Analyzing July 9-16 Polls on XBox & PS3 Purchase Plans - Canadian TV, Computing and Home Theatre Forums

stampeder · 2007-07-16, 02:51 PM

The poll labeled "PS3 Purchase Plans In Light Of Price Cuts" was viewed 839 times, with 62 voters and 29 replies to the discussion. The final results were:

Question - Votes - Percentage of Votes Cast

I will buy a PS3 in the very near future 22 35.48%
I will buy a PS3 but I'm not sure when 10 16.13%
I have not decided on purchasing a PS3 at this time 16 25.81%
I will never purchase a PS3 14 22.58%

The poll labeled "XBox 360 Purchase Plans" was viewed 345 times, with 25 voters and 4 replies to the discussion. The final results were:

Question - Votes - Percentage of Votes Cast

I will buy an XBox 360 in the very near future 4 16.00%
I will buy an XBox 360 but I'm not sure when 2 8.00%
I have not decided on purchasing an XBox 360 at this time 5 20.00%
I will never purchase an XBox 360 14 56.00%

Those polls are now closed but the discussion of them in this thread is open. Be aware that fanboyism, trolling, and the usual DHC rule breaking will likely result in deletions, warnings, infractions, etc.

So, what can we infer from these polls? Comments on the poll results?

gorilla · 2007-07-16, 03:08 PM

In both polls, if you pool the two questions saying they intend to get one, and ignore the don't knows you get:

PS3: 22+10=32 saying they intend to buy one, 14 saying they will never buy one, or 70% +/- 15%.

For XBox 360, 4+2=6 saying intend to buy one, against 14, or 30% +/- 20%.

The error margins are very large because of the small number of people who answered the poll.

Using a different formula, which calculates if the % of people wanting PS3's is higher than the % wanting XBox 360's, then I get 99.7% confidences. I can be quite sure of this, even though the number of people is small because the difference between the responses is so large.

I can be very sure statistically speaking that more people want PS3's then XBox 360's, assuming that the questions were well understood, and that a random sample of people took the poll.

PrimeBane · 2007-07-16, 03:51 PM

I don't think there's any big surprises here at all.

Judging by the numbers and the parameters given to vote, the majority of posters at DHC are already 360 owners and hope to add a PS3 to their home with the current price drop.

And there are approx 14 people on both sides that are either major fanboys or just cheap.

gorilla · 2007-07-16, 04:48 PM

Or have no interest in playing games. I think if you had a survey of the general public, you'd probably get a lot larger percentage who wouldn't want a games console at all. In this environment, it's probably lower than the general public, but still many people just aren't interested.

krimson · 2007-07-17, 12:19 PM

Given that this poll was taken during a hyped up PS3 moment (price cut), and fails to take into account current owners in relation to the number of votes, I have a hard time seeing any real significance to these numbers. All that has been shown is that a price cut creates a temporary flux of purchasing interest. Saying there is any further significance is a solid case of over-generalization in my opinion.

stampeder · 2007-07-17, 12:33 PM

krimson, please stop looking for data in them that they are not meant to provide. The titles of the polls convey their meaning in the first place, including the effects of the PS3 price drop, and the polls clearly did not apply to current owners, as stated.

Everyone was invited to give comments on how to conduct these polls:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=65584

Please post in that thread on how we can continue to take the pulse of DHC's potential purchasers in a satisfactory and realistic manner.

2007-07-16, 02:51 PM	#1
stampeder OTA Forum Moderator Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: North Delta, BC (96Av x 116St) Posts: 23,338	Analyzing July 9-16 Polls on XBox & PS3 Purchase Plans The poll labeled "PS3 Purchase Plans In Light Of Price Cuts" was viewed 839 times, with 62 voters and 29 replies to the discussion. The final results were: Question - Votes - Percentage of Votes Cast I will buy a PS3 in the very near future 22 35.48% I will buy a PS3 but I'm not sure when 10 16.13% I have not decided on purchasing a PS3 at this time 16 25.81% I will never purchase a PS3 14 22.58% The poll labeled "XBox 360 Purchase Plans" was viewed 345 times, with 25 voters and 4 replies to the discussion. The final results were: Question - Votes - Percentage of Votes Cast I will buy an XBox 360 in the very near future 4 16.00% I will buy an XBox 360 but I'm not sure when 2 8.00% I have not decided on purchasing an XBox 360 at this time 5 20.00% I will never purchase an XBox 360 14 56.00% Those polls are now closed but the discussion of them in this thread is open. Be aware that fanboyism, trolling, and the usual DHC rule breaking will likely result in deletions, warnings, infractions, etc. So, what can we infer from these polls? Comments on the poll results?

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2007-07-16, 03:08 PM	#2
gorilla Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 212	In both polls, if you pool the two questions saying they intend to get one, and ignore the don't knows you get: PS3: 22+10=32 saying they intend to buy one, 14 saying they will never buy one, or 70% +/- 15%. For XBox 360, 4+2=6 saying intend to buy one, against 14, or 30% +/- 20%. The error margins are very large because of the small number of people who answered the poll. Using a different formula, which calculates if the % of people wanting PS3's is higher than the % wanting XBox 360's, then I get 99.7% confidences. I can be quite sure of this, even though the number of people is small because the difference between the responses is so large. I can be very sure statistically speaking that more people want PS3's then XBox 360's, assuming that the questions were well understood, and that a random sample of people took the poll.

2007-07-16, 03:51 PM	#3
PrimeBane Veteran Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Calgary, AB Posts: 1,766	I don't think there's any big surprises here at all. Judging by the numbers and the parameters given to vote, the majority of posters at DHC are already 360 owners and hope to add a PS3 to their home with the current price drop. And there are approx 14 people on both sides that are either major fanboys or just cheap.

2007-07-16, 04:48 PM	#4
gorilla Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 212	Or have no interest in playing games. I think if you had a survey of the general public, you'd probably get a lot larger percentage who wouldn't want a games console at all. In this environment, it's probably lower than the general public, but still many people just aren't interested.

2007-07-17, 12:19 PM	#5
krimson Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Winnipeg, MB Posts: 130	Given that this poll was taken during a hyped up PS3 moment (price cut), and fails to take into account current owners in relation to the number of votes, I have a hard time seeing any real significance to these numbers. All that has been shown is that a price cut creates a temporary flux of purchasing interest. Saying there is any further significance is a solid case of over-generalization in my opinion.

2007-07-17, 12:33 PM	#6
stampeder OTA Forum Moderator Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: North Delta, BC (96Av x 116St) Posts: 23,338	krimson, please stop looking for data in them that they are not meant to provide. The titles of the polls convey their meaning in the first place, including the effects of the PS3 price drop, and the polls clearly did not apply to current owners, as stated. Everyone was invited to give comments on how to conduct these polls: http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=65584 Please post in that thread on how we can continue to take the pulse of DHC's potential purchasers in a satisfactory and realistic manner.