The Channel Checkers » 2008 » March

Super Smash Brothers Brawl Top Game, Wii Number One Console

Casey — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 22:47:18 +0000

Our most recent research of video games and consoles at retailers (59% were Gamestop locations), showed that the Nintendo Wii had reclaimed the honors as top video game console at 48% of stores that responded (up from 36% in our previous survey). The Xbox 360 was only cited as top seller by 28% of stores, a large change our last survey’s findings of 43%. The Sony Playstation 3 dropped to top seller at only 10% of stores, down from 21% in early March and 16% in February. The newly released Mario Super Smash Brothers Brawl (played on the Wii console) was the top selling game at 30% of responding stores. Call of Duty IV was seen as tops by 14% of respondents, while the previously top seller Halo 3 and Army of Two were each only named as tops by 10% of respondents. Grand Theft Auto remains the most highly anticipated game for launch in the next three months, according to 52% of respondents (up from 29% earlier in the month). The recently launched Mario Super Smash Brothers Brawl had been named as the most anticipated game by 29% of respondents just weeks before its launch earlier this month.

Gas Prices Changing Landscape For Cars Sales.

Casey — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 04:36:00 +0000

Our friends over at TickerMine have run some interesting reports on fuel efficient cars in the current high gas price environment. Sales of alternative fuel cars are still buoyant but could be flattening soon, judging by a recent Tickermine survey. Tickermine surveyed managers at 31 car dealerships around the country and found that cars were in stock, as opposed to two years ago when eager consumers were directed to a waiting list. Asked which was the best-selling hybrid car and the Toyota Prius still trumped the other models with 11 respondents or 35%. The Toyota Camry Hybrid was second most popular with three respondents or 9.6%. The Ford Escape and Ford Focus tied in third place with two respondents each or 6.45% and the Toyota Highlander came in last with one respondent or 3.2%. Asked whether the cars were in stock and an overwhelming 29 respondents or 93% answered yes. Only two respondents or 6.45% answered no. One cited the Ford Escape as sold out, the other cited the Prius 2008.

Motorola Is Best Selling Phone, Music Device for Alltel; Blackberry Takes Email Honors

Casey — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 00:19:02 +0000

Publicly traded until it was taken private last year, Alltel was the subject of our most recent survey. We polled Alltel stores across the country and found that LG phones are the bestsellers. Thirty-seven percent of respondents named as bestsellers LG models including the AX8600, AX 145, Rumor and Scoop. Motorola was the next most frequently named manufacturer, with 30% of those surveyed calling it their best seller. The most frequently named model was the RAZR. The top email device for Alltel stores was the Blackberry Pearl, named by 26% of respondents. Other Blackberry models brought that manufacturer’s total to 67% - making it by far the bestselling brand. Motorola won the prize for bestselling music device, with 44% of respondents naming various Motorola models. Twenty-two percent of those surveyed named the MOTOROKRtm Z6m, and 15% named the MOTORAZR2 V9m.

Wii Remains Scarce

Casey — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 21:12:06 +0000

The Nintendo Wii continues to be scarce in the US. Following up on a survey done in January, we polled Best Buy, EB Games, Gamestop, Target and Walmart in the US and Canada in February. Of these stores, 68% did not have the Wii in stock. The average wait was almost 2 ½ weeks to obtain the game console. The one store which had a significantly higher percentage of Wii’s in stock was EB Games. At that store a customer had a 50% chance of finding one in stock.