Sony may have wanted its PlayStation 3 to drive sales of Blu-ray Disc movies, but it looks like the company’s newest game console is just as responsible for driving HDTV sales as well.
A recent study conducted by Magid & Associates shows that the PS3 and Xbox 360 have been responsible for 18 percent of all HDTV sales between September 2007 and January 2008.
According to the study, 5.5 million U.S. households purchased their first HDTV set during the holidays and Super Bowl season, raising HDTV penetration to from 20 percent to 25 percent. From September 2007 to January 2008, three million homes added a second HDTV.
However, those sets weren’t necessarily purchased to watch It’s a Wonderful Life in high-definition or to see Super Bowl ads in HD. Instead, the survey found that 18 percent of consumers who purchased their HDTV during the past year did so to experience the 1080p or 720p content coming from their Xbox 360 and/or PlayStation 3.
Other factors surely contributed, including the falling prices of HDTVs and the misperception that an HDTV is required to view the high-definition broadcasts mandated by the FCC to begin in February 2009, but the study’s 18-percent figure makes it hard to ignore the impact of the PS3 and Xbox 360 on HDTV sales.
