Sony’s Horizon Delay Doesn’t Matter this Christmas

2021 isn’t going to be a good holiday season for Sony now that Horizon 2 has been delayed. With blockbusters looking few and far between, a lot of the talk about “the power of exclusives” has aged like milk.

This year the viability of the PlayStation 5 will hinge on third-party exclusives and older games, such as Spider-Man: Miles Morales. If you want to play Battlefield or Call of Duty, you can do it here. Albeit, probably at a slightly lower resolution than on Xbox. And certainly not as well as you could on PC.

But as those with cooler heads said last year, this doesn’t matter. The PS5 is still an awesome console. Even up against the bumper crop of Forza Horizon 5 and Halo Infinite, the PS5 will still look good this Christmas.

Horizon Forbidden West Delayed

Sony announced that Horizon Forbidden West will release on February 22. It had targetted the end of this year but fans had been warned that it might be pushed back.

Horizon Forbidden West is coming to PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 on 18 February 2022! Pre-orders will begin next week, on 2 September. Are you ready to continue Aloy's journey?https://t.co/aMD8LIWbf8 ​#HorizonForbiddenWest pic.twitter.com/bRP3kToGji

— Guerrilla (@Guerrilla) August 25, 2021

This leaves Deathloop, Kena and Death Stranding: Director’s Cut as the biggest titles of the rest of the year on PS5. That’s far from a bad selection, and you have to appreciate that the biggest new game for the console is being put out by Microsoft. But there’s very little to hang Christmas on.

Xbox, on the other hand, will be pushing Forza Horizon 5 and Halo Infinte. Age of Empire too for PC gamers. Not to mention Gamepass additions like Back 4 Blood. In terms of pure games, Xbox is the winner hands down for the next five months.

Last year, it seems like things were the other way round. But, like then, things are never that simple.

Sony and the PS5 – A Very Merry Christmas

Because despite the celebrations of either “side” when they’re ahead, exclusive blockbuster games don’t really matter. They’re not the be all and end all of why people would buy a console.

The delay of Horizon just takes one set of clips out of Sony’s holiday trailer. That’s it. And if you’re suddenly not buying a PS5 in December for a game releasing in February, maybe you don’t want it as much as you think.

Most Sony fans who’ve been waiting all year for stock issues to be sorted will happily take your console off you. Because ultimately, it’s still a pretty cool console.

The issue, yet again, is people singing when they’re winning. It’s the “MILES MORALES CAN ONLY RUN ON NEXT-GEN CONSOLES” gang all over again. If you’re going to brag about blockbuster exclusives, you better make sure you have some yourself.

And it’s tragic that this is even a conversation. The team behind Horizon deserve as much time as they need to get it perfect. That’s true for any developer with any publisher working on games for any console. A bad game stays bad forever – except No Man’s Sky.

Sony will have a staggering Christmas where they break records all over again, with or without Horizon. Microsoft are going to have a great holiday season as well. Nintendo probably too.

And there’s nothing nicer than a gaming industry where everybody is doing well. It ensures competition – and competition is something we sorely need.