Study: 18% of consumers bought HDTV for console use

by Alexander Sliwinski { Apr 24th 2008 at 9:55PM }

A new study by Frank N. Magid Associates shows that 18% of HDTV purchasers in the last year bought one because of their Xbox 360 or PS3. GameDaily reports the study found that 5.5 million households purchased an HDTV for the first time in the last year and that 25% of households now have at least one HDTV set in the home.

Sony could come out a big winner if this trend continues, with the high-def movie format war locked up and the only console with HD movie playback built-in. Then again, we can only imagine the continuing Nintendo profit madness if there ever ended up being a Wii: Blu-ray edition.

Tags: hdtv, high-definition

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)

343 Guilty Fart @ Apr 24th 2008 10:01PM

The weird thing is, not only did I buy an HDTV for my 360, but I think I bought THAT specific Sharp model in the pic.

finnith @ Apr 24th 2008 10:06PM

How can you possibly tell? Don't most models in the same generation have a very similar look?

Ignatius @ Apr 24th 2008 10:07PM

Ironically, I bought an HDTV for my Wii.

Shagittarius @ Apr 24th 2008 10:40PM

Thats not Irony, that Morony.

mmxzero @ Apr 24th 2008 10:45PM

Is a man not entitled to 480p widescreen?

Shagittarius @ Apr 24th 2008 10:49PM

Would you kindly break this combo?

Tiptup300 @ Apr 24th 2008 11:00PM

I'm buying one for my 360 and psTriple. I just want a crisp screen. Games haven't had that wow factor lately.

Sir Fidlious Wong (Zeon Defense Force) @ Apr 25th 2008 12:19AM

When I bought my HDTV, I essentially had this requirement.

2 component inputs and HDMI with 1080p support and sound output in a variety of flavors. When asked why, I told him I had a 360 in house, and a Wii and PS3 on preorder....

Mr.ESC @ Apr 25th 2008 12:51AM

Shag 1up for both comment above,I lol'd.

Yeah I got an HDTV for my Birthday just for my Xbox360 to play Gears of War and Dead Risisng.It was worth it,nothing like killing zombies in *Deep Voice HIGH DEFINITION /Deep voice.

Jhongerkong @ Apr 25th 2008 12:53AM

Thats nothing. I threw out my HDTV and bought a 13 inch CRT when I got my NES.

hvnlysoldr @ Apr 25th 2008 1:19AM

A slave obeys. A man choO-O-O-MBO BREAKER!

jadenguy @ Apr 25th 2008 4:25PM

I wanted 480p and Widescreen too, for when brawl came out. I was only slightly disappointed with the cost/benefit until I realized my laptop could easily do HD quality video playback, so now I've got to get a new laptop HDD...

playwhutyalike @ Apr 24th 2008 10:01PM

Alright TMACAIRJORDAN87, now is your chance to flame!

Co @ Apr 24th 2008 10:02PM

Amen to that! He's just mad cuz the Rockets SUCK!!

tmacairjordan87 @ Apr 24th 2008 10:04PM

um i'm lost. What am i supposed to be flaming?

playwhutyalike @ Apr 24th 2008 10:04PM

Probably not as bad as I suck at PGR3. Picked it for 5 bucks and I'm about ready to break my controller in half.

playwhutyalike @ Apr 24th 2008 10:06PM

Wii: Blu Ray Edition. I was waiting for you to come in here and go: "Wii, blah, blah, blah, soccermoms, blah, blah, blah, never have Bluray, blah, blah, blah, I have a low self-esteem, blah, blah."

Blah.

finnith @ Apr 24th 2008 10:07PM

That means I'm in the same league as you.

I should just stop buying racing games.

tmacairjordan87 @ Apr 24th 2008 10:10PM

Do you take me for a wii-bashing fernando? Jumping at any article that mentions the wii anywhere even when they're joking? I'm not that bad jeez.

Anyway I got a decent HDTV last black friday and I gotta say it makes a bigger difference than I thought it would. I can't play games in standard anymore.

Rabidkeebler @ Apr 24th 2008 10:02PM

Count me as one of those people when Black Friday comes around this November. I'm tired of squinting at the screen to read the text. As a person who owns a 360, PS3, and Wii I can hardly wait.

DangerMouse @ Apr 24th 2008 10:03PM

Panasonic Q says hi.

