The Analysis of Xbox Popularity: Why do Gamers Prefer it?

The following research has been compiled from the opinions of 466 readers who completed our opt-in online survey over the course of 1 week. More than 26% of answers were recorded from the USA, Canada, and UK, while the next most popular countries were India, Pakistan, and the Republic of South Africa. Their unaltered answers are presented below.

Despite its humble beginning, Xbox became a major gaming platform over the years and is now one of the dominant gaming platforms.

But just how popular is Xbox compared to other platforms, and what do users find so appealing about it?

We conducted a survey that should answer this and many other questions you have regarding Xbox, so without further ado, let’s take a closer look at the results.

More than a third of gamers see graphics on Xbox as the most important aspect

Graphics are the most important factor for triple-A titles, and according to our survey, more than 38% of responders agree.

In the second place, there is gameplay with 35%, which is no surprise since gameplay makes the game engaging.

Multiplayer features are the most appealing aspect to 17% of users, while the good storyline is the primary focus for just 10% of respondents.

Graphics and price are the primary reasons why users prefer Xbox over PlayStation

Why would someone choose Xbox over PlayStation? According to our respondents, the main reason is the graphics, and 29% of respondents agree with it.

To learn more about the differences between the two, check our Xbox Series S vs PlayStation 5 article.

Price is another factor, and 22% of respondents see this as a deciding factor. This can be explained by the benefits that the Xbox Game Pass provides, as well as the affordability of the Xbox Series S.

Recommendations are just as important as the price, and if your friends or others recommend Xbox, this will likely be a deciding factor while choosing your console.

Exclusive content is the next reason, and with exclusives such as Halo, Gears of War, and Forza series, it’s no wonder that 15% of respondents made this their number one reason.

Lastly, there are reviews, and they were a deciding factor for about 13% of all responders.

As you can see, graphics is the most important factor, followed by affordability and pricing for most users.

Just 18% of responders are subscribed to Xbox Game Pass

Xbox Game Pass offers many benefits to gamers; however, only 18% of our respondents have a Game Pass subscription.

On the other hand, just 8% are subscribed to PlayStation Plus, while 12% subscribe to both. The majority, 63% percent, isn’t subscribed to any of these services.

Xbox Game Pass is a choice for many because of first-day releases, affordability, and better features

Respondents also shared their reasons why they prefer one gaming pass over another. For many, it’s the number of games and original content:

Playstation. More Games and original content.

Anonymous respondent

For some, it’s the affordability and the ability to spend Microsoft Rewards points.

Gamepass if free via MS reward points

Anonymous respondent

Many gamers want access to older games, which is one reason they choose Xbox Game Pass.

access to old titles like rdr

Anonymous respondent

For many, compatibility is also important, and if you’re Xbox and PC gamer, for a price of one, you can get games for both Xbox and PC, which is an amazing deal.

In fact, we have a great guide on how to use Game Pass on Windows 11, so be sure to check it out.

Game pass gives access to PC as well

Anonymous respondent

The features are also a deciding factor for many, so they prefer Xbox Game Pass.

xBox Game Pass Ultimate provides so much more features than PlayStation Plus

Anonymous respondent

Lastly, one major advantage of Game Pass is the first-day access that lets you play triple-A titles from certain developers as soon as they are released, with just a basic subscription.

Game pass, better first day releases

Anonymous respondent

Overall, gamers prefer PlayStation Plus for the number of games and content, while others prefer Xbox Game Pass for its affordability, better features, PC, and backward compatibility.

Gamers want better backward compatibility and more triple-A games

While Xbox is great for the most part, many wish to see better games for Xbox Gold. In addition, backward compatibility with disc games is a highly requested feature.

To have your systems backward compatible with old x-box disks so I can play them instead of having to buy the game again for the new system. This is a huge reason I don’t buy a new system from you.

Anonymous respondent

Our responders also want to see more exclusive triple-A games on a yearly basis. While this change would be welcome, many factors come into play, so we doubt we’ll see this change in the future.

At least 5 exclusive AAA games + 5 exclusive AA games a year. Hopefully developed by homegrown studios and not acquired ones.

Anonymous respondent

Many reported issues while starting a party and lack of VR, and while we don’t have any information regarding VR, we’re positive that Microsoft will implement it eventually.

Stop using old tech, like batteries in the controllers. It’s not easy to start a party. No VR or innovation. No original games.

Anonymous respondent

When it comes to games, we need to mention that many users want to see single-player and MMO games, and hopefully, this is something that Microsoft will focus on in the future.

More co-op and single player games as well as MMO types

Anonymous respondent

Many aren’t pleased with Xbox and PC integration, and many non-Xbox owners would like for the Xbox app not to be installed by default on their PCs.

Some users reported that they want support for file servers or video passthrough and Active Directory support.

I would like to use the Xbox for more than gaming. I am very interested in audio technology. Let users itall windows on Xbox! Also the ability to use a file server or a video passthrough. I’m looking at my Xbox X with an HDMI in & out, What could I possibly do with this???? Please integrate Xbox into Active Directory or something.

Anonymous respondent

Lastly, many are asking for larger storage and more affordable expansion options, and we might see larger storage options for future versions of Xbox Series X/S.

 Bigger storage capacity (over 1TB), more LOCAL multiplayer games PEGI 3 and 7

Anonymous respondent

About the data

What do you think? We’d love to hear your take on this and other topics you’d like us to cover in our following exclusive surveys. Share your thoughts right here, and we’ll check them out!

The research above was constructed based on the input of our readers through an online survey that ran for 7 days on WindowsReport.com. Using Crowdsignal, a popular survey tool, we have gathered 972  complete answers to all of our questions.

We’ve received answers from 83 countries, but the most popular locations were:

• United States of America – 17%
• India – 14%
• United Kingdom – 6%
• Pakistan – 4%
• Republic of South Africa – 3%
• Bangladesh – 3%

Regarding platform distribution, readers that have completed this survey mainly use Windows 10 (46%) and Windows 11 (38%). We’ve also recorded answers from people using Windows 7, macOS, iPadOS, Linux, or Chrome OS.

The raw-data used in the research above can be seen and downloaded here.