OPINION: Behind every successful console, there’s usually a flagship exclusive game that’s been so popular it’s been deemed a ‘system seller’.
Sony has typically excelled at supporting its consoles with these system-selling games. The PlayStation One had Metal Gear Solid, the PS2 had Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (albeit a timed exclusive), the PS3 had The Last of Us and the PS4 had God of War. This excellent track record is the main reason why I’ve stayed loyal to the brand for all of these years.
But now we’re just over two years into the cycle, and there’s no sign of that system-selling PS5 exclusive launching anytime soon. Sure the PS5 has seen the launch of games such as God of War Ragnarok and Horizon Forbidden West, but both were also available on PS4 so cannot realistically be considered as system sellers.
The Xbox Series X is admittedly still searching for its system seller too. It boasts successful console exclusives such as Halo Infinite and Forza Horizon 5, but I still wouldn’t consider them as influential as any of those PlayStation exclusives listed above.
But following the recent Xbox Games Showcase 2023 event, I think that the Series X system seller may be arriving sooner rather than later. Trailers for Fable, Avowed, Hellblade II and Forza Motorsport all impressed, but Starfield stole the spotlight.
Xbox showed off a huge 45-minute video presentation for Starfield, offering an in-depth look at the combat, exploration, many RPG mechanics and more. It’s clear that Starfield is made by the same studio behind The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, unleashing the player into an expansive fantasy world and letting you tackle any obstacle however you please. But Starfield is swapping knights and dragons for aliens and spaceships, allowing you to visit a thousand different planets across multiple galaxies.
The scale of Starfield looks to be unprecedented. While games such as No Man’s Sky also promised the opportunity for the player to visit numerous procedurally generated alien worlds, they lacked enough content to make exploration interesting. To the credit of the developers behind No Man’s Sky, the game improved substantially after launch, but it still doesn’t offer that grand sci-fi story that Starfield is promising.
Bethesda has also decided to use procedurally generated worlds in the same fashion as No Man’s Sky, allowing for a diverse selection of planets with differing biomes, atmospheres, gravity fields and resources. But Bethesda has also smartly implemented hand-made content into these worlds too, so you’ll be able to explore derelict space stations and pirate outposts which could be the focus of story-centric quests. It’s a seemingly genius way of keeping exploration fun, even at this enormous scale.
Starfield is unmistakably an RPG too, with Bethesda allowing you to customise your spaceship, assemble your own crew and build your character with a comprehensive skill tree. Combine all of this with the excellent story-based side quests that Bethesda has become a master of in the likes of The Elder Scrolls and Fallout, and you’ve got the recipe for one of most ambitious games to ever grace an Xbox console.
Of course, I’m yet to play Starfield, so there’s every chance that it fails to meet the astronomical expectations that this in-depth demo has set. But I can’t remember being this excited for any other game since Elden Ring. I loved God of War Ragnarok and Tears of the Kingdom (I awarded them both 5 stars), but I still had a decent idea of what to expect when going into them. With Starfield, it feels like I’ll be stepping into uncharted territory, which is sadly becoming increasingly rare in the AAA game industry.
If Starfield is able to deliver on its promise, then I’m going to have to consider purchasing an Xbox Series X. All of my life I’ve been happy to remain loyal to the PlayStation brand, with Sony leading the way with top class exclusives, but I’m starting to sense a turning of the tide.
The only major first-party PS5 exclusive arriving in 2023 is Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. It looks great, but it does admittedly just look like an enhanced version of the original, with a larger map and added Venom abilities. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, and I can’t wait to play this sequel, but it simply does not feel like a generational game in the same way as Starfield.
And while I do think it’s silly to base a console purchase on a single game, Xbox has proven that there are plenty of promising games arriving on the Series X in the near future. Hellblade 2, Fable and Avowed have all been tempting me to abandon my PS5 – Starfield is simply the game to tip the scales.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
