Just how ignorant is the "average" console buyer.....Very!

[mwgiii]

NPD research study. Main findings:

70% XBox 360 owners aren't aware the 360 outputs HD graphics.

60% of PS3 owners aren't aware the PS3 has a Blu-Ray player.
50% of PS3 owners aren't aware the PS3 outputs HD graphics.


Wow......just wow.

NPD: 30% of Xbox 360 Owners Aware of HD Graphics news from 1UP.com

 

[tawhite]

This doesn't really suprise me at all. People are clueless.

 

[FunkyBoss]

That's why the wii is selling so well. Lack of HD doesn't phase the majority of consumers yet.

 

[Van]

You know what, I really dont put stock in surveys and polls and honestly this is one I just cant believe at all considering all of the discussion and advertising that goes on about the HD capabilities of the 360 ps3 you would have to be someone that doesnt watch any tv or read papers and didnt read any part of the box or manual when you got the console. The Wii is a simple basic console and nintendo products will get purchased for kids sooner than the other two by parents that dont want their kids to play the more violent games that you find on the other two consoles.

 

[mwgiii]

The Wii is a simple basic console and nintendo products will get purchased for kids sooner than the other two by parents that dont want their kids to play the more violent games that you find on the other two consoles.

I guess you missed the thread about Manhunt coming to the Wii.

 

[riffjim4069]

The Comcast tech installed my parents HDTV to their Motorola HD receiver using composite cables. They watched it that way for more than 6-months before I rolled into town. No wonder they weren't very impressed with HD. Also, I just returned from visiting my family in Michigan last month. My brother's had his grandson's XBox360 connected to a 21" SD TV, and his two-year old Sony GWIV was connected to a Bright House Motorola HD receiver with composite cables. I connected both devices to the Sony using HDMI and component cables and now everyone is happy. Unfortunately, hardly a month has gone by in the past 5+ years when I am not correcting a friend, family, or co-workers HDTV woes.

 

[s8ist]

My Dish Network installers hooked me up via component, but then did not make the appropriate changes in the menu system to view content in 720p or 1080i. You think they would know the difference!
Most people do not understand what HD is, how you get it, or if they even have it. Others think SD is pretty much good enough anyway.

My Wii system has been getting a lot of use lately. While I initially wrote off Nintendo for not including HD graphics, perhaps they weren't all that crazy (it almost reminded me of their decision to go cartridge instead of optical media for the N64)!

I think the transition to HD will be almost invisible to the average consumer who doesn't understand pixels and resolution or the difference between analog and digital. The dizzying variety of cables, shielded or unshielded, HDMI (ver?), composite, component, s-video, DVI-D/A(DVDA? ;-) ), and for sound? Even more confusing..: It's just too overwhelming. From my experience as a salesperson in electronics, the average person doesn't want to be educated. They just want to trust that some salesperson, which is ironically the slimiest guy in the store, will give them HD without taking their wallet for a long ride (they think the guy who actually sits there honestly explaining the tech to them is trying to justify higher expense).

It's no surprise to me that people are ignorant of the technology they own!

 

[tonyp56]

Well, could have told you this. How many millions of PS3's have been sold? 3, 6...? How well does Blu-Ray sell? Sure they are beating HD-DVD (right now), but if more than 40% (which I honestly believe to be high) were buying Blu-Ray, you'd see sells in the millions, not hundreds of thousands.

Again, I've said it before, and I'll say it again, Blu-Ray and HD-DVD aren't going to move much, and having two formats just makes the possibility of one or the other winning, that much more unlikely. IMO, neither will win, by the time they start selling in numbers that really mean something, something else better will come swinging in and take the mantel of the next generation of home entertainment delivery.

Now, onto the main jest of the thread, when they are now selling digital SD TV's, the prospect of HD really ever becoming something main stream in the next say five years, is not very likely. Additionally, game consoles are just that, game consoles. Most won't buy the most expensive (or second in 360's case) because of its HD capabilities. The majority of consoles are sold and bought for kids (those under 16) and therefore, either kids don't care, don't know, or parents just don't want to spend that kind of money. Hence why Wii has done so good. The ones that do buy PS3's and 360's, as this poll suggest, just don't really want more than the latest gaming machine. (home entertainment, HD-DVD or Blu-Ray, HDTV, etc. are not their concern, at least the majority).

 

[Van]

I guess you missed the thread about Manhunt coming to the Wii.

Majority versus minority, Nintendo does want to have some of the adult market and not be totally known as a kiddie console, a small handful of mature games gets outweighed easily by all the kid stuff.

 

[Derwin0]

NPD research study. Main findings:

70% XBox 360 owners aren't aware the 360 outputs HD graphics.

60% of PS3 owners aren't aware the PS3 has a Blu-Ray player.
50% of PS3 owners aren't aware the PS3 outputs HD graphics.

Wow......just wow.

Most of those probably don't have an HDTV yet, so really doesn't mean much.

 

[tonyp56]

Most of those probably don't have an HDTV yet, so really doesn't mean much.

I wouldn't be that quick to judge that statistic. I know three people right now, that have an HDTV that don't have ANY source of HD going to their Tvs (not even OTA). Now granted, they know HD is out there, but could really care less if they have it or not. The only reason they bought an HDTV is because they wanted to "Future Proof" their stuff.

I agree with your point, but there is more HDTVs out there than that statistic suggest. It is just those people that have them, either don't know, don't care, or simply have no interest in having HD content on their TV. They are the ones that say stuff like "My Directv (or Dish, cable, etc.) looks great" without knowing there is anything better.

The main thing I see, goes back to my other post, people are buying game consoles, to get a game console. Other than a minority of buyers, the majority don't know, care, or have a need for anything but a game console.

 

[Derwin0]

I agree with your point, but there is more HDTVs out there than that statistic suggest.

I agree that there are a lot of HDTV's out there. But homes that have teens (the demographic that plays games the most), usually reserve the main tv (usually the one with HDTV) for family watching, and relegate the game system to the kids room (likely to not have HDTV).

The main thing I see, goes back to my other post, people are buying game consoles, to get a game console. Other than a minority of buyers, the majority don't know, care, or have a need for anything but a game console.

I agree very much. After all, the lack of HD on the Wii hasn't slowed it down.