Sony's PlayStation 4 or Microsoft's Xbox One

Get ready for the latest salvo of updates in the story that's going to be topping the gaming headlines all the way into the winter. It's the classic, Iron Chef-like question: Which gaming system will reign supreme? Microsoft's Xbox One or Sony's PlayStation 4.

If you're just taking a gander at Amazon's recent poll, the PlayStation 4 seems to have captured gamer interest by a landslide. However, if you're looking at early Amazon preorders, both consoles appear to be selling well — no official presales figures have been released, unfortunately.

Starting with the Xbox One , Microsoft was quick to post about early sales figures for its just-revealed console shortly after the company's big E3 media briefing.

"We were thrilled by the unprecedented demand we saw for Xbox One today. In the first four hours of preorder availability, we sold through most of our Xbox One Day One Edition inventory," said John Love, Amazon's director of U.S. video games and software, as first detailed in a Microsoft blog post.

Sony, not to be outdone, hasn't taken to the airwaves to tease out any sales stats just yet. However, Amazon did have to split its listing for the PlayStation 4 into two "separate" consoles: A PlayStation 4 "Standard Edition" and a PlayStation 4 "Launch Edition," with the latter quickly selling out.

Unlike Microsoft, which is offering up a bevy of rewards for those who plunk down $499 for a day-one console, there is no actual difference between the two PlayStation 4 versions Amazon has created. They're the same gaming console – no fancy bonuses, achievements, or other unlockables will rain down upon those who preordered the console's Launch Edition instead of the Standard Edition.

The difference, in this case, is all in the shipping. Amazon is guaranteeing release-day delivery for those who plunked down for a PlayStation 4 Launch Edition. As for the Standard Edition, Amazon notes that, "Due to high demand, we cannot guarantee Release-Date Delivery on the standard version of the PlayStation 4. We will deliver the standard version of PlayStation 4 as close to its release date as possible."

If you're trying to discern which console is "better" based on sales alone, you'll be unhappy to find that you can still preorder a PlayStation 4 Launch Edition console or an Xbox One Day One Edition console on Amazon – neither has officially "sold out" just yet. Sort-of.

 


As of this article's writing, there doesn't appear to be a barebones version of the PlayStation 4 "Launch Edition" available for purchase. As in, you can't just buy the barebones console and expect to receive it on December 31. All that's currently offered is the "Standard Edition" PlayStation 4 for $400 and four new PlayStation 4 "launch bundles" that cost anywhere from $460 to $500, depending on the bundle you purchase.

Those preordering the PlayStation 4 on Amazon prior to the split into "Standard" and "Launch" editions received an email earlier this week alerting them to the change, letting them know that their early preorders guaranteed them a Launch Edition of the console.


 Xbox One Games Remain (Mostly) Affordable

Well there's a little bit more good news for Xbox One fans -- game prices are staying the same. The industry standard of $59.99 was set at the beginning of the current cycle and so far it looks to remain there.

Talking to Gamespot, Microsoft confirmed that there won't be a price hike for the next-gen games. So there's at least that.

Conversly, the PS4  "will offer games with prices ranging from $0.99 to the more traditional $60 range," Jack Tretton SCEA CEO told CNBC. How this will shake out on Microsoft's end is anyone's guess but the way that Sony has positioned themself as the Indie friendly system, it might be a while before we see the byte-sized games for cheap on Xbox One.