Xbox One vs. PS4: The (Un)importance Of Gaming Polls

Since E3, countless online polls have surfaced, allowing dedicated gamers to wave their flag and show their loyalty to the console they want to purchase this Holiday season. Polls, naturally, receive a lot of doubt, especially when they show lopsided results. GameNTrain takes a look at whether or not online polls can make a difference.

[harkki86]

i saw this linked on my fb page. people are so quick to say "this does not matter" but would you be saying the same thing if your console was in the lead?

we live in a connected world. i have friends who update fb on an hourly basis on their phone. i have to ask those who think the online response to xbox one will not make a difference: what planet are you from? even my non gaming friends know about how microsoft is trying to sell another kinect camera (they say it seems cheap to drop the old one so quickly)

[lawgone]

Well, online polls are rather notorious for being flat out wrong. They appeal to certain segments and there are so many variables going in that effect the outcome. Even scientific polls generally have a margin of error of +/- 5%. These are non-scientific social media polls. Who is aware of the poll and who chooses to respond is going to have a huge effect on the outcome.

Having said that, I will agree that had this poll come out in favor of XBox One then you would see some of its supporters promoting it.

[FlameHawk]

You are correct to some degree, for example for N4G, we all know there are way more Sony Fanboys than Microsoft fanboy, and if there was a poll like about which one was better, we all know which would win, but the thing is people are now thinking about how Microsoft isn't about the gamers and is about the money and people are ACTUALLY switching from Xbox to Playstation. Many of my gamer friends who own Xbox said they are switching to PS4. I would say the polls are fairly accurate.

[Transporter47]

@Flamehawk Fanboys number you seriosly believe taht N4G is full of Sony Fanboys? How long have you been a part of N4G because trust me there are as many Sony as MS as Nintendo as PC fanboys on here only difference is taht Sony "Fanboys" do have a good reason to be proud to be one of those. I'm a gamer not a fanboy, i do like the way Sony does things more then MS but i'm not bias towards either.

[georgeenoob]

Polls are ALWAYS flawed. All it truly states is which side has the most fanboys, MS or Sony?

[NatureOfLogic]

Lol at Xbox supporters comments below. First they think that Playstation fanboys took over n4g and other sites, now Xbox fanboys thinks that Sony fans took over the internet and rigged these polls. Has it every occurred to Xbox fans that, maybe people just like the Xbox One and MS a lot less after the reveal. I know It's shocking and hard to believe in your little fanboy world, but MS screwed up pretty bad and It's not just going to go away because of the 180.

[georgeenoob]

@Nature

Wow, you're still talking about the reveal? Yea, lets keep talking about the reveal and forget MS announced more than a dozen hardcore exclusives at E3.

Why do I defend MS? Cause I'm tired of Sony fanboys like you playing stupid and spreading misinformation, like how you did just now. i.e "half those exclusives are timed", "kinect is going to spy on you", "the Azure Cloud literally doesn't do anything". I've had it up to here with this BS.

[NatureOfLogic]

We should have a dedicated section on n4g for Xbox titled "What no longer matters since Xbox One worst reveal ever." It's not hard to believe many don't want the Xbox One due to MS's revealed end game. Now instead of talking about what's so awesome about the X1, Xbox supporters are too busy being defensive and talking about what doesn't matter because It's not in favor of Xbox One.

[Kryptix]

@georgeenoob
lol Trust me, if those numbers were the other way around, you wouldn't be saying that. Polls aren't the best way of telling what's going to happen, opinions change. The thing is that, with numbers like that, having votes 10+ times more shows what the online community is favoring right now. Every vote can count into a potential buyer but since opinions change, you can disregard that. It mostly shows who's been doing right this whole time or what appeals better to you. Doesn't always mean that someone isn't going to buy the other eventually but these polls are telling what's best for right now. People will see these polls, do some research, come back and vote on what appeals to them. And since we're living in a more online connected world, it's not the same as 2005-2006. These polls are important to help some casuals make a choice now. Having more popularity always win more sales at times but of course, doesn't mean it's the best for you if you pay attention to everything, advantage and disadvantage.

