XBox 360 Driving HDTV Sales

[bapenguin]

Right now Bill Gates is delivering his keynote speech at CES 2006. During the speech Mr. Gates will be talking about the XBox 360 with Peter Moore. There's some interesting stats Microsoft is going to put out there regarding the XBox 360 and HDTV sales.

According to research conducted by Penn, Schoen, Berland & Associates, Xbox 360 is a high-definition growth engine for Microsoft and our entertainment, broadband provider, consumer electronic, and retail partners.

90% of Xbox 360 owners either own or intend to purchase an HDTV in the next six months
Of those people who intend to purchase an HDTV, 9 out of 10 say Xbox 360 is the primary reason for this purchase.
10% of those who own an HDTV purchased HDTV and Xbox 360 at the same time

This goes along the lines of what we mentioned before, the target audience for the 360 are people who want HDTVs or own HDTVs. Even though 20% of the population may have one, it's a much higher percentage of the gamer population.

[Murmillo]

I'll believe it. I went out and got a 46" DLP TV for the day I can "find" a 360. Upgraded tp that from a 2 year 42" ED Plasma. The Plasma was good, but come on.. HD DLP!!

[bapenguin]

Some other interesting info regarding Live and Marketplace:
Today, Xbox Live is the undisputed leader in the online games race, but it’s not just about multiplayer games anymore. Since November 22, Xbox Live members have downloaded more than 4 million pieces of high definition games, music, and movie content from new partners such as Paramount Pictures, 20th Century Fox, and Epic Records. Similarly, Xbox Live Arcade is distributing fun, bite-sized games such as Joust, Bejeweled 2 and Geometry Wars; and our partners love our Microsoft Points system, with which 60 percent of Xbox Live members are using this virtual currency to purchase premium content

He also mentions that they are talking about integrating Live arcade with MSN games so you can play the titles on the web and on the XBox 360. Very cool...especially since Im' addicted to Hexic right now!

[GrinR]

I made a 5K investment this Christmas. The biggest LCD HDTV I could buy and an xbox360 bundle.

Worth. Every. Penny.

[eth3rton]

I'm part of the 10%. Got myself a new Samsung HDTV the day after I got my 360..... :D

[Felonous]

I too belong to the 10%. The day I picked up my X360 I also bought myself a 37" LCD TV that can display 1080p signals. It was a day my wallet won't soon forget, the poor thing was gang banged all day long.

[Heretic Machine]

I got a 26" widescreen HDTV for Christmas after I won a 360 in the Every10minutes contest. I wouldn't own an HDTV right now if I hadn't won the 360.

[bean19]

I have an HDTV, but it is screwing up. . . When I set it to 1080i, it does fine for menus, etc. but then the picture flickers when the game is running. I suspect it is my X360, but considering all the heartache I went through getting this one, I'm reluctant to call 1-800-4MY-XBOX and have to send it off. . . especially since it IS playing games at 480p with no problems.

The HDTV works at 1080i with the one HD movie I have for it, so I don't think that is it. . . but it could be the TV too. I bought a "cheap" $400 HDTV. I'm thinking about taking my X360 up to Circuit City and seeing if they will let me test it on various floor units. Problem is. . . if it is my TV, then I'm just shit out of luck. I'm a college student and I need to buy a more reliable car before I spend more than $400 on a television.

HDTVs are supposed to drop in price by about 30-40% in 2006. Maybe I'll be able to afford an upgrade in 2007. *sigh*

[Vore]

I'm also in this 10% and i finally own an xbox 360. I got a 32'' widescreen HD LCD Vizio at sams club for 900$. Took me months too find a hdtv that had an hdmi and pc input. i have 2 friends with an xbox 360 and no hdtv lol and never been too their house's too see what it looks like. They don't seem too mind it much though

[Heretic Machine]

I'm also in this 10% and i finally own an xbox 360. I got a 32'' widescreen HD LCD Vizio at sams club for 900$. Took me months too find a hdtv that had an hdmi and pc input. i have 2 friends with an xbox 360 and no hdtv lol and never been too their house's too see what it looks like. They don't seem too mind it much though

I had a standard TV for the first few weeks that I had a 360. Games still look great. Hi-def just adds a new level to it, but it's not as if you're gaining anymore than you would have from owning an HDTV in the last generation.

[Achilles]

Hey it sold me one.

I suspected this would be a huge driving force behind people getting HDTVs. Nothing else really uses the thing except for the 360, or a PC if you've got it hooked up.

[Groo]

I bought an HDTV specifically for use with my Xbox 360. I've been considering an HDTV for a while, but the Xbox 360 put me over the edge.

Now I have to save my pennies for an even bigger one.

[midrael]

Geeeeez who knew that the EvAv populous had so much disposable income! $900? $5K?? I obviously can't afford to be in that 10%!

[Vandenh]

I got a big fat plasma just a couple of months before my 360. I actually got it to save some space in my living room.. :) No really!

>Geeeeez who knew that the EvAv populous had so much disposable income!

Well a lot of us here are the "older" gamers. What else are we gonne spend our money on? ;)

[GrinR]

Hey, I haven't bought a new TV or computer in years. That 5K wasn't throwaway money.

[Gpig]

I was thinking of getting this 37 inch lcd at the end of the month:
http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.process?Product=4032614

$1500 plus 70 for shipping and it seems to have good reviews. The reason I'm waiting for the end of the month is to see if there are any farther drops. Should I wait till 2007 to get a new HDTV instead? I already have an older HDTV, but I'd like a second one that could do 1080i, 1080p, and 720p and is small enough to put in a smaller room. I don't want to buy it and then find out in a year that I could have gotten it for 1100 or a much better tv or something. Also, my tv has to upconvert 720p and some burn in so it would be nice to have a tv that can support native 720p and no burn in. It wasn't a problem with the xbox because like the only 720p game I had was Xmen Legends, but now that games are emulated at 720p I'm seeing more reason to upgrade.

Plus I could rebeat Half-Life 2 on that thing with my 7800 GT ;).

[Dr Quincy]

I wish it were driving embracing new HDTV standards though such as 1080p and HDMI. If it wants to do HDTV doing so in a progressive way would have been good rather than just allowing for the most basic standards. Just a little sloppy.

[Morratut]

I bought a HD LCD specifically for my 360. If the 360 wasn't HD then I wouldn't have bought a HDTV for a long while.

Basically I want my console games to look their best :D

[midrael]

Well a lot of us here are the "older" gamers. What else are we gonne spend our money on? ;)

LOL well I'm no spring chicken myself. I'm just a broke older gamer! ;)
I tend to steer clear of any gadget that's going to run me over $300 unless I'm in the market for a new computer.

[IagoTheHunted]

Yeah I dropped 3K on a new HDTV shortly before I got an X360. Doesn't seem too surprizing that the 360's are driving sales since before this the only reason to own one was for DVD's, which I don't use much (I mean even if you have a service that has High Def Cable service there are what, 3 channels that support it? And the shows aren't filmed with HD in mind so all it adds is the ability to see all the crappy TV makup their wearing).
Horah for welcomeing in the HD era! Now lets just hope developers can catch on to what HD means for the new level of polish that needs to go into next gen games.

[Librum]

Likewise - 42" Samsung HD DLP. Got a good deal on it, plus they threw in a free home theater system that's not half bad (especially for free!).

Of course, I don't actually _have_ a 360 yet, but that did factor into my plans. It was that, and because I hadn't bought a new TV in seven years and could use the upgrade.

[baz]

The only reason I bought my HDTV was because I was getting a 360. Hell, you can't even get a HDTV signal in the UK yet. Apparently this year you will be able to though.