With the release dates of the Xbox Series X and Series S (Nov. 10) and the PlayStation 5 and PS5 Digital Edition (Nov. 12) looming, CivicScience surveyed thousands of Americans about their intent to purchase each of these consoles.
The survey data show that PlayStation’s newest offerings have a slight edge over the next-gen Xbox consoles. About 12% of Americans (ages 13 and up) say they have firm plans to buy either a PlayStation 5 (7%) or a PlayStation 5 Digital Edition (5%). Meanwhile, about 10% of Americans say they plan to purchase either an Xbox Series X (5%) or an Xbox Series S (5%).
Note the large numbers of Americans who are still on the fence (“I haven’t decided yet”) about buying each of these consoles. This may mean that Americans’ plans will become clearer as the holiday season approaches.
Among those who’ve already decided to buy these consoles, it appears that — in general — the majority who plan to buy right now are buying them for themselves. Perhaps in an effort to trim about $100 off their holiday budgets, those who plan to buy the Xbox Series S (the less powerful, discounted version of the new Xbox console) were more likely to purchase it as a gift.
Top Games Available at Launch
While CivicScience didn’t ask Americans about all of the games that will be available for these consoles on their launch dates, we did take a pulse on some of the most anticipated titles for each.
For the PS5, Marvel’s Spiderman: Miles Morales was clearly the most sought-after launch title CivicScience asked about. Respondents were twice as likely to say they were interested in Spiderman than they were for the next-most popular title, Demon’s Souls.
As far as the Xbox Series X and Series S are concerned, the familiar cross-console favorite Fortnite led the pack, rather than any of the exclusive Xbox launch titles CivicScience asked about. This relative lack of enthusiasm for Xbox-only titles could be due to the reported delay in the launch of the flagship Xbox title, Halo Infinite, to 2021.
Brand Favorability Among PlayStation, Xbox Buyers
There’s no doubt that brands will be looking for cross-promotional opportunities for fans of each of these console brands. But which gamers are attracted to which brands? CivicScience dove into the snack-food preferences of Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 prospective console buyers to find out.
It turns out that Xbox intenders are substantially more likely than others to like store-bought Rice Krispies Treats. They’re also highly favorable toward Bugles snacks as well (though they’d better dust off their fingertips before picking up the controller).
Meanwhile, PlayStation 5 intenders were — perhaps somewhat surprisingly — more likely than others to like Special K brand snacks.
Xbox intenders were also less likely than others to say they prefer Pepsi over Coke. But interestingly, PlayStation intenders were more likely than others to say they prefer Pepsi (though a majority still prefer Coke).
The age-old stereotype of gamers binging on Doritos chips? Turns out it’s only somewhat true. Xbox or PS5 intenders (and those who haven’t decided yet) were only slightly more likely than those who won’t buy a game console to say they like Doritos.