[JokesOnYou]

No its just like politics generally replubicans are more outspoken in regards to government, laws, and moral leadership, but of course the media tends to be more liberal/democratic. Now without getting too deep in political issues basicly polls depend alot on the forum/audience but what is evident from most elections and new legislation voting is the MASS PUBLIC tends to be split on most of the high profile/ important issues.....but if you watch Fox news or MSNBC all the time as your main source about whats going on in the world you'd likely have very different view that isnt representative/accurate of what the avg joe really thinks.

Avg joes don't vote in gaming polls, they vote at the cash register polls with their wallets, they don't care for specs, what you see is what you get, they want a console that shows them some fun games, they want it do other things, they want it cheap(they will only pay more if they are convinced it has value, example apple) and they want extra intangibles like customer service. Now you can disagree with micro in principle or on policy but no one can deny that BOTH these consoles are very attractive to the avg joe who says "Hey I'm thinking of picking up one these shiny new latest consoles....hmmm so what games do I want to play?" -Thats it thats how they decide, only secondary question is "Hey what else can I use the console for?"

Again sony fans are more vocal, but in terms of buying power they are not representative of what sales numbers will be, yes every online poll has been heavily lopsided in favor of ps4 but clicking on a poll is easy, in the end they are only buying 1 ps4 each just like the avg joe that couldn't be bothered to read a gaming poll. Proofs in the pudding, yes its likely ps4 overall preorders are still marginally higher than X1 but if the polls were a true measure ps4 should not only be winning but dominating the largest online retailer in the world(Amazon) yet its not with X1 for quite awhile steady in the top 10, currently #4 while ps4 is #18, which means X1 is gaining/closing whatever preorder gap there was....that is impossible it should be steady or really widening if polls were accurate.
http://www.amazon.com/best-...

[Kryptix]

@JokesOnYou
lol When I read politics, legislation, and FOX News...I was like, the fu are you talking about? lol Nah, I actually understood everything you said. Not really the best way to try to send a point across when you compare gaming with politics if you want people to understand you. Anyway though, don't understimate the power of the poll. Back in 2006 there was a poll running around, PS3, Wii, and the 360. Guess who won? Xbox 360 leading with 30,000+ votes at 48% of the total votes. While the PS3 was 3rd, 9,500 votes with only 15% of the total votes. Guess what happened? PS3 had the worst start of the 3 because of the high pricing and though the poll is half right...the Wii ended up first at launch with the lowest pricing. Basically, if something does really good in a poll, it's going to transfer into the future even if the console did not release yet.

http://vgstrategies.about.c... (View Results)

Forward to 2013, which one has the higher pricing, which is getting all the negativity? The Xbox One is in the same situation as the PS3 before launch. Not saying Xbox One might not catch up to the PS4 but it's not going to be as good as the PS4 at launch for a while. That's what we know for now, there's still Gamescon to change people's mind but Sony's new plan is to give gamers reasons to stick with the PS4. They already won the interests of many, it's now about keeping those interests towards the PS4

[Rhythmattic]

Jokesonyou...

Dude... No, Just no...

So you ignore the fact the One is the Day One edition which hasnt sold out.

All the day one (console only) PS4's are sold out, so no longer available... You would surely realise this is why its not in the top sellers..

Also, you seem to have accidently- on purpose ignored the fact there is only 1 Xbox SKU where as there are 4 PS4 bundles in the top sellers.

PS4 fan , or One fan.... The fact is your post suffers of FUD.

[NewMonday]

@JokesOnYou

2013 chart:

PS4 at #3
XBone at #6

also more PS4 bundles in the same list

http://www.amazon.com/gp/be... #6.1

this fact is not going away just because you ignore it, you just further damage your credibility

[nukeitall]

Right now, the hard core gamer and the early adopters are going to vote.