Wilhelm @ Apr 25th 2008 6:34PM

My middle finger says Hi.

Co @ Apr 24th 2008 10:03PM

I know I bought my 32" Olevia LCD set because of my Wii. The 480p Galaxy looks amazing on that thing. I'm sure The Conduit will look just as impressive.

Mighty Shockwave @ Apr 24th 2008 11:58PM

Yeah, Mass Effect truly benefits from HD treatment. I had my jaw drop during some of the cutscenes.

John McPoop @ Apr 25th 2008 12:48AM

LMAO

Yeah I bet that 480p and those pixelated graphics set the world on fire ... Your out of control man ... You can't be serious????? ... Buying an HDTV for the damn Wii ???? That has to be the dumbest chit I have ever heard in my life ... Its one thing to like Nintendo and be a huge fanboy ... Its another thing to make chit up that makes no sense at all ... If you did indeed spend money to improve your television for the benefit of playing Mario galaxy in all of it's 480p goodness then it might be time for you to graduate to a 360 or PS3 ... Then, you will actually notice a difference in what your old Tv was and what your new TV is ... This is just hilarious ... You actually bought an HDTV for Mario Frucking Galaxy ... Get the Fruck Out of Here you little shitbird ... You have got to be frucking with me ... No way ... No way in hell I say ... I have to admit that there are times I buy games for my Wii over other platforms ... Well there was once ... Sega Super Stars Tennis and all of its racket swinging glory ... Guess why, Co ... Its because of the (here it comes) CONTROLLER!!?!??! ... You know the reason the Wii is popular ... Don't start trying to feed me this line of bullchit that you bought a HDTV so you could fly around like a bumble bee in 480 you liar ... BTW my son will murder you in some Sega tennis ... The boy is bad

Yourself @ Apr 25th 2008 2:29AM

1.) Jesus fucking christ paragraphs sometimes I forget why I skip all of your comments.

2.) Maybe he got a new console and wanted a new TV, is that so strange? And while you're getting a new TV, why not get a nice one with HD for other purposes?

Co @ Apr 25th 2008 10:22AM

@ Poop,

It's funny reading this reply from you after reading all your other stalkish replys from earlier in the evening. It's like there was this huge build up as you went from comment to comment of mine and you just couldn't take it anymore!

BTW, I feel sorry for your offspring. People like you keep our Department of Child and Family Services churning right along.

John McPoop @ Apr 25th 2008 11:02AM

@Co

stalkish? ... If you post on a blog then you should expect replies ... Its as simple as that ... Your the one who was stalking what everyone said in the Wii-cube thread ... If you don't want replies then don't post ... You just amazed with the comment you made in this thread ... I would never imagine someone would buy an HDTV for their Wii ... God thats hilarious to me ...

Nice low blow with DCFS comment ... I am just going to assume your probably about 21 or 22 years old with no real life experience and your only retort would be something like that ... If I hurt your feelings then I apologize ... I was just messing with you man there is no need to take it so serious ... I had no idea how sensitive you were ...

Just so you know there is no reason to feel sorry for my kids ... They have everything they could ever want and then some ... Sorry for ruffling your feathers little one ... Next time you reply to about 10 or 11 post in a thread like you did you should expect someone to call you out on all of your bullshit

Co @ Apr 25th 2008 11:50AM

My goodness calm down kid. You replied to every single post I had with comments so off base that other joystiqers had to step in (i.e. samfish).

You're talking about me having ruffled feathers? Look at your post a few scrolls up! To get that worked up over MY purchasing decisions of an HDTV is laughable. Not like any of your thoughtless posts hold any water anyways, but someone with "Poop' in their username is instantly discredited.

Hey look at that, I even space out my posts into PARAGRAPHS!

John McPoop @ Apr 25th 2008 1:21PM

@Co

If you go back and re-read the Wiicube thread you will see that you were being critical of the article for no good reason ... Calling it hateful when it was anything but ... I obviosly hurt your feelings because you proceeded to call me a stalker, insult my parenting skills and make fun of the way I type my replies ...

It's OK if your a Nintendo fanboy but your entire argument about that article being hateful was completely baseless and inaccurate ...

