There are really no surprises in the top 10 holiday sales list over at Amazon today, so its publication does little more than twist the knife and salt the wounds of the trailing (and increasingly similar) competition.
This, of course, is why I’m posting it today:
Amazon said best-selling holiday items this year included the Samsung 52-inch HDTV, the Apple iPod, the Acer netbook computer and Nintendo Wii.
Wii Fit, at 9 million sold worldwide, was also a hot seller this holiday. That’s anywhere from 15-25% of the user base! I’m telling you, it’s reinvented what we consider an “accessory.” It’s a platform. Expect more Shaun White-type development efforts in 2009 (for better or worse) that focus on the board as a serious control scheme.
In related news, while retail sales suffered under a bad economy, eCommerce, or online shopping, bucked the trend and did fairly well. I bring that up because the parallels to DLC and downloadable games in 2009 will be widespread. So long as the economy is in the tank, some companies will not see the value in having a physical product taking up space on store shelves. Hence, we’re going digital, baby.