Once a system releases, it is then sold first to that crowd, but will also be available to the general public.

This means these polls are going to be skewed. We know for instance a vocal minority in many cases mis-represent situation. Take for instance, original Kinect, Spore, Diablo 3, Call of Duty, and Sim City.

Yet, they all sold well!

I'm not saying the polls aren't reflected in the result, but just not the way you think it will. Furthermore, as the generation moves on, it is the content and features that propell the sales. Either manufacturer could have that one killer software in the line-up that probably matters more.

[forcefullpower]

It is not suddenly going to change when "general public" start purchasing. You do know why so many people bout the Xbox because everyone else had bought them and their mates had it. The general public go by options from friends and price. If the polls and pre orders are correct you will see a huge drive for ps4 which can cause most general public to purchase it. To be honest the xbox1 has such a bad image where I live in the UK now they are going to find it hard to sell any xboxs. Most people I know went from wanting to own both be for march to not even buying it at all ever they don't trust Microsoft after the 180 and the bad rap windows 8 is getting from consumers.

[sic_chops]

So Georgenoob supports m$ because of Sony fanboys? Thats sad.

[DigitalRaptor]

I think you're right on there harkki.

Who are the ones that pre-order consoles for day one? The core.

Who are the gamers that visit the Internet and readup on their sh*t? The core.

Who are the ones that answer these polls? The core.

Whilst polls are not nearly a perfectly effective way of gathering data, this particular situation has certain people pretending that an overwhelming majority is somehow not of any kind of relevance, as a way of making themselves feel better about their already decided purchase. BUT it doesn't change the majority of those that have already pre-ordered or are considering pre-ordering PS4.

This favouring is not blind noise. There is logic to these numbers. What MS have done with their new console has irked gamers, consumers and damaged their reputation and the majority of good will that they have gained over 2 generations of gaming.

[zeroskie]

If evidence isn't to your liking, then it's time to label it as irrelevant.

[fr0sty]

Some polls may be wrong, but all indications show that the ones in regards to Xbox One and PS4 are accurate. Presale trends seem to back the overwhelming support in the polls.

[Nocando]

Actually, I would definitely say that it does not matter if the XB1 was in the lead.

[kewlkat007]

Polls are BS..

At the end of the day mom and pops know sh!t about polls..they just go in and buy what their kids want, what games they like to play, what ecosystems they are attached to and what their friends are getting so they can play multiplayer.

After being on this site I realized, so much BS there is online and so much is skewed...We know nothing besides some click happy-percentages

[DiRtY]

True.

For those who say the polls matter, can we expect the PS4 to outsell the Xbox One 9:1 like some polls are indicating?

If you have the slightest doubt that this might happen, you get the idea how accurate these polls really are.

[Hicken]

First: early adopters are primarily core gamers. And those core gamers are most likely to be represented in these polls. Which means the majority of core gamers are leaning more toward the PS4 than the XBO. Anyone who disregards the core and their importance in the gaming industry has zero credibility to speak.

Second: You're right about the parents. But here's the thing: the kids are on the internet, just like us core gamers. They may not have known as fast as us, but you can be sure the kids know something, and have made up their minds. They're also followers, so if any significant number leans one way, others will follow.

Guess which way the majority seems to be leaning right now?

Third: the ratio in the polls isn't representative of any end result. It's stupid to think that it does. The polls indicate interest and potential; they're not direct windows into a future that can't be changed. Nobody's saying the polls show the PS4 will outsell the XBO 9:1, and only somebody ignorant would attempt to argue for or against that being implied. But three or four to one isn't impossible or even improbable.

[kewlkat007]

Hicken its all relative..

After the consoles have been out, gamers have played them, developers can talk more about the games, we can see them for ourselves, maybe then the polls are a little believable because they will be based on something tangible and an experience.

Of course this is a gauging poll but
it's just not as black and white as some make it out. Some calling victory based off polls. Not saying you though. This early IMHO, the polls are skewed.

