A recent survey confirms that most gamers prefer Sony's game console over Microsoft's for a mixed reason of price and specs though most gamers are still considered "brand loyal."

The survey, conducted by Deal News, asked 1,727 readers and found interesting trends among gamers - 36% of which do not own either PS4 or Xbox One, 31% owning Sony's current-gen game console, 25% owning Microsoft's current-game console and 7% owning both the PS4 and the Xbox One.

According to the survey, gamers who do not own any of the current gen game consoles refrained from purchasing the newly released systems for the following reasons: price is too high/ waiting for a deal 34%; contented with past gen game console 33%; current game selections not appealing 14%; gaming on other platforms 11%; not a gamer 7% and low availability (sold out, etc.) 2%.

Specifically, more gamers who only own the Xbox 360 refused to purchase any current gen game console - with high price cited as the leading reason, the survey results show. "Microsoft could draw more of its own budget-conscious fans into the next generation if it dropped the retail price on its latest console," Deal News adds.

Deal News notes that gamers who hold out from buying either the PS4 or the Xbox One could see a 10% price drop come March, based on the price history of past gen game consoles. But with the Xbox One priced $100 higher than the PS4, Microsoft would have to offer a 20% price cut to eliminate disparity.

Gamers who own both the Xbox 360 and the PS3 which is 44% of the total number of respondents, preferred the PS4 over the Xbox One. Survey results show that only 23% of the so called dual owners purchased Microsoft's current gen console while 35% bought Sony's.

"The number one reason for their selection? Specifications, perhaps latching onto the assertion that the PS4 has a better graphic output," says the Deal News report.

In fact, the trend continues to single game console owners as 14% of Xbox 360 users purchased the PS4 while only 8% of PS3 users bought the Xbox One. PS3 owners who purchased Sony's latest game console were still majority at 51% while 42% of Xbox 360 users remained brand loyal.

The results show that although some have jumped ship, both Microsoft and Sony have loyal gamers who, in the case of Microsoft, would rather wait for a price cut than buy the PS4. Deal News notes that Sony gamers, on the other hand, seem to be "more financially prepared to jump into the next generation of gaming because of the lower retail price."

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