Bill Tancer, the General Manager of Hitwise’s Global Research division, has provided a new report of Internet searches for game consoles. The stats revealed the Xbox 360 is the most searched of the three new systems:
The Xbox 360 has overtaken the Nintendo Wii as the most searched for gaming console based on share of US Internet searches for the first time since the Wii’s launch in November 2006. The Xbox 360 is #1 console based on sales volume but the Wii has enjoyed the fastest growth in market share.
At first, Tancer speculated that the results could be explained by the issues that have affected the Xbox 360 and the recent warranty extension.
So is the growth in searches for Xbox 360 simply a result of the recent “warranty extension” and “Red Ring of Death”? Hitwise search data indicates it is not.
Searches for “xbox 360 problems” and “xbox 360 repair” figure at #13 and #15 on the list. I found the term “xbox 360 price drop” (#6 on the list above) particularly interesting. Since Sony announced a drop in price for one of the PS3 models two weeks ago, rumours have spread about a possible price drop for the Xbox 360, with the latest rumours predicting a price drop in August.
Demand is high for a price drop - in the past four weeks, the top search term with the words “price drop” was “xbox 360 price drop”. There were 70% more US searches for “xbox 360 price drop” than for “ps3 price drop”.
Popularity: 1%