[airgangstarr]

sony fans are ridiculous they go out of there way to bash xbox where as xbox players could careless what sony does that sums it up ,, if u really think everyone is gonna buy ps4 to play killzone over people buyin xbox 1 to play cod ghosts then u should do a little research into what franchise sells better an where those players buyin it play on Xbox live !!!!!

[HammadTheBeast]

Well you can bet that if the tides were shifted the other way, these websites would be whistling a whole different tune.

[first1NFANTRY]

For this reason alone we must continue to spread the word and let people know what console has the advantage.

[kneon]

It would seem most people already know ;)

[Grimhammer00]

I've mentioned this before -

Early adopters are core. Core are the free promoters of their console of choice. They are motivated to see their console "win".

So it's extremely important to have early momentum with early adopters. Doesn't matter that average consumers don't even know November is coming - because, come time for the sheep to purchase their shepards the early adopters will be in full effect.

So yeah, polls for some industries are weak indicators of sales. But not when your talking about gaming or tech industry in general.

[theWB27]

Polls only mean something relative to the amount of people involved. So lets set this up. If 200,000 people were polled and 140,000 chose PS4 guess what that means (according to the first two posts up top) those were numbers according to the informed and hardcore gamers.

Compare that to the over 200 million systems sold this gen and that's a pretty irrelevant number to go by. That's 199,800,000 million gamers (casuals I mean) who have yet to formally make up their mind on what console they want.

Even going by Amazon numbers...it's irrelevant from pre-orders. When the starting numbers don't come close to the totality of the situation. No conclusion can be made.

Sony boys won't see it that way. They think Sony has already "won" something. Here's the blue ribbon. We really won't know for awhile...further evidenced by this past gen that we can't go by how things start off with how the PS3 got off to it's slow start and still caught up. Although helped by the foreign sales that Micro will never get.

So while I agree Micro won't sell more consoles because of territories Sony has locked up. It won't be the landslide Sony cheerleaders hope it to be.

@zeroskie
IDK if you were being sarcastic or not. I'm figuring sarcastic..since you said F numbers when I provided them..along with logic. But thanks anyway.

[zeroskie]

yeah, fuck numbers and logic. you know you're right and you should stick to it.

[keabrown79]

Pretty much what you said.. even this gen Sony has had most of the other territories locked up and Microsoft has done very well for themselves by owning the U.S market.. Not sure I see it being any different this next gen as well.. yes, the core have spoken, and yes I am one of them and I will be buying a PS4. However, never underestimate the marketing machine that is Microsoft. Hell, today I went to go see Despicable Me 2 and know what I saw? They had a advertisement for the Xbox One, the future of gaming. So while the core may have made their stand, they are only a small fraction of overall console purchasers. This war is far far from over.

[DragonKnight]

Thing is WB, if it were one or two polls that just began and ended, you might have a point. But it's not one or two polls. It's every poll. Across any site that has them. IGN, Facebook, Amazon, Gamefaqs. These sites all had polls. All of them showed a tremendous lead for the PS4.

It's come to the point where even the casual audience has shown leanings towards the PS4. Jimmy Fallon show anyone? Twitter anyone?

There are various ways to "poll" people that aren't a simple straight question with 2 answers. In every way that you can gauge interest, the PS4 is leading over the Xbox One.

No amount of Xbox One fans defending the console, or asking why non-fans are talking about the Xbox One when they don't want it, is going to change that fact.

MikeMyers in 3...2..

[dragonyght]

Please space me your logic. Everyone's know like n4g. Ign, facebook, amazon, gamefaqs, game trailers, GameSpot, machinima, Revegame, giantbomb hell even the internet are ps4 fanboys wonderland. They control everything they even cause cancer so what you sad make no sense what so ever this is all Sony fanboys fault

-_-...../s <<=== look over here

[McScroggz]

"Compare that to the over 200 million systems sold this gen and that's a pretty irrelevant number to go by."

