Xbox One And Wii U Tied As Console Consumers Intend To Buy, PS4 Leads All

IHS Technology released research findings Tuesday on the impact that E3 had on the purchase intent for the PS4, Xbox One and Wii U consoles. Nintendo’s all digital presentation at the annual game conference paid off, as it saw a significant jump in the number of people interested in purchasing the Wii U that brought it even with the Xbox One.

“Share of those intending to purchase a Wii U has grown by a substantial 50 percent, albeit from the lowest level of the three latest consoles,” IHS Head of Games Research Piers Harding-Rolls wrote in a research note. “Purchase intent for the Wii U is now at the same level as the Xbox One across our sample at 20 percent of respondents. With a strong gamer-centred briefing at E3, Microsoft also improved purchase intent for the Xbox One, but saw its growth in share of respondents intending to buy the console increase by a more modest 7 percent.”

While Sony’s Playstation 4 is still the most desired console, some of the shine wore off post-E3, thanks to the improved presentation and content from Microsoft and Nintendo.

“In contrast, Sony, which entered E3 to defend its very strong market momentum, saw some of its purchase intent slip away as it dipped below 30 percent of respondents,” Harding-Rolls wrote. “There is no doubt that increased competition from both Microsoft and Nintendo and the successful repositioning of both companies during E3 has taken some of the heat out of the intent to buy into the PS4 platform.”

The recent NPD sales report for June, 2014, showed the Xbox One more than double its sales month-to-month to 197,000 thanks to the new Kinect-less and $100 cheaper model. While it closed the game with the PS4, Sony’s next-gen console still led the month with 269,000 units sold. Meanwhile, the Wii U saw a 262 percent increase in sales to 140,000 units thanks to the release of Mario Kart 8.

The latest overall worldwide sales numbers for each console have not been announced yet, but the PS4 had a healthy lead with over 7 million consoles sold versus around 5 million for the Xbox One and Wii U back in March.

The lifecycle for this new generation of consoles is still young and Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony will all be vying for gamer dollars this holiday with exclusive games and content. Did the E3 presentation change your mind at all on which console you plan to buy? Let us know which you intend to purchase in the comments below.

[NPD data via leaked numbers courtesy of NeoGAF]