Without a doubt, Xbox has spent the majority of this console generation in the shadow of its competitor, Sony. This began back in 2013 when Xbox stated that its Xbox One would require a consistent internet connection. This led to some bad PR and ultimately ended with the company dropping the mandate, but the damage was done.

Despite this, Xbox proved it wasn't just going to roll over and because of the number of improvements the company has made over the years, it stands more ready for next gen than Nintendo or Sony. First, although it was initially a hard sell, the Xbox One X has performed phenomenally for the company since its launch in November 2017. According to Mat Piscatella, "Xbox One sales show the highest growth of the 3 major HW platforms in the US this year, and the Xbox One X in particular has been performing phenomenally."

Xbox simply needs to keep the momentum going, which it has with other improvements and business standpoints as well. Due in part to the increasing popularity of battle royale title Fortnite, a push for cross-play between consoles was heard around the world this year. Xbox and Nintendo stood ready, but Sony was rather lackluster about the whole ordeal. Although it eventually relented, many gamers respected Xbox's willingness to partake in cross-play.

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But the cross-players weren't the only crowd to which Xbox hit home with. Thanks to the adaptive controller, Xbox has appealed to disabled gamers, taking feedback from both AbleGamers and WarFighter Engaged in the creation of the aforementioned controller. It was the first accessory of its caliber and helps those with a number of mobility concerns.

Of course, none of this prevents one of the biggest criticisms lobbied at Xbox: the lack of exclusive games. But for this market, Xbox is also ramping up its game. This year alone, Xbox acquired seven development studios (5 of which were announced at E3 2018), including Fallout New Vegas developer Obsidian Entertainment, Hellblade developer Ninja Theory, State of Decay developer Undead Labs, and other big names.

Combine all of this with Pachter's predictions that the next-gen Anaconda or Lockhart consoles will support 240 FPS and 4K, it becomes clear as to why Xbox is positioned the way it is. Of course, that doesn't count out Sony or Nintendo, but fans shouldn't expect the next-gen narrative to be as clean-cut as this generation's.

Source: Engadget, Mat Piscatella - The NPD Group