Xbox One vs. PS4 News: Poll Shows Most Interested in PS4, Are Specs and Exclusives Winning the Fight?

The launches of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One are drawing closer every day, and a new poll shows that more gamers are looking forward to Sony's console than Microsoft's new console.

The poll, commissioned by Compete and implemented by the Millward Brown Digital group, asked online shoppers which console they are looking forward to the most. The PlayStation 4 was the preferred console by a wide margin: 61 percent of those surveyed answered that they were only considering the PlayStation 4. In comparison, only 27 percent of those participating claimed they were only interested in the Xbox One. Twelve percent stated that they were interested in buying both consoles when they are available. The survey did not ask if participants were interested in other consoles such as Nintendo's Wii U or the Ouya console.

There are many different factors that may contribute to these numbers. The launch of a new console attracts more hardcore gamers than more casual gamers, which means that those surveyed were more likely brand loyalists rather than those taking the wait-and-see approach. In addition, these numbers were taken from June through September, meaning that the high PlayStation 4 numbers may have been due to the backlash over the original Xbox One features that proved very unpopular. The specs are fairly similar between the two consoles at a hardwear level, and at launch there are few exculsives, which probably did little to change the numbers. Another fact that could spike the numbers is that online retailers do not usually require a deposit on pre-orders for consoles, so users could potentially reserve a PlayStation 4 and Xbox One without putting any money down, then decide later if they actually want to go through with the purchase.

Millward Brown Digital vice president Matt Pace also provided some data concerning the raw numbers of the online shopping interest for the next-gen consoles, which started strong before gradually declining:

"Following a spike in June when some retailers began taking pre-orders, interest in both the PS4 and Xbox One has gradually waned. The number of consumers shopping online for either console in September was down 52 percent from June. With marketing now picking up, one of the first salvos being Sony's tie-in with Taco Bell, consumer interest in the consoles will soon rise in anticipation of the launches," said Pace. 

It will be interesting to see if these numbers end up reflecting the sales numbers when both consoles are released in November. The PlayStation 4 will launch on Nov. 15, and the Xbox One will follow one week later on Nov. 22.