A recent study by Rise at Seven has sought to map the most popular games console in each country, decisively pointing that the PlayStation is more in-demand console when compared to the Xbox across the world.
Using search data and market share statistics collated by StatCounter, the study documented the diverse range of console affiliations across every country in the world ahead of the PS5 and Xbox Series X's release in November.
Keep reading for our summary of this eye-opening report...
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PS5 vs Xbox Series X - Which console is more popular?
According to Rise at Seven, Sony's PlayStation owns "84% of the gaming market" and is more popular than the Xbox in 148 out of the 161 countries they studied.
In the USA, the PlayStation boasted a 56.98% market share compared to the Xbox's 43.02%. The United Kingdom had a similar market share, with the PlayStation taking 57.28% of the market, and the Xbox taking just 42.72%.
The most divided country was New Zealand, which narrowly preffered the Xbox to the PlayStation. Xbox was reported to have 51.04% of the market share compared to PlayStation's 48.96%.
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Where was the PlayStation most popular?
Unsurprisingly, Japan's market was dominated by PlayStation, which had 98.94% of the market compared to the Xbox's 1.05%. However, PlayStation's native country was not the most dedicated to the console, with that title instead going to the Maldives, where Xbox had just 0.26% of the market share against PlayStation's 99.74%.
Indeed, PlayStation had a market share of 90% in 67 countries, including the likes of Argentina, Portugal, Ghana, the Phillippines, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, Ecuador, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Slovenia.
While we can't say for sure why the PlayStation has proved to be the more popular console, its steady stream of exclusive titles such asGod of War, Marvel's Spider-Man, The Last of Us Part II and Horizon Zero Dawnis sure to be considered by prospective console owners.
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Where was the Xbox most popular?
The Xbox was the dominant console in just 13 countries, which include the following: Afghanistan, Gabon, American Samoa, Cayman Islands, Mexico, Anguilla, Guyana, China, Jamaica, Monaco, Hungary, Belize and New Zealand.
While this collection of countries accounts for over 1.5bn people, this is heavily skewed by the appearance of China on the list, which has a population of 1.4bn itself, compared to the likes of Monaco and the Cayman Islands, which have populations of 38,000 and 69,000, respectively.
In terms of the country most dedicated to the Xbox console, it is in Afghanistan where Xbox holds the highest proportion of the market share with 90.72% compared to PlayStation's 9.28%. Indeed, in only four countries does the Xbox command a market share about two-thirds: Afghanistan, Gabon, American Samoa and the Cayman Islands.
For the full breakdown per country, you can check out Rise at Seven's report here.
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