Well, actually that is a pretty substantial test pool. It's not uncommon for a mere several thousand poll to represent millions. I get what you are saying about the "casual" gamers, but that is something that we simply cannot quantify beforehand.

However, what we can quantify - to a degree mind you - is the support from the core gamers. The core gamers are the ones who buy your console at launch. The core gamers are the ones who are going to buy many games a year and possibly even accessories. The core gamers are going to evangelize the product of their choice. You see where I'm going with this.

So, while polls are by no means an end all, be all way to formulate an educated prediction of the launch of these consoles, the consistency of PS4 coming out ahead of the Xbox One (generally by a staggering margin) does lend credence to the notion that the PS4 will have a more successful launch. Is it assured? Of course not. But to dismiss these polls is foolish.

[Elit3Nick]

You have explained it far better than I ever could, in my group of friends, both online and out, the vast majority of them a sticking with the new xbox, none of them strike me as particularly loyal to the brand. But so far only one of them is preordering either of the next gen consoles and almost none don't keep themselves up to date on game related news, since most didn't know about the 180 until I told them. I don't doubt that the PS4 will easily outsell the Xb1, but as you said, there are a lot more people getting the Xb1 then the people here claim

[theWB27]

@DragonKnight
I'm speaking to the people who think Sony has "won" this gen because of what's going on months before the consoles even launch. Even with all of those polls and Jimmy Fallon...it still doesn't equate to all the missing sells. Funny with the Mike Myers bit though : )

@scroggz
I'm sorry but that is not substantial. But I do agree about the launch. It might beat the X1 at launch but. again, Im speaking to the people who have already crowned this gen to Sony. There are a ton of them on here.

@Elit3Nick
Same scenario. My brother is like that. He doesn't follow the news or polls or know much until I show him. If you asked him, there is no way he will ever support Playstation. Period. Even when I told him about the restrictions, he shrugged and still wouldn't flip. When I told him they reversed...he said they were stupid and never should have been there in the first place. But never once was he going to get a Playstation. His friends all game on Xbox.

[DragonKnight]

Well, there's no way to legitimately say that Sony has won a generation that, for them, hasn't even started. But they are "winning" public perception right now. And thanks, he follows me around so he's bound to show up with something to say that no one cares about.

[moparful99]

Did you not consider how many of those "200 million" were multi console owners? Repeat buyers? I know of numerous people that have had more then 1 of a system.. I myself am on my 3rd ps3, not to mention the multitude of people that opted to buy new 360's due to the RROD.. We have no accurate measure of exactly how many Unique console owners are out there so your claims don't hold much water.. I understand where you are coming from but you neglected this fact..

[theWB27]

Since we can pretty much guarantee that we won't get through this upcoming gen without repeat buyers, replaced consoles, or multi console owners doesn't negate the fact that over 200 mill consoles were sold this past gen.

So they do hold water. Again, this upcoming gen will have the same type of buyers. I didn't neglect anything cause they still count as sells.

[moparful99]

But you are trying to count them as individual people. In relation to the poll just because there were 200 million hardware units sold does not mean that there are 200 million individual gamers that are potential buyers.. You are trying to call into question the validity of the poll by stating there were 200 million gamers this previous generation all the while neglecting the fact that we don't know for certain how many there are.. You can't claim fact using vague statistics.. That's the only point I am making.

[matrixman92]

I am getting a ps4 because lol xbone...but, I really believe that these polls dont matter. The audience that xbox reaches do not go on video game news websites or find polls on the internet. They are off with their bros doing bro things. The way I see it, if it has Xbox in the name, the casual mainstream will eat it up no matter what.

[creatchee]

He says assume the PS4 will sell 150 million consoles. I can't see any console going that high next generation. He points to the PS1 and PS2, but they were special cases where there was no other console that could rival it in terms of support. Add in the fact that this generation, which is already longer than most other generations, only has one that has sold roughly 100 million units (the Wii), and I just don't find it a likely scenario.

