Shipments are not sales

[mike_intellivision]

Items sitting on the shelf as shipped will usually, eventually be sold.

(The last time I remember a major recall of unsold stock was Imagic calling back Intellivision games. It probably has happened since then, but I didn't get the chance to buy those games for close to 15 years, so it is burned into my memory. Then again, if you hunt well enough, you could find SMS games at stores after 2000 and Wal-Marts with NGC Bongos today.).

The difference though is the mark-down that the retailer has to make to move the item and/or the rebate the wholesaler/distributor/manufacturer has to provide the retailer for the product that does not move. Of course, those eventual sales turn up in the sales calculations, further muddying the waters.

(This makes most Nintendo games very remarkable as they typically don't get markdowns as quickly or as severely. And I just don't mean first party. Look at MW: Black Ops and see how much the Wii version still costs.)

[On a side note, this price drop phenomenon is why GameStop often pays so little for games and sells them at such a high margin. When a AAA hot-seller goes from $50/$60 to $30/$40 after a few months, and GS paid $25/$30 in trade-in for a used copy it can't move for more than $26/$35 -- that becomes a razor thin margin which is not enough to pay the rent, utilities, taxes, and employees. And when it falls below what GS paid for the game, it is even worse.]

Mike from Morgantown