Heading into this new generation of consoles, also known as the Eighth Generation, gamers around the world were faced with a choice: Xbox One or PlayStation 4. Sure, in the best case scenario, and provided a person had the resources, both consoles could be acquired, thereby alleviating the need to worry about exclusives and specific features. For the average person, however, it's usually a matter of which one to get, or which one to get first.

In this case, pricing, games, release date, hardware features and more all play important roles in the decision making process. If someone is required to drop $400 dollars on one of these things, they better get exactly what was promised to them; preferably sooner, but oftentimes later.

But what, exactly, were the driving forces behind going Xbox or PlayStation this time around? Well, turns out Nielsen has the answers, as per their recently released report on the matter.

To the surprise of no one, though, a vast majority of the people that jumped to the newer systems aren't new to video games or the consoles that Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo develop. And regardless of which gen-8 console they went for, most were previous owners of the Nintendo Wii - remember that the Wii sold millions, so it'd be more surprising to meet someone that didn't own a Wii at some point.

"Gaming consoles ranked high on wish lists of kids and adults alike during the holidays. To meet this demand, Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft have all pushed bundle deals and specials to compete for a spot in the family media cabinet.

"This holiday season also ushered in a transition away from the previous generation of systems (Nintendo Wii, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360), with the eighth generation of gaming consoles (Nintendo Wii U, Sony PlayStation 4 and Microsoft Xbox One) now available."

When it came to choosing the Xbox One (which is still enjoying a $50 price drop), consumers cited their top reason for investing in the system was the brand. Three out of four Xbox One owners previously owned an Xbox 360, a system that was undoubtedly the most popular hardcore console in the last generation. The second most influential factor was innovative features (that are updated monthly) including, presumably, Snap and the beta preview program. Third on the list was processing power.

Interestingly enough, consumers' reasons for picking the PlayStation 4 were completely different, with the top two reasons being "better resolution" and the inclusion of a Blu-ray player - something the PS3 had over the Xbox 360. Additionally, the PS4's game library was a contributing factor, as opposed to the "exclusive games/content" cited for the Xbox One and Wii U. This is most likely due to the large amount of indie games the PS4 supports, PlayStation Plus' Instant Games Collection, and several bundles that have been released. In fact, there's a PS4 bundle out now that comes with The Last of Us Remastered and The Order: 1886. Ironically, they're two games that are exclusive to the hardware.

The Nielsen report has two charts that better represent the percentages of console owners, and their reasons for choosing them, but it's never dull hearing why people chose the console(s) they did. Nielsen did note, however, that the Xbox One, PS4 and Wii U are still praised for features their predecessors had, albeit with newer and better technology backing it up.

All that being said, here's to the future, and the factors that cause people to buy Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo's future endeavors like Project Morpheus and HoloLens.

Source: Nielsen