A survey by Frank N. Magid Associates found 30% of 149 Xbox 360 owners did not know Xbox Live Arcade existed. Of the remaining 70% who were aware of XBLA, 42% had downloaded trial games using the service and 28% had purchased titles.

A rough estimate places the margin of error for the sample at about 10%, fairly high relative to most reputable studies. The surveyors actually polled 1800 U.S. households, with 149 confirming their ownership of an Xbox 360.

Despite the high margin of error, the data correlates with another survey detailing console owners' cluelessness about their gaming system's capabilities. According to the report, 70% of homes with movie-playback-capable consoles did not realize their gaming systems had this functionality.

This reminds me of a conversation I overheard in a large retail outlet before the Xbox 360 launch. A customer said she owned an Xbox, and excitedly detailed her plans to purchase an Xbox 360. Later, she asked a retail associate if the 360 would actually have any enhanced capabilities over the original Xbox, or even play different games.