http://technology360.typepad.com/technology360/2006/01/household_penet.html That says a give or take 15-20% households have HDTV. http://www.dvdinformation.com/News/press/CES010807.htm This says 35million HD sets sold in NA alone. The question is, what % of people buying HDTVs have game consoles? As there were only ~40million PS2's sold in NA. Are the people buying HDTVs the same people that play games? I would think so?

i think some of the poeple that buy HDTV wont use it to play games. i think so dont flame me lol

Some buy HDTVs for games, yes, obviously. I would argue many more buy it for HD sports programming...although plenty of people that have HDTVs don't actually watch any HD content on it. Weird I know, but some people, even people rich enough to buy big HDTVs, are rather ignorant of how the technology works...not to mention they've set the system and terminology up in a fashion that can confuse even some of the more intelligent among us.

My point is 35million sets, and 31 million homes. How many of those are gamers? How many are gonna be sold this year? 5million sets were sold in november/december last year alone. That is like 10% of total HDTV sales in 2 months. (NA) I'd say those numbers will go up even more this year. The biggest thing about this is. I think the average home is 2.57. So as of now 10% of homes have a HDTV. Getting deathly close to total number of PS2s sold. The question is, where will HDTV be in january 2008? in 2 years I would say 30-40% of homes will have HDTV. and in 4 years I say around 60%. Beyond 60% will just take many years, as old TVs blow up. (AKA: the stubborn people who dont want anything new) So 30million HDTVs. 116,731,517 total households. that means 1/4 households have HDTV. Or 25% of people.

Or we have better things to spend $300+ on than a new TV when the old one still works?

does it matter? Since we all know this a subliminal anti-wii thread, I'll just say that There is a 1080P 50" TV sitting in my living room. Having it sit there doesn't make me one more bit enticed to buy a PS3/360. I play my Wii and love every second of it. It hurts you to hear something that can't be etched down in statistics I'm sure. after all, when your reaching out at HD penetration as some sort of quasi-proof that PS3 has a chance, your getting desperate.

60% are you serious? I don't think penetration will hit that for at least 10 years, what are you basing that on? I think 60 - 75% of homes will have any of the various sorts of flatscreens, but the number of people buying SDTV's rather than HDTV's is massive. I made a massive post in another thread about this issue, I'll try and dig it up, it will suit the argument well.

Dont forget that america is years ahead of everyone else when it comes to true HD penetration, no other country will be above 50% penetration until the next consoles are released

Ummm.... 100% penetration would be roughly 110million households. They are at 30% already. I think the average person buys 1 TV every 5-10 years. The market is at about 30% ***TODAY*** last year at this time, it was at about 20%. The price of HDTVs have dropped alot in the last 12 months, and it's going down more this year. I would expect another 10-20million HDTVs (at least) sold this year. That would bring the HDTV penetration to at least 40-50% (looking at the low end) HDTV sales are expected to take off this year. OriGin - are you anti technology? Do you go out and buy an old 1985 atari computer because you dont need a C2D? I'll sell you one for 2000$. I mean. Their just as good as a new one. The technology isnt that big of a diffrence. No need to ever upgrade. OriGin - have you ever sat on a couch and watched a *whole* TV program on HDTV, and then switched the channel to a SDTV channel? It makes you wanna PUKE. It's the dominoes effect. When my father-in-law watches 300 on my HDTV (coming in a few months), I'm sure his opinion on. "I want one." Will quickly change to. "I need one." You do know that in 2009 they will cutoff analog TV broadcast? (USA) Meaning if you used to watch TV on your old tube... You better think again. Also, I dont pay for satelite. My ota (over the air) TV is so much better quality. (analog signal barely picks up the stations at all) wii_are_better_than_you_and_yeah_my_username_is_long - Just because your dad buys a 50inch 1080p TV does not mean you get to use it. My father-in-law has a 50-60inch TV, and his daughter ASKS to use it... the answer is almost always "no". Also, I just wanna say, your Wii will always look best on a CRT SDTV.

HD Penetration @ 60% in Japan doesn't seem to be hampering Wii's sales at all. At the end of last year, HD market penetration was 18% in North America. ~_~ Europe is even farther behind in this aspect. HD is nice, but it looks to be far from an effective reason for affecting console sales for this generation.