Could 2015 be the year the Xbox One strikes back?

The Xbox One didn't have a great start, to put it kindly.

Fans and critics savaged the system when the initial feature set was announced. Microsoft reversed course so many times, it gave gamers whiplash. By the time the company had settled on a steady course, Sony's PlayStation 4 had developed a commanding lead in the U.S.

Microsoft has clawed its way back, though, and thanks to a few timely delays, competitive pricing, and some smart maneuvering, 2015 could well be the year that the Xbox One becomes the industry's top-selling console.

The 2015 holiday season was initially setting up to be a doozie. Sony's PS4 exclusive Uncharted 4: A Thief's End has looked fantastic in previews, and the Nintendo faithful can't wait to get their hands on the long-promised high-definition The Legend of Zelda game for the Wii U.

But on March 11, Sony revealed that Uncharted wouldn't be coming out this year. Two weeks later, Zelda was delayed into 2016 as well.

Microsoft, however, went the other direction by formally announcing an October 27 release date for Halo 5: Guardians, Master Chief’s debut on the Xbox One. The system additionally enjoys a timed holiday exclusive in the hotly anticipated Rise of the Tomb Raider. Though it will eventually be playable on other platforms, in 2015 it’s only on Xbox One.

In the face of competitor delays, that's huge. Halo, of course, is still Microsoft’s biggest hitter, and while last year's Master Chief Collection was riddled with tech troubles, anticipation for the next story in the Chief's narrative continues to run high. The temporary exclusive on the new Tomb Raider is also a big win, as 2013's Tomb Raider reboot was the best-selling game in the long-running franchise. The new installment could scoop up some frustrated Uncharted fans, given the similarity of the two games.

And the company is likely still planning a few other surprises. Though first-party game Quantum Break was pushed into 2016, Xbox boss Phil Spencer recently said that Microsoft's presence at the E3 conference in June this year would be primarily about first-party exclusive games.

A possible leadership position for the Xbox One is something no one outside of Redmond could have imagined a year ago, but the groundwork was already being laid.

To coincide with the release of the multiplayer shooter Titanfall in March of 2014, mega-retailers Walmart, Best Buy and Amazon cut the price of the console from $500 to $450. Two months later, the company introduced the Kinect-less Xbox One, which brought the price down to $399. Then, as the holidays neared, the price slid again to $349, which the company later made permanent.

The cuts helped. Microsoft shipped 6.6 million consoles over the 2014 holiday season, though that number included both Xbox One and Xbox 360. Sony says it sold 4.1 million PS4 units worldwide during the holiday period. Phil Spencer said at the time the unit had "more work to do, but it was a good holiday"

Sony has been much more forthcoming. In early March, it announced global PS4 sales have topped 20.2 million.

The battle's clearly not going to be easy for Microsoft. The PS4 has outperformed the Xbox One every month so far this year, and there are no signs that its momentum is waning. The company has already produced a big critical and commercial hit with Bloodborne, and there's no telling what it might try to slide into Uncharted's place for Christmas.

But the bulk of the video game industry's money is made in those last three months, which, at the moment, look pretty great for Microsoft. And this year, the audience for game systems could be different.

"This Christmas is going to be a battle for the casual audience," says John Taylor, managing director of Arcadia Investment Corp. "A lot of core games - people who would be most interested in Halo or Uncharted or games that have that sort of appeal - have already made their decision. The question is, where do the new buyers come from and which format do they lean towards?"

Of course, there will be other big multiplatform games this holiday. New entries in established franchises Assassin's Creed, Madden, and Call of Duty are surefire sellers, while games like Star Wars: Battlefront and the just-announced Lego: Dimensions will try to make their mark. A strong tie with one system or another could tilt the battle.

And, ultimately, it may simply come down to pricing. Sony has yet to cut the price of the PS4 – it still costs the same $399 it did on launch day – though the company has done a good job bundling top-rated games for no additional charge. But given Sony's still precarious financial position, any significant changes to the price of the console itself are currently unlikely.

"Microsoft is in a stronger position to play the pricing game than Sony is because of their balance sheet and whole business model," says Taylor. "It ought to be a slugfest."

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