The battle between next gen gaming consoles has been a fierce one so far, and it appears that there will not be a definitive winner before customers do the talking this holiday shopping season. Let's take a look at how things have gone down so far.

The rivalry between the Xbox One and the PS4 really picked up when both of their parent companies gave presentations during the annual E3 event in Los Angeles this summer. It was at that point that an early leader emerged from the two horse race.

The PS4 was definitely the consensus favorite after E3, due to several factors. For one, Microsoft got in its own way by including a controversial 24/7 "Always on" internet connectivity as part of its DRM policy. That, of course, did not sit well with gamers.

Beyond that blunder by Microsoft, Sony also created its lead by offering a CPU and GPU for the PS4 that many people believe to be superior in quality to that of the Xbox One. What's more, they did it all for $100 less than the Xbox One ($399 vs. $499). 

Since E3, Microsoft has been looking for ways to scramble back into contention with the PS4. One such way has been by softening the difference between price points. The Xbox One is now available with a free copy of FIFA 2014 for anyone who pre-orders the gaming console. Since that announcement, EA has made sure that they are not picking favorites in the console war, and are simply doing good business.

"EA has not tilted toward Microsoft; this was a tactical marketing decision. We make the bullets for the hardware war but we want both consoles to be successful," said EA Labels President Frank Gibeau.

Microsoft has also staged a bit of a comeback by offering three of the most highly-anticipated game titles exclusively for the Xbox One. Dead Rising 3, Ryse: Son of Rome, and Titanfall have all made big waves so far and will certainly attract some loyal gamers over to Microsoft's side.

It appears that the race between the PS4 and Xbox One is still far too close to call. Both will be coming out in mid-to-late November, with the PS4 confirmed for Nove. 15 and the Xbox One rumored to have a Nov. 27 release date. Stay tuned for the latest updates as we attempt to predict who will win at the registers this holiday season.