As the Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3, begins in Los Angeles, the battle lines are being drawn in the next generation of console wars. The competitors are the recently announced Xbox One and Playstation 4, and with release dates scheduled to coincide with the busy holiday shopping season, only one can emerge post-Christmas as the victor, thus setting the standard in this latest battle for pixelated superiority. And once again, it seems that Microsoft has the edge over Sony.
According to the website Market for Computer and Video Games, Amazon.co.uk has the Xbox One tracking 2.3 per cent ahead of the Playstation 4 in pre-orders. Pre-orders for the Xbox One are also beating the pace set by its predecessor the Xbox 360 by 20 per cent. Those are interesting numbers, but not at all conclusive.
“It’s not clear yet which of the two will have the edge when they launch later this year,” says Xavier Garambois, Amazon Europe’s VP of retail. “What’s certain, though, is that fans are already excited about how the next generation of consoles will change the world of gaming and home entertainment.”
“Both the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 are set to have a huge impact, not just in terms of cutting edge games but also as part of the way in which families enjoy home entertainment,” adds Ketu Patel, Amazon.co.uk’s head of video games. “It will be fascinating to see how the battle between the two console giants develops over the coming months – the fight for who’s going to be the must-have Christmas present is only just beginning.”
Sony has got to be hoping that these early numbers of the Xbox One are more anomaly than early indicator as to how the sales figures upon the systems’ release will play out. Unfortunately for them though, only time will tell. Judging by how each company performed today at E3, it’s interesting that Microsoft is still ahead but with many months to go until release, things can easily change.
