Given the differences in approaches with their next-generation consoles, the so-called ‘console war’ between Sony and Microsoft is arguably moot. Nevertheless, most console gamers will need to make a choice between the PS5 and Xbox Series X.
And it would appear that the PS5 is coming out on top. That’s because data gathered by SimilarWeb and passed on to TNW has shown that there’s a marked difference between the number of people visiting playstation.com and xbox.com when the console's pre-orders went live.
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According to the data, when PS5 pre-orders went live on September 16, somewhat chaotically, visitors to Sony’s console website peaked at 892,000. In comparison, visitors to the Xbox site hit a peak of 776,200 when Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S pre-orders went live on September 22.
Pre-orders for all three consoles sold out rapidly, and it’s still a challenge to find a retailer that has some availability.
But it looks like Sony has the edge on the number of people who appear to be after its next-generation console. There’s nuance to be had here, in that people torn between the PS5 and Xbox Series X might have just gone for Sony’s machine as it was the first to set its pre-orders live.
The PS5 also has a Digital Edition — offering all the power of the standard PS5 but removes its disc drive — that undercuts the $499 Xbox Series X with a price tag of $399. So the Digital Edition might have tempted people to go for a PS5.
That being said, Sony sold a lot more PS4 consoles than Microsoft did with the Xbox One. So effectively, Sony has a larger core of PlayStation players to take with it to the next console generation. Arguably, it’s no surprise that the PS5 is getting more attention than its Xbox rival.
Nevertheless, it’s interesting to see the Xbox Series X get so much attention, given it’s brand pull is arguably smaller than PlayStation's. No doubt Microsoft's approach to give the Xbox Series X the most power it can — 12 teraflops compared to the PS5’s 10.28 teraflops — has helped attract console fans. And having the cheaper $299 Xbox Series S can’t hurt either, given that machine offers an alternative options for people who don’t want to sink nearly $500 on a gaming gadget.
With the Xbox consoles due to launch November 10 and the PS5 launching November 12 in the U.S., we’ll soon see which comes out on top. But it would appear both console brands could be onto a winner.
