wait but i like britney spears. her songs are kinda cool.

begin rebuttal.  Top sellers are not often simple.  Let's go over your list.

#1 selling Book:

The Bible.   Hate it, believe it, call it what you will, it's anything but simple.  This book has confused people for centuries.

#1 selling Music Act:

The Beatles.   This is a band that grew much more complex with age. Sgt. Pepper and Revolver, namely.

#1 watched TV Show:

M*A*S*H (season finale).  Aside from some of the HBO series, you won't see anything of this quality on today, and certainly not on the networks.

I don't know much about anime or manga, so I can't tell you about those.

Exactly. There are some milion sellers that are good but more often than not they are overhyped stuff which in the end is pretty average - best example GTA IV.

i didnt mean like THE #1.... but lets look at some other stuff

as for books, harry potter. though I don't actually read other books, many many people I talked to who read a wide variety of books and have ready harry potter often complain that harry potter wasn't really that great compared to what else is out there.

anime/manga- naruto and bleach. extremely simply, extremely popular, and theres so much better anime/manga out there, and that I can actually vouch for.

games- why do you think casual games are selling so well? and series like mario, mario kart, GTA, halo, gears of war, call of duty, etc...

because anyone can pick those up, not care about story and play them.

@ frybread )

#1 Movie: Titanic - can't get any more simplistic

#1 Video Game: Wii Sports - the definition of simple, although there is some depth is to be found, all it's first appearences to the customer are designed to be as simple as possible (graphics, sounds, controls, concept ....)

#1 computer game: this is hard. is it Solitaire, Bejeweled or The Sims ? either way, I think we know where this is heading

btw your #1 show is US only, huh?
77% rating is nice, but do you really think those maybe 100-150million viewers can hold a candle against indian or chinese shows ?

@OP

Carnival Games, Mario and Sonic at the Olympic, Wii Play, Game Party, Mario Party 8, Lord of the Rings games, Lego....anything, Kung Fu Panda etc

@OP, yes you are correct, they are cherry picking.
This BSS that I believe you created out of thin air does have its legitimate application though.

I do believe Americans are more prone to liking things because they are told to. It is fun to like what is "popular" and this cycle is self perpetuating.

I also believe a lot of people, (not all) who buy a wii exhibit this behavior for the same reasons.

But even if they do... so what? If something sells, regardless of how "deserving" it may be, than it still wins. Everything is a business, and Yes certain people are sheep.

Mac computers, Nintendo Wii, Prius, Starbucks - sheep follow these things, but so do informed consumers. These companies market beautifully and nothing else matters. It is consumerism at its best!

But maybe I just feel jaded because I am somewhat of a maverick consumer. It is the unique and powerful that I enjoy. The researched and careful choice that leads the consumer.. like myself away from what is popular.

It is in this way that no one can be completely happy. Unless of course you have one of everything.

These are the rambling ramblings of a jojo idiot.

Solitaire all the way. After all, that game has been out since maybe Windows 1.0? That's even before I was born. Every one must get it, even though they have no plans on playing card games on the PC. The other two launched too late.

As for the Bible, it's been released for more than a millenium, so beat that!

I think Squilliam said this: the Bible doesn't count because it is bundled.

^OK, then the Quotations of Chairman Mao win then.