The Selma Times-Journal

Based on sales at local retailers, it looks like there will be lots of gadgets and gizmos under Christmas trees this year.

Local retailers say many of their highest selling items are popular electronics or game consoles.

Horne said the pawn shop still has a few gaming systems left-a couple of Sony Playstation 2 consoles, a few Microsoft Xbox 360s, and five Nintendo Gamecubes as of Thursday. &8220;The Playstation 3s are gone,&8221; Horne said.

Horne just returned from vacation in New York City, where he decided to look for a Nintendo Wii.

&8220;I looked all over the city,&8221; Horne said. &8220;I went to FAO Schwarz, the Nintendo store, the Toys&8217;r&8217;Us in Times Square, Macy&8217;s and Bloomingdale&8217;s. They were all out. I went to Toy&8217;r&8217;Us, offered them my credit card and phone number. They said they wouldn&8217;t have any until after Christmas.&8221;

Over at PineBelt Wireless and RadioShack on Broad Street, the hottest selling items are

iPods with touch screens, MP3 players, TomTom and Garmin brands&8217; GPS navigational systems, Xbox 360 bundles, digital cameras and Guitar Hero, a musical simulation video game that comes with a guitar.

PineBelt Wireless/RadioShack general manager Tom Morris said that most often he sees customers forget to buy important accessories when they come in during the rush of the final days before Christmas. &8220;Ipods are easy to break,&8221; Morris said. &8220;People forget to buy covers for them. Laptops need cases. If you break it, you&8217;re out of $800. The GPS systems need protection too.&8221; Morris also said people tend to forget batteries, which can be inconvenient and expensive to buy on Christmas Day.

John Brian Hale of Automotive Excitement said he&8217;s sold a lot of CD players. &8220;I&8217;d say don&8217;t wait till the last minute. We&8217;re going to be open Friday, Saturday, and half of Monday,&8221; he added with a laugh.