According to a recent study, it seems that the general gaming population is fairly split on whether they will buy a Sony and Microsoft have been locked in a fierce competition for the attention of video game players around the world. It will be difficult to tell which side the public falls on until the consoles release in November.
While the excitement surrounding the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X have hit critical mass, retailers have been hit with issues as there haven't been enough cancel already purchased PlayStation 5 pre-orders, because Sony isn't providing enough units. Despite, and maybe because of these issues, fans are still fighting hard to get their hands on a new console before release.
According to a new report from CivicScience, fans are split fairly evenly between the two systems, but PlayStation 5 seems like it may have a small lead. In January of this year and then again in September gamers were asked which console they were most excited for. In both instances almost 60% of those asked were more excited for the PlayStation 5. CivicScience notes that excitement for a console doesn't necessarily translate to sales, but an almost twenty point lead does spell out good things for Sony going forward.
The issue here though is that when CivicScience asked the general public as a whole if they were going to buy a PS5 or an Xbox Series X, the answers were much more similar. Roughly 9% of the US population stated that they were likely to a buy the Xbox, whereas about 10% stated they would buy the PlayStation 5. Microsoft gains an edge over Sony though, because its s are significantly more wealthy. Almost ten percent more of Xbox s live in a household that earns more than $100,000 a year which gives them more disposable income to drop on a brand new gaming console.
At the end of the day though it is near impossible to tell which console is going to wind up coming out on top. There may be significantly more gamers excited for the PlayStation 5, but that isn't going to amount to much if those players aren't able to easily get their hands on the console this holiday season. Microsoft may very well win out just because they made acquiring a pre-order a much simpler process for everyone involved. Everyone will just have to wait and see what happens in November.
The Xbox Series X/S will be available on November 1o, 2020, and the PlayStation 5 launches on November 12 in select countries and November 19 globally.
Source: CivicScience