I apologize of the way I type replies blinds your eyes due to lack of sentence structure or formed paragraphs ... It's how I type from years of IM & e-mail ... I prefer it that way but I will take note of it for those of you who have trouble reading it ...

We will have to agree to disagree on the Wii cube issue because I didn't see anything you stated on that thread that proves contrary to the article ...

Calling Z & W and No More Heroes niche games is being highly disingenious ... Attempts have been made to appeal to the more hardcore crowd and sales prove that it's more profitable to stick with the status quo of mini games ... Its a damn shame but its the truth whether you want to believe it or not ...

I think the Force Unloeashed will be successful on the Wii even if it's a gimped version ... I think thats the exception and not the rule ... You can't tell me with a straight face you don't crave multiplatform titles like Devil May Cry, Call Of Duty 4, GTA IV and Burnout Paradise ...

Just because you can make fun of me doesn't mean your argument has an validity ... You have proven to me that you are about as funny as Cosmo kramer doing a 1 hour stand up at the Apollo ...

Everything is cool because come this weekend you will be playing Mario kart Wii and I will be playing the Metal gear Online Beta ... Everyone is happy

Saying my opinion has no credibility because I have "Poop" in my name just shows me that you have no sense of humor and you take everything on this site to heart ... Just because I talk bad about the console doesn't mean I am talking bad about you

The HDTV thing ... Yeah that was a bit of a dick move and I apologize for that ... There was a better way to go about that ... The Wiicube thread is a different story and we can agree to disagree

Tiptup300 @ Apr 25th 2008 2:14PM

HDTV Owner: Reasonable Argument BLAH BLAH BLAH
McPoop: BLAH BLAH BLAH * 100

ThePremierAssassin @ Apr 24th 2008 10:04PM

Same here. I plan on getting one of the new Samsung LCD's this fall.

I might get the whole Touch of Color ones that are about to come out but to me its not a huge jump from the Series 6 LCDs...

mr nimblewick @ Apr 24th 2008 10:08PM

I still can't see a difference between these and SD sets from ten feet away (where my couch is).

PSN: KillaKornbread (the shirt is a lie!) @ Apr 24th 2008 11:20PM

well i certainly can. if you have the right cables and the right set up, the difference is amazing. you also have to have something that is actually sending an HD signal. my DirecTV for example looks horrible on my set cause it havent upgraded to the HD receiver yet but my PS3 games and movies and even Wii games looks great. i even use it as my computer moniter. couldnt be happier with my HDTV.

mr nimblewick @ Apr 25th 2008 12:33AM

So I have to buy the tv, and then this, and that, and this and that, memorize the resolutions, mount it... all for a marginal increase in picture quality. I'm just not like the rest of you.

PSN: KillaKornbread (the shirt is a lie!) @ Apr 25th 2008 12:58AM

your right that it does take a lot of gathering the correct cables and such to get your set up just right, but isnt that how it is with any set up? most stuff is automatic anyway. i bought my HDTV, turned it on it was good. plugged my PS3 in via HDMI and it detected it automatically and adjusted my PS3 accordingly. unplugged the VGA cable from my PC, plug that same VGA cable into my HDTV, done. the only thing in my setup that required messing with settings was my Wii, and that only took a quick trip to the menu to switch it from 480i to 480p.

if your thinking you have to tell the TV what resolution you want to play in, then you are misinformed. i havent messed with my settings at all, just plugged and played. all the HDTV's that ive seen do most everything automatically. if you dont want an HDTV fine, but dont make it seem like they are over complicated. i had more trouble with my old 13" CRT than with this new HDTV. technology does everything for you besides plug itself up.

and if you need convincing on the margin of quality increase, visit your local Best Buy or Circuit City and check out their Blu-ray on a 1080p HDTV display. its hard to believe the difference until you see it for yourself.

Lekko @ Apr 25th 2008 1:06AM

I can't read the lower half of an eye chart either.

Fernando Rocker @ Apr 24th 2008 10:13PM

I have a 42" Sharp Aquos, 1080p, and I enjoy in that TV all the HD content...

But... here's a tip for Wii owners... I bought an LG EDTV, 42" with XG Engine and the native resolution of the TV is 480p. If you have a Wii on an EDTV, with component cables, it looks amazing... a lot better than SD and a lot better than in an HDTV, because it doesnt need to upscale anything, so, no jaggies.

