were considered essential additions to the library. The closest candidates were Super Mario Party Jamboree and The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, yet nothing reached the heights of Super Mario Odyssey or Fire Emblem: Three Houses. Instead, we received an assortment of niche titles and peculiar remakes. It’s not that games like Mario vs. Donkey Kong or Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition weren’t appreciated on Switch; it’s just that these became the console’s primary offerings instead of quirky extras. Those titles didn’t always succeed either, as titles like Endless Ocean: Luminous and Princess Peach: Showtime! felt more like underdeveloped ventures rather than the polished experiences we anticipate from the Switch’s lifespan.
Even with an overall unimpressive year, the experimental quality of Switch’s offerings occasionally resulted in moments of brilliance that can only occur when a publisher isn’t overly cautious. Emio — The Smiling Man is a spectacular revival of Famicom Detective Club that I doubt we would ever witness outside of a year like this. Splatoon 3‘s underrated Side Order DLC is a genuine hidden treasure, and I find it hard to complain about a complete remake of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. The highs weren’t particularly lofty, but this represents the kind of unusual year that I foresee reflecting fondly on in a few years, once Nintendo returns to its standard lineup of predictable hits.
Grade: C+
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