Honestly I'm not sure most people do any research when buying a console ... The number of people who make a large purchase, like buying a car, on a whim is quite amazing; often the 'research' they do is ask their friends what they own/like which typically comes with biased answers.
With console's in particular I think people see an advertizement or hear about a game they would like and they seek out the system in store or online; when they see the unusually high prices ($400-$600) they flinch. Many may look at the spec sheet or ask the clerk their opinion but the information they get is usually meaningless or somewhat negative; they'll probably hear about Blu-Ray and HD-DVD which is not something most customers are interested in at the moment, or that the XBox 360 Core requires a $50 memory card and $50 a year for online gaming.
The Wii is honestly a fairly simple sell to the uninformed customers (which are probably the majority of customers). A Wii costs $250 and comes with a game and everything you need to play it, if you want an additional controller you can spend $50 on Wii play which comes with an a Wiimote and buy a $20 Nunchuck; for $320 you get a Wii, 2 Wiimotes, 2 Nunchucks, 2 Games and everything you need to play it (which makes it cheaper than a XBox 360, Memory Card and Wired Controller which may or may not come with a bundled game).
