Poll says kids want PS3, not Wii

Poll results. Poll results are about as trustworthy as statements from analysts. Poll results depends on who you ask, who did the asking, and how the questions were asked:

• Would you get angry if somebody gave you a free and brand spanking new N64 for Christmas?
  
• (a) Yes.
  
• (b) No.
• (c) I'd scream louder than the N64 kid.
  

Most of you will pick (b). You wouldn't be angry - you'd be happy to get free stuff that you can sell on eBay, right? So 90% of people will say they don't mind getting a free N64 for Christmas. Then we'll say, "QJ has discovered that your typical shopper doesn't want a PS3, an Xbox 360, or a Wii. They want an N64."

Data, like children, is so freaking easy to manipulate.

Anyway, we found these poll results over at Destructoid. In the "Weekly Reader Research," it says that American kids aged 5 to 18 picked which platform "they would prefer to have" - and here are the results:

• PS3 - 40%
  
• Xbox 360 - 25%
  
• Wii - 22%
  
• None - 13% (23% of all the girls and 3% of all the boys said they don't want any of the consoles)
  

The survey had 3,013 total respondents (1,538 boys and 1,475 girls)

• 5 to 9 years old - 965 or about 32%
• 10 to 12 years old - 769 or about 26%
• 13 to 15 years old - 792 or about 26%
• 16 to 18 years old - 487 or about 16%

Who were these kids? Where was this survey done? Questions. Questions. And, the poll didn't ask the important questions. Here are questions I would ask:

• If you're just going to play a "collect all the bugs/cars/tops/cards/whatever" kind of game, don't you think you should leave that PS3 or Wii for somebody who deserves it? You know, somebody who'll actually play Resistance: Fall of Man, Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, or another game with a "real" plot?
• What can your parents actually afford? If your parents are rich, do you think you can score me a PS3 and a Wii and a new Xbox 360?
  

In other words, to hell with preference. We'd prefer to have 24 million dollars. We'd prefer that Steven Spielberg fix up the crappy rushed deus-ex-machina ending of "AI". Preferences are cheap and easily changed. What matters is actual shopping behavior. The purchase. Cha-ching! What will you actually get? That's what's important.

Poll results. Poll results are about as trustworthy as statements from analysts. Poll results depends on who you ask, who did the asking, and how the questions were asked:

• Would you get angry if somebody gave you a free and brand spanking new N64 for Christmas?
  
• (a) Yes.
  
• (b) No.
• (c) I'd scream louder than the N64 kid.
  

Most of you will pick (b). You wouldn't be angry - you'd be happy to get free stuff that you can sell on eBay, right? So 90% of people will say they don't mind getting a free N64 for Christmas. Then we'll say, "QJ has discovered that your typical shopper doesn't want a PS3, an Xbox 360, or a Wii. They want an N64."

Data, like children, is so freaking easy to manipulate.

Anyway, we found these poll results over at Destructoid. In the "Weekly Reader Research," it says that American kids aged 5 to 18 picked which platform "they would prefer to have" - and here are the results:

• PS3 - 40%
  
• Xbox 360 - 25%
  
• Wii - 22%
  
• None - 13% (23% of all the girls and 3% of all the boys said they don't want any of the consoles)
  

The survey had 3,013 total respondents (1,538 boys and 1,475 girls)

• 5 to 9 years old - 965 or about 32%
• 10 to 12 years old - 769 or about 26%
• 13 to 15 years old - 792 or about 26%
• 16 to 18 years old - 487 or about 16%

Who were these kids? Where was this survey done? Questions. Questions. And, the poll didn't ask the important questions. Here are questions I would ask:

• If you're just going to play a "collect all the bugs/cars/tops/cards/whatever" kind of game, don't you think you should leave that PS3 or Wii for somebody who deserves it? You know, somebody who'll actually play Resistance: Fall of Man, Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, or another game with a "real" plot?
• What can your parents actually afford? If your parents are rich, do you think you can score me a PS3 and a Wii and a new Xbox 360?
  

In other words, to hell with preference. We'd prefer to have 24 million dollars. We'd prefer that Steven Spielberg fix up the crappy rushed deus-ex-machina ending of "AI". Preferences are cheap and easily changed. What matters is actual shopping behavior. The purchase. Cha-ching! What will you actually get? That's what's important.