Sony dominated this year’s E3, at least when it came to messaging. The company gained praise from gamers for the PlayStation 4‘s $400 price – $100 less than Microsoft’s Xbox One. Sony also got a positive response for simply not implementing DRM in its new console or restricting used game sales – both “features” that Microsoft had announced for the Xbox One.
Though Microsoft later backed off from implementing hardware-level DRM and restricting used games, the damage to the Xbox One’s reputation had already been done – and not just for hardcore gamers. Anecdotally, the PlayStation 4 has gained a lead on the Xbox One. The PS4 sits at number three in Amazon’s 2013 best-seller list for video games, with the Xbox One trailing behind at number six. Now, one analyst firm has released some actual data about the public’s perception of the two consoles.
A new report out from Strategy Analytics shows that negative perceptions of Microsoft’s next-generation video game console seem to have reached average consumers. The analyst firm’s latest “ConsumerMetrix” survey gathered data on consumers’ intentions of purchasing next-generation consoles. The survey found that 14.2% of more than 6,000 consumers surveyed in the U.S. and Europe were “very or somewhat likely” to purchase a PlayStation 4 within the next year. Only 9.5 of consumers could say the same about the Xbox One. The firm believes this consumer sentiment could predict 50% higher sales of the PlayStation 4 over the Xbox One.
“Our survey suggests that consumers believe the PS4 will win the early phase of the next generation console war,” said Jia Wu, director of Connected Home Devices at Strategy Analytics. “Sony’s performance at E3 was widely accepted as superior to Microsoft’s, and the survey evidence suggests this has already fed through to the wider consumer market.”
