Both had very rocky starts, but which was the rockier, and why?

PS3 no doubt. It also launched last, one year after the 360, it had no games, expensive as hell, and it had no real difference with the 360 at the moment of the launch. The only positive thing was its blu-ray.
Sony really did a great job turming that around.

PS3. nintendo ain't losing hundreds of dollars on each unit.

PS3. No questions about it.

The PS3 by 300 US dollars.

PS3, it's not even a question.

Lol every commenter has said the PS3 had a worse start (a conclusion that I agree with) and yet the poll shows they are in the minority... Will some of those people who voted for the Wii U (that it had the worst start) please explain to us how the Wii U was worse?

Saleswise it's WiiU obviously. Many ppl already posted that WiiU has the worst start of a console ever (I didn't double-check data, though).

Looks like they are being caught up to.

The PS3, and its funny how people expect the playstation 4 to have an even worse start. The PS3 was the lowest of low in terms of eveything that could go wrong post a successful console.