I just read this very interesting article:

 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. We often find that Internet searches are a leading indicator and can be predictive of future sales growth.



Searches can also be driven by other factors – namely recalls 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. The following table lists the top search terms entered into search engines in the past four weeks that include the words “xbox 360”:

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”.

So what is driving the increase in searches for Xbox 360? It appears to be a combination of hype for new games, rumours of a price drop and no doubt some queries about the recent problems.

December may be months away, but with PwC predicting that the total number of dollars spent on video games will exceed the total dollars spent on music in the United States by the end of the holiday season, the battle for the must have Christmas gift will no doubt centre once again on gaming.

http://www.dmwmedia.com/news/2007/07/30/analysis-xbox-overtakes-wii-as-most-searched-for-console

So how much do you think the Xbox 360 will 'come back' now? Will the price drop give 360 sales a huge boost?

oh come on, just think

everyone know that the wii sales are mostly driven by casuals, and casuals don't do those search thingys

this fails horribly

Yea, 10 million people are searching for what to do when their Xbox360 suddenly dies on them!

Interesting .... I don't know if people searching about something actually make them buy it ...... (most of those could be from current owners. ..... )

Ya never know.

It does explain how Xbox360 could fare against PS3. I predicted long ago that Xbox360 would beat PS3 in NA in the end.

@Neos,

Hardly. However, because of word of mouth, people don't do as much research. They know what they are getting.

Considering this is based in the US, I find it perfectly legitimate. I could see a larger increase in 360 sales these coming months with a price drop.

I think that are more searches simply because there are more Xbox users, and if it wasnt this kind of data is highly unreliable. This study did not find out how many searches there were for top selling and top ranked games for those systems and I personally didnt do any xbox 360, wii or ps3 searches when i was researching my system. I went to sites like gamespot gamerankings and different store sites and etc. I also wonder whether this study was done only for American websites and not European or Japanese websites.

Plus, I would like to point out that 360 which currently has the lead on being searched on the internet still makes up only .0054% and wii is at .0047%. Both of these percentages are extremely small and are pretty dam close to each other, which supports my theory that these searches are mostly done by current users.

Most of this searches must be around the reliability and 3 Red Rigns of Death news

Yeah I mean really.... why would you bother to do an internet search on the Wii when you could get in a car and actually play the system at a friends house?

How about reading the first post in a thread before replying to a thread?  Or atleast look at the pictures in it?  Either option would of told you all you needed to know about that statement.