PS4 owners more satisfied than Xbox One owners

PlayStation 4 owners have indicated they are more satisfied with their new console purchase than Xbox One owners.

In a survey of 3,950 GameSpot and GameFAQs users conducted by GameSpot Trax between December 5 and December 10, respondents were asked to grade--on a scale of 1 to 10--how satisfied they were with their new console purchase. On average, PS4 owners graded their satisfaction at 8.71 out of 10, marginally ahead of the 8.20 of Xbox One owners, though the results suggest that owners of both new consoles are happy with their new purchases.

No Xbox One or PlayStation 4 owner said they were "extremely dissatisfied" with their new machine. 39 percent of PlayStation 4 owners gave their new machine full marks--"extremely satisfied"--with 33 percent of Xbox One owners responding in the same way.

A score of 10 was the most common response for both Xbox One and PlayStation 4 owners, in fact. 28 percent of PlayStation 4 owners gave their satisfaction a score of 9, with 22 percent of Xbox One owners also feeling the same way.

The poll suggests that buyers of the new consoles ultimately feel positive about their purchase, despite a critically lukewarm launch line-up and other teething problems--Battlefield 4's jarring next-gen launch, for instance. These early adopters are likely to be the most loyal customers of each platform, with many owners preordering their machines months in advance. The graph's spread is likely to normalize a little lower over the coming months.

The lowest score anyone gave either console was a 3, given by 2 percent of Xbox One owners. The lowest score for PS4 owners was 4. Microsoft's console occupied a greater chunk of the lower end of the scale, with 28 percent of Xbox One owners scoring their satisfaction at 7 or below, whereas only 16 percent of PS4 owners felt the same way.

While reports of broken machines were circulating during the launch of both consoles, it suggests that both Microsoft and Sony managed to effectively replace any malfunctioning machines quickly enough to not upset early buyers.