It may have escaped you, but there's a war going on right underneath our feet. From the east comes a Japanese empire, full of dexterity, ingenuity and technical might. From the west, the American giant, with wealth, means and knowhow beyond almost anyone else on the planet. Oh, and a really nice control pad.
Yes, the battle between PS4 and Xbox One rages on, and it's set to ramp up a notch next month when Sony and Microsoft head to LA for E3, where the two will lift the lid on what's believed will be a suped-up PlayStation and a slimmed down Xbox. But will it make a flip of difference?
Because we know about all the technical mumbo jumbo that goes into making a next-gen console (did you know, for instance, that the PS4 is run by small rodents, whereas the Xbox One gets all its power from a small windfarm just off the coast of Norfolk?), and what gamers want - we once held a Micro Machines tournament in the office, complete with four controllers no less - we've decided to piece together just what we'd like to see from both giants, starting with Microsoft.
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An estimated 21 million Xbox Ones have been sold to date - no shabby number at all - but that's some way behind the 40 million PS4s apparently sat in households around the world. The mighty MS has some way to go if it wants to be top dog. So, what does it need to do to make major waves in 2016?
1. Launch a slicker, more powerful Xbox One
This one is a bit of a no brainer. Word has it that a new PS4 - code-named Neo, and likely supporting 4K display and a ramp-up in graphics performance - will be unveiled in little under a month. Microsoft simply has to respond and, if rumours are to be believed, it will.
Chatter differs about just how, but a major hardware announcement is expected and, short of an entirely new console (which is an impossibility), there are two rumour strings; one suggests an Xbox One slim is on the way, while the other points to a much more powerful machine nearing release. Indeed, recent reports suggests both units may in fact be in development.
Now, existing Xbox One owners shouldn't panic. A spruced up Xbox One able to compete with the PS4.5 wouldn't be tied to games that wouldn't run on older systems. Rather, they'd just run a little better on new machines. Think of it as being a bit like running a standard Xbox One game through that handy Snapchat filter that irons out all your spots and wrinkles so you can flirt with someone you actually have no hope with in the flesh.
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Nevertheless, the console business is changing. People want their machines to evolve rather than stand still, and as technology moves forward, so will Xbox. Just don't expect it to chill cans of beer for you, or wash your delicates at 30 degrees. Such frills may be pushing things a bit too far.
2. Tap up Oculus for some first class VR
As anyone who lapped up our coverage of the biggest games conference in the world, GDC, will know, Sony's PlayStation VR for PS4 is currently going toe-to-toe with Facebook's Oculus Rift. (http://www.theladbible.com/articles/virtual-reality-is-going-to-touch-you-and-you-re-going-to-love-it-240316). As the VR war heats up, Microsoft can't afford to get left behind, and we'd put money on Xbox cosying up to Oculus in the near future.
Why? Well, tapping into existing technology will be a lot quicker for MS than attempting to fashion its own so late in the day, and Microsoft already has a fairly close relationship with the owners of Oculus, Facebook. The two, though not quite in bed with each other, have certainly been on a few dinners, brushed legs under the table and had a respectable but sloppy kiss at the door. Or, if you want to do away with dating metaphors, the fact Oculus Rift's official controller is Xbox One's pad speaks volumes.
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It might not be announced at this year's E3, but we think some kind of official Xbox-Oculus link up is a dead cert as both look to expand their respective market shares. You could call it a virtual marriage. Geddit? Oh, whatever.
3. Get some new franchises, ya dweebs
Halo 5: Guardians came out last winter. Gears of War is due out this October. Fable Legends has been canned thanks to MS closing down the studio behind it, Lionhead. So, what exactly does Xbox One have up its sleeves long term that PS4 doesn't? Right now, it's hard to see.
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Both formats have their odd exclusives - Uncharted for PS4, Quantum Break for Xbox One - but it's been quite a while since Xbox has fashioned a brand new IP with the quality and draw of either Halo or Gears of War. Of course, you could argue PlayStation hasn't either, but it's no mystery that much of Xbox 360's all-conquering success was built upon the back of having some key games that PS3 didn't.
Exclusives are a bit of a dirty word in the current climate. Most third-party publishers don't want to risk pushing their game out on only one system and losing a potential chunk of players unless paid off handsomely, which means exclusive content tends to revolve around early access to multiplayer, betas, or extra stages. Oh, and the console's logo slapped on the end of tv adverts. All a bit pants, really.
So, while it's a little late for MS to get cracking on a big new IP for this year's E3 - apparently games take longer than a few weeks to make, who knew - we can only hope the big boys and girls at Redmond realised this a while ago and have something new to unveil in June. Though if it's just another new Minecraft, we may scream.
4. Make more of Windows 10
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Did you know your Xbox One runs Windows 10? It may not look quite the same, but that's the OS running under the hood and, as a result, scores of games and apps developed for Xbox One can be easily ported to PC, and vice versa. There are also an increasing number of games being released that allow you Xbox and PC gamers to play into each other via Xbox Live...but we want more.
We want the line between Windows and Xbox to be non-existent, and it makes sense given both platforms are owned by bloody Microsoft. Undoubtedly, the reason Xbox One runs Windows is because it's MS's intention to bring the two together, but right now everything seems to have a logistical focus with little thought given for how you, me, and Steve down the road actually play games.
If we buy a game on Xbox, we want to have the Windows version lumped in for free, too. Remote playing Xbox One games on your PC isn't enough; aside from the fact you can now do this on PS4 as well, you have to have your Xbox switched on to do it, and Xbox One's power brick consumes more electricity in one hour than the Christmas lights on Oxford Street do in the whole of December. Maybe...
Either way, there has to be some way Xbox One can take advantage of the millions of people who fire up their Windows PCs and laptops every day, whether for work or play. We don't want 'visions', we don't want long term goals, we want to be able to play Xbox One games on our laptop, in the toilet, on a plane, while other passengers angrily bash on the door for half an hour straight. Is that too much to ask?
Words by Keith Andrew
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