Automotive recalls come along so often, we've almost become immune to dire warnings about the small percentage of stereo knobs with serrated edges or the mufflers that may implode in high altitudes. Of course, video games aren't often the subject of such manufacturing snafus, so when Microsoft announced it was recalling power cords from their Xbox consoles due to a few unintentional fires, we shouldn't have been surprised to see mass hysteria hit the Buzz. Searches surged on just about everything having to do with Bill Gates' big, black monolith. "Xbox" (+213%), "Xbox.com" (+740%), and "Xbox recall" all spiked on fears the console may literally become too hot to handle if left on too long. Concerned parents in the 35- to 44-year-old demographic made up the majority of searches while gamers 17 and under were somewhat oblivious to the apparent danger, making up only 13% searchers. Perhaps they can be excused though, given the imminent release of Gran Turismo 4 (+41%). Searches on the racing game's release date are continuing to roar, up 37% just this week.