150 million is a lot. I could definitely see 100 million PS4s though.

[Kryptix]

Polls only matter to a certain extent. It won't tell exact numbers of sales at launch of course and opinions can change but if you follow the line, you can see what's more appealing and what isn't. When every poll favors one thing every time for many months and people see that, they realize what's going to be the leading console then they decide to pick it up. I heard the argument of, "I only bought a 360 because my friends have it" many times. If they see many are getting a PS4, then they will get it. Just like iPods were the popular thing and a high percentage got one. And since we live in 2013 and we are more connected to the internet than ever, these polls do now factor into deciding what the "best" choice is. If these polls still exist a month or two before launch and it still favors the PS4 since today...then we can tell what's going to be the "winner" of next gen. Even after MS changed policies, PS4 is still in favor over the Xbox One. Like I said opinions change, but we're seeing what's popular right now. And trust me, there are people that pick something up just because of popularity but polls also tell who's doing right and who's doing wrong.

[frostyhat123]

I honestly think its way to early to tell, these consoles are still months away from a release date. I think we will have to wait a year and see the sales discrepancy between the two. I believe Ps4 will have a lead. How big of one remains to be determined.

[pyramidshead]

No need to type out a long meaningful comment really. If the results were reversed we wouldn't be seeing all the die hard Xboxers in this thread complaining about the results and how they're irrelevant, fact. Just accept the fact they are so, because PSers would be doing the same complaining if it were reversed. But this is just how it's turned out.

So much epic double standards from fanboys in this thread lol.

[Grimhammer00]

I never said Xbone won't do well. I'm just saying MS won't be seeing this gens level of success - and if they manage it, it'll be at massive marketing costs.

They have an uphill battle.

But.....the real question is....are you a fanboy or a gamer? Fanboys blindly defend indefensible buisness decisions concerning their console of worship. Gamers are concerned with their hobby as a whole and want what's best for their gaming as well as their fellow gamers no matter what console they play on.

Which of these are you?

[OAlhammadi]

I did not vote on any poll.

But if I did I would say that I am a PC gamer, and I already own the nVidia GTX 780 so I will be avoiding the consoles on launch day and wait till there are enough games to choose which console to go to.

But in all fairness I have to say that I would probably buy the PS4 since it has the better graphic card, which is something due to me being a PC gamer and thus would always look at graphic card capabilities first.

I am not interest in exclusives, only multiplats great games.

[paranoid1971]

So, if all these polls and pre-order numbers don't mean anything then why did Microsoft do a complete reversal on their DRM policy?
Seems to me that Microsoft think they're pretty damn important

[Sadist3]

These pools don't mean anything to me, cause it doesn't affect my decision to buy a gaming system. I don't care who buys what system, doesn't have anything to do with me

[hkgamer]

So the whole point of that article was to show that he himself was an xbox fan and that even if these polls are correct not to worry because it would do better than the original xbox.
The original Xbox lost alot of money, i mean it was succesful in a way to launch a fanbase for its next generation but if the Xbone were to make the same amount of sales as the original xbox then that would be a failure.

[Picnic]

It only matters in the way that a matters that a virus becomes catching when enough people sneeze and are prone to picking up that virus.

If 76% of people think that Johnny Depp's a better actor than Jack Nicholson are they necessarily right? Maybe, maybe not.

The figure could have actually been well higher if it wasn't for America.

I feel that the most intrinsically 'wrong' thing for me about the Xbox One is what was set in place right from the very start with the original Xbox- I cannot play online for free. But I'm not owed that, it's just that it felt nicer being given it for free by Sony.

Trouble is- Sony are no longer giving lots of great games for free as part of chargeable Playstation Plus all the time. The stream has slowed down, presumably in the hope that no-one will notice as they spend their umpteenth hour playing multiplayer on a Plus game that they've had for ages.

Look over to another pond and you may see a slightly shinier fish. But what if it's not the type of fish that you want?