Amazon Sells 17 Wiis Per Second
Amazon says its 2007 holiday season was the company's best ever, bolstered by sales of the fifth Harry Potter film (DVD) as well as the Wii, selling at a blistering rate of 17 systems per second. Says CNN Money, the Wii was first in Amazon's console sales between November 15 and December 19, with Super Mario Galaxy and Call of Duty 4 fronting the game sales pack.
By contrast, Wall Street stocks are flailing as I write this on news of weak holiday retail figures overall. Some are pinning bounce-back hopes to the next five or six days of shopping, during which consumers will spend an estimated $60 billion alone using holiday gift cards.
What's not being reported? Sales related to online games not tracked by mainstream retailers, e.g. purchases of games and other miscellany through services like Xbox Live or Nintendo's Wii Shop, MMORPG ongoing subscriptions and/or account renewals, direct-download games and expansion packs from sites like Direct2Drive or Gamersgate, MMO auction channels and/or in-game transactions, and items or goods purchased through legit sites like Sony's Station Exchange and/or third party chop shops (estimated at as much as $200 million a year for goods, and $1 billion for currency exchange). In short, the secondary market, i.e. "shadow economy" everyone's racing to get their spreadsheets around.
The price for 100 gold in Lord of the Rings Online? Anywhere from $67.90 to $240. 500 gold in World of Warcraft? Between $21.41 and $40.95. A level 79 Moonlight Sentin female in Lineage 2? $619. A level 70 World of Warcraft Mage and Warrior? $300. A pair of Soul Snatcher earrings in Everquest 2? $3. There's even a market for Diablo 2 items. $2.50 for an Annihilus Charm, anyone?
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WOW, and i thought people were stupid before i read this article. Now I KNOW they are stupid.... 240.00 for 100 fake gold pieces??????? I could buy REAL gold for 240.00, invest in it, do something with it and make more REAL money, instead of buying fake gold and then buying a fake sword in a fake world which you wont be playing in 20 years from now.