With the two new major new generation consoles from Sony and Microsoft seeing the light of day at more or less the same time last year, everyone has been closely paying attention to the tight race between the two major console manufacturers. Both the Xbox One and Playstation 4 had seen great success with sales, and both consoles sold over a million units on launch day. But how do the users see the battle? There are of course Sony fans, Microsoft fans, and then there are the people who love both (or hate both) or are simply on the fence. What’s the result of the controversial “Playstation 4 vs Xbox One” battle? Let’s have a look!
Titanfall, a PC and Xbox exclusive title
IGN conducted a large survey in order to find out what fans think about the new consoles, and the results have been made public. Over 600.000 votes were registered from gamers everywhere, and voting was processed through several distinct categories. Here are the results from the votes, for each category:
- Sony won in the Controller category, with a 68 vs 32% vote count. It seems users preferred the Playstation 4′s Dual Shock 4 controller over the Xbox One counterpart
- Hardware-wise, the Playstation 4 won with a significant margin, getting a 71 vs 29 % vote count. This is hardly surprising, considering the fact that the two consoles have similar hardware specs, but at distinct prices. Yes, at $499, the Xbox One does include a Kinect camera, while at $399 the Playstation 4 does not, however, the Playstation 4 camera costs an additional $59, so overall, the Playstation 4 is still cheaper. Regardless, the voters have spoken, and the difference in votes is significant.
- Next on the list was the Games Library section, where the race was a lot tighter. Both consoles have their own distinct franchises and titles, but the Playstation 4 won yet again with a 59 to 41 vote percentage. These results might be subject to change in the future, when more console exclusive titles will be coming out this year. The Xbox One will be getting games like Titanfall soon, while the Playstation 4 will get Driver Club or Infamous: Second Son. I feel this comparison might be worth re-doing at the end of 2014 for more accurate results.
- On the Software side, Sony won again, with the same 59-41 vote percent ratio, and also won the vote-count on the Online Support category, with 62% vs 38%.
- Lastly, Overall, 68% of users preferred the Playstation 4 over the Xbox One, summing up the fact that Sony’s console won every single category in the polls.
Driver Club, a title exclusive to the Playstation 4
Now, these numbers seem to reflect the fact that Sony has also been doing better in terms of sales too. Recent numbers showed that 4.2 million Playstation 4 consoles were sold, while Microsoft only sold 3.1 million. Fans of both consoles argued in favor of their favorite gaming platforms. Xbox fans defended the console by stating that the real numbers were most likely higher and that the Xbox One is available in fewer markets world-wide, while Playstation 4 fans argued that the Sony console is constantly out of stock, which would suggest sales would have been higher with faster production rates and bigger stocks.
In any case, I feel like both consoles have their merit, and it ultimately comes down to preference. Polls show that the Sony Playstation 4 is the better console, and whether it’s true or not, it really doesn’t matter too much to the user playing in the living room. I honestly doubt any gamer enjoying a few hours of relaxation in the living room will constantly ponder on the implications of the Playstation 4 vs Xbox One battle. Regardless of which one you own or plan on buying, they are both solid products. Still, I have to commend Sony for its success, and I don’t mean sales-wise. They did a great job with building up a solid fan-base and winning the hearts of gamers world-wide.
Poll result source: IGN
