Internet searches can be an indicator of sales - and the Xbox 360 has just become the most searched-for gaming console for the first time since Nov. 2006, beating out searches for Nintendo's Wii, according to Hitwise's Bill Tancer (via MarketingCharts). Though the Xbox has been the top-selling console in volume, Wii's sales growth has outpaced that of the Xbox, he writes.
Though the number of searches can have a negative connotation - say, if the search terms were "xbox red ring of death" or "xbox recall" - in this case that's not the case, according to Hitwise.
Of the Top 10 search terms containing "xbox," none seem to refer to reported problems with the Xbox:
Searches for "xbox 360 problems" and "xbox 360 repair" are at No. 13 and No. 15 on the Hitwise list of Xbox search terms.
With rumors that an Xbox price drop may be in the offing, in the past four weeks the top search term with the words "price drop" was "xbox 360 price drop" - with 70 percent more US searches for "xbox 360 price drop" than for "ps3 price drop," Tancer writes:
