PS4 vs. Xbox One: 95 Percent Favor PS4 Over Xbox According To An Amazon Poll - Is It Consistent?

There's little doubt that Sony came out of E3 with a distinct edge over Microsoft. The Xbox One received a decent reception during Monday's press conference, but the PlayStation 4 garnered a near-standing ovation, just for announcing the ability to play used games and a lack of online connectivity DRM.

However, I'm not sure many could have predicted just how wide the margin of popularity actually was. Online retail giant Amazon.com posted a public poll on Facebook, asking consumers which console they were more interested in. With almost 95% of the vote, the PlayStation 4 absolutely clobbered the Xbox One, prompting Amazon to end the poll early (perhaps to spare some of Microsoft's dignity).

Prior to Amazon pulling the survey, the final numbers had Sony at 38,984 votes and Microsoft with only 2,162 votes.

The poll was originally supposed to run for a full week, ending on June 20th. However, it was shut down a full four days early after the results began to pour in. In addition, Amazon took the extra step of removing the results from its page as well.

There doesn't seem to be a lot of logic behind closing and deleting the poll. The numbers were generating a lot of media buzz, as well as data for the company to help them determine what the sales numbers of each device might be this holiday season.

On their Facebook page, many users are accusing Amazon of buckling to the pressure of Microsoft PR reps, who they theorize may have asked the site to pull the poll.

Facebook user Carl Angus stated, "So Amazon Video Games buckles under Microsoft pressure and removes the Xbox One vs PS4 Poll. This successfully reaffirms my vote. Really [Amazon Video Games] should be ashamed for that, but thanks for showing everyone that your integrity does have a price."

Dawn Doe-Deer agreed saying, "Throwing in my distaste for not only closing the poll early, but removing the results. That's a bit underhanded."

Another user added, "One thing MS can't pay to have removed is all the PS4 preorders."

Microsoft has been struggling to focus its message in a way that's clear and appealing since the Xbox One's reveal. Even some diehard Xbox fans were up in arms over issues such as used games DRM, always-online connectivity, and a Big Brother-esque Kinect setup.

The company has been doing its best to clarify some of these concerns, but so far have been unable to convince many gamers that the changes are for the best. With E3 already behind them, and Sony firmly in the lead, Microsoft is quickly running out of time before the holiday sale season begins.

While Microsoft deals with their own PR nightmare, it seems like Amazon might be losing a few of its fans as well.

Mathew Clute stated, "Hey so uh, like where's that poll? I mean, you wouldn't take it down because Microsoft was mad right? That'd be like, the weakest thing you could do;" with another user going as far as unliking Amazon's Facebook page saying, "Caved in to Microsoft pressure? That's you unliked then."

The Xbox One and PlayStation 4 are expected to launch later this year.