Fallout 3 - The Long Tail

Bethsoft Producer Ashley Cheng's blog has an interesting post titled Before iPods ruled the earth... that ruminates on the recent coverage of Fallout fans and how online distribution may make niche markets more attractive to publishers:

According to The Long Tail, a Borders book store carries around 100,000 books, versus Amazon.com which lets you choose from over 3.7 million books. Of course, Borders 100K stock are the best sellers, the ones everybody is buying, but surprisingly, 25% of Amazon's sales are from books outside of Border's 100,000 stock. The book suggests that there will be huge growth in niche, customizable markets, that businesses are missing out by relying on hit-driven practices.