One in three European consumers bought a TV in the past two years, but just 11 percent bought a flat-panel, according to a new report from Forrester Research. The more recent data is more promising for the likes of Sony (SNE): In the past six months, 42 percent of bought flat.
Owners of flat TVs were more likely to use them for more than watching shows. That suggests the gaming console wars between Sony and Microsoft (MSFT) could heat up in Europe, since the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 both have high-definition features that target flat TV owners. The next-generation DVD battle between Blu-ray and HD DVD could also heat up in Europe.