Neither Sony nor Microsoft's net-gen consoles are out yet, but analyst firm IHS is already declaring Sony the victor in the upcoming console war, predicting that Sony will sell 49 million PlayStation 4 consoles worldwide in the next five years, trumping Microsoft's predicted 38 million Xbox One consoles.
Microsoft's strength, according to a press release sent out by the company, is that, "The installed base of Xbox 360 users is significantly bigger than the original Xbox generation and this factor alone means IHS expects significantly stronger launch sales for Xbox One compared to the last generation. In 2005, Xbox 360 launched at the end of the year with sales of 1.2 million."
It's predicted that the Xbox One will be the dominant console in the U.S., but Sony's PS4 will outperform Microsoft's in Europe, the UK, and Japan, thanks especially to Sony's lower cost.
The report adds, "Sony's PS4 positioning since its announcement has been heavily centred on the gamer, while Microsoft has attempted to implement a mixed and broader entertainment and gaming message."
"This different approach will influence the choice of some early adopters. The strength of exclusives will also be key to consumer adoption; at this time IHS believes that Xbox One's exclusives are more formidable for a wider set of gamers, especially in the opening launch period."
As a result, IHS concluded that Sony will shift 2.4 million PS4 units by the end of 2013, and that Microsoft will hit 2.2 million Xbox One consoles.
The firm's five-year projection places global PS4 sales at 49 million, and Xbox One at 38 million. It concluded, "IHS believes that Sony's wider geographical brand allegiance - especially across continental Europe and Japan - will be decisive in allowing PS4 to outsell Xbox One on a global basis by the end of 2017.
Despite the various PR blunders, IHS believes there will "only be a small amount of defections between Sony and Microsoft," but both new consoles will benefit from the lack of interest in Nintendo's Wii U.
Microsoft's Xbox One launches on Nov. 22, and will be available in Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain, UK, and the United States for $499.
The new console claims an 8-core x86 processor and Microsoft hopes it will take the place of the family room cable box by letting you watch Blu-ray movies and TV through the console, in a "seamless transition" that lets players switch from playing games to watching shows and/or movies. It will come fully loaded with 8GB of RAM and a 500GB hard drive.
A cross-country tour where Microsoft is demoing the system at various locations is already underway, and demo kiosks have begun arriving at certain retailers.
As for Sony, the PlayStation 4 boasts Supercharged PC architecture, X86 CPU, Enhanced PC GPU, and 8GB Unified Memory under the hood. It will support the same PlayStation Plus service as the Vita and PlayStation 3. However, a Plus subscription will be required for online multiplayer games, but not for additional media services like Netflix. Sony has also updated the Dual Shock controllers with a touch screen and improved shoulder triggers, and bundles the console with a headset.
Demo kiosks have already started making their way to various retailers, with more and more rolling out the closer we get to the console's launch date.
The PlayStation 4 is set to release on November 15 in North America and on November 29 in Europe. Day one games available for the system include Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, Battlefield 4, Call of Duty: Ghosts, Killzone Shadow Fall, Madden NFL 25, NBA 2K14, Need for Speed: Rivals, and more. It will retail for $399.
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