Despite that so many developers are claiming that the two next-gen consoles seemingly have more in common than not, it seems that no matter where you look, there's a bevy of information claiming that consumers are looking forward more to Sony's PlayStation 4 than Microsoft's Xbox One. With major shopping events like Christmas and Black Friday just around that corner, that spells success for Sony.
Recently, Ebates.com created a survey which was fielded by TNS of 500 teens. According to the study's findings reported by DailyGame, more teens hope to get a PlayStation 4 for Christmas than a Xbox One. The same was reported for adults as well, "with grown-ups ranking the PS4 as their electronic gift choice - after anything made by Apple - followed then by the Xbox One."
According to DailyGame, "The survey found that a vast majority of teens (88%) between the ages of 12 and 17 years-old want an electronic gift this holiday season...One in five (20%) of them requested a PS4 vs. only 13% who said they want an Xbox One...The seven-percent difference in preference fell beyond the survey's margin for error." Interestingly enough though, "among those who had a preference," teens had bigger desire for a iPhone or iPad, ranking both next-gen consoles below the Apple proucts.
It was also reported that the "Top gaming gift choices for teens vary by gender, with 28% of boys requesting a PS4 vs. only 12% of girls. Meanwhile, 22% of boys want an Xbox One vs. 5% of girls."
Of course, surveys only take a small part of the population into consideration, and what 500 teens think is hardly telling of the estimated millions who play video games daily. In looking to see which company will be crowned the next-gen king, one enormous factor to consider is pre-orders. However, neither Microsoft nor Sony have provided exact figures.
However, during a financial call to investors earlier today, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot hinted at some intriguing information. Given the backlash against Microsoft over DRM, resolution quality in games, and various other general PR blunders, there's been a fair amount of backlash against the company. When asked if Ubisoft was worried over Xbox One retail performance as a result, Guillemot responded, "Even if the PS4 is in front of Xbox One pre-orders, we are not worried at all. We think [Xbox One] will be a best-seller as well."
As a third party developer, Guillemot likely doesn't have any kind of insider knowledge over how the pre-orders between the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One compare. Or does he? Whatever the case, Guillemot didn't elaborate, but it does seem to fit with a number of reports from varied analysts:
Earlier today, IHS claims that Sony's PlayStation 4 will outnumber sales of the Xbox One by 2017. Similarly, in early October, the oft-quoted Michael Pachter claimed that pre-orders for Sony's upcoming system already numbered 1.5 million, up from 1 million in August. All Sony has said on the matter is that the company is "delighted" with the numbers, but, much like Microsoft, hasn't provided any actual figures. Retailers have also reported "strong numbers" for Microsoft.
We'll have to wait until the dust clears after the holidays before a truly clear picture will emerge.
Microsoft's Xbox One launches on Nov. 22, and will be available in Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain, UK, and the United States for $499.
The new console claims an 8-core x86 processor and Microsoft hopes it will take the place of the family room cable box by letting you watch Blu-ray movies and TV through the console, in a "seamless transition" that lets players switch from playing games to watching shows and/or movies. It will come fully loaded with 8GB of RAM and a 500GB hard drive.
A cross-country tour where Microsoft is demoing the system at various locations is already underway, and demo kiosks have begun arriving at certain retailers.
As for Sony, the PlayStation 4 boasts Supercharged PC architecture, X86 CPU, Enhanced PC GPU, and 8GB Unified Memory under the hood. It will support the same PlayStation Plus service as the Vita and PlayStation 3. However, a Plus subscription will be required for online multiplayer games, but not for additional media services like Netflix. Sony has also updated the Dual Shock controllers with a touch screen and improved shoulder triggers, and bundles the console with a headset.
Demo kiosks have already started making their way to various retailers, with more and more rolling out the closer we get to the console's launch date.
The PlayStation 4 is set to release on November 15 in North America and on November 29 in Europe. Day one games available for the system include Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, Battlefield 4, Call of Duty: Ghosts, Killzone Shadow Fall, Madden NFL 25, NBA 2K14, Need for Speed: Rivals, and more. It will retail for $399.
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