Look almost like HDTV... and those EDTV are pretty cheap right now. The LG model that I have its at $800.

Co @ Apr 24th 2008 10:21PM

I hear ya Fernando, but not all HD sets upscale everything. My Olevia LCD runs native 480p, native 720p, and native 1080i depending on input. I got it for $550 at Circuit City back in October! lol a freakin steal....

Delgado @ Apr 24th 2008 10:43PM

With Olevia, the only one that had any type of stealing going on was the company that somehow convinced you to buy such a horrible product.

There were 32 inch Samsungs last Black Friday for $600, with 5000:1 contrast ratio... why did you go with Olevia?

Co @ Apr 24th 2008 10:59PM

Delgado, I bought it for 550 LAST OCTOBER.

Plus, Olevia sets are above average across the board. Unlike half the sets at Wal-Mart.

Co @ Apr 24th 2008 11:02PM

Whoops, I didn't read last "black" friday, I thought you only wrote 'last friday'.

Nevertheless, I know 3 ppl that have had HD Samsung sets, all three broke in some capacity.

bearxor @ Apr 24th 2008 11:03PM

ummm, yes, all HDTV sets upscale picture. If you have a TV that does 480p/720p/1080i, then it at least has 720 horizontal lines, most likely, it has 768 lines. SO understand that when you view a 480p image, it upscales so that it uses all 768 lines of resolution. Even when you view 720p, it upscales it to 768 so that you get a full-screen picture.

Unless, of course, when you hook up and play your wii, your TV gives you the option to view unscaled images on your tv, which in that case, you're playing your wii on a huge lcd with a big black box surrounding what is somewhere between a 17-22" picture that your 480p wii plays in.

Fernando Rocker @ Apr 24th 2008 11:07PM

Yeah... that what I was thinking...

HDTV can't have two native resolutions... it can display in several resolutions, but only has one native. Unless it crops the image, like you said.

dsub @ Apr 24th 2008 11:20PM

No LCD monitor or TV can run at multiple native resolutions. EVERY SINGLE LCD PANEL has ONE native resolution. Your Olevia may support 480p, 720p and 1080i but that doesn't mean it runs native at all of them. That's exactly why it's called a NATIVE resolution, native means that's the resolution of the entire panel as it was originally manufactured. Meaning it has exactly a set number of pixels or resolution. It is literally impossible for a flat panel to have both 345600 pixels (480p) and 2073600 pixels (1080i) at the same time. Odds are, it doesn't run native at any of those to be honest with you. Many flat panel TV's have native resolutions of 1366x768, giving them a native resolution slightly higher than 720p. They simply scale EVERYTHING to that resolution. Which means they can accept a 720p input (1280x720) and upscale it to 1366x768.

mike @ Apr 25th 2008 12:08AM

if your set is 1080i capable and not 1080p, its native resolution is 720p. If your set is 1080p compatible, its native resolution is 1080p. If you have an edtv, your native resolution is 480p.

All content, no matter what you play it in, will be scaled to your televisions native resolution. The trick is deciding wether to let your tv or your playback hardware do the up/down converting (if the hardware can even do it). For instance. If you own a samsung/sony, your run of the mill upconverting dvd player will do NOTHING for you. This is because the scaling chips in these tvs are VERY good. Your only wasting your money on a dvd upconverter, unless your buying something like a top tier one with an reon chip or something for $600. Let your tv upconvert to 1080p. If you own a westinghouse or some other budget crap brand like vizio, Then you might want to buy an upconverting dvd player, as the scalers in those tvs are crap.

What fernando said about the wii on the EDTV is true. Since EDTV is native 480p, theres no scaling involved, so the wii will look better on an edtv vs a low quality 720p. However I dont think the solution is to expect everyone to go out and buy old EDTV technology (If you can even find one), just for their wii. A better solution would be for nintendo to get with the times and start supporting 1080 (or 720 at a minimum). Im shocked the wii doesnt and thats a huge setback for some1 like me who watches and games almost exclusivly in 1080p. Im surprised because even back on xbox 1, there where a plethora of games supporting 720p. With the wii, I was sure they would support it, but no.

I still think there might be a wii redsign because if nintendo thinks they can get away with 480p in 4 more years from now (all the companies are saying their consoles will last at least that long or longer), then they got another thing coming.