Wii Warm Up: Shortages

by Alisha Karabinus { Nov 15th 2007 at 9:00AM }

Nearly a year into the release of the Wii, the shortages continue. Some areas enjoyed a little short-lived respite, but with the holidays around the corner, it seems that once again -- for a variety of possible reasons -- getting your hands on a Wii is about as common as spying a leprechaun in the wild.

As a Nintendo fan, does the continued demand for the console surprise you? Certainly, during the holidays, it makes sense; during November and December, it can be difficult to find a toothpick, much less a hot commodity, but it's not like this is new. Did you expect things might taper off a little? Nintendo seemed to expect it, even if you didn't, at least now that we've all gotten over the initial shock that came with everyone demanding a Wii.

Tags: demand, holiday, shortage, supply

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

jasenj1 @ Nov 15th 2007 9:37AM

Makes sense to me. Last year all us early-adopter fanbois were grabbing up the consoles on the anticipation that the Wii would be awesome. Now, a year later, all our friends and relatives have had a chance to play Wii Sports (at least) and see what sort of games have been released. And, the libraries for the other consoles have grown, too - so they can compare there.

IMHO, for parents (and grandparents) of 6-14 year old kids, the Wii is the platform to get. And there are enough "fun" and a couple of hardcore games for the older crowd, too.

A guy at work is on the hunt for one this year. He sent an email to those of us with Wiis looking for help on how to find one.

Neko @ Nov 15th 2007 9:53AM

I am a little surprised about the demand of the Wii. I made fun of Microsoft when they couldn't produce enough systems to keep up with demand for the first year of the XBox 360's life cycle. What surprises me is the fact that it's still extremly hard to find a Wii. I knew that the system had something special, but I didn't expect it to be outselling the XBox less than a year after it's release.

bc @ Nov 15th 2007 10:00AM

The COMMERCIAL even starts with "We got one." If that's not Nintendo winking at shortages, I don't know what is - they're clearly not minding.

Tom @ Nov 15th 2007 10:22AM

I bought mine about a month ago at the local Wal-Mart. I wanted one about a week before that and didn't really put much time into looking for it. I guess I just expected it to fall into my lap and it did.

Sora57 @ Nov 15th 2007 10:30AM

I had no trouble getting mine on-line. The local videogame store kept selling out immediately, so I bought a bundle package from Gamestop. I am surprised that it has been hard to find in stores this whole year. I expected it to become easier to find over the summer months, but that did not happen.

The games overall have been pretty tame, so I thought sales would drop and they would be easier to pick up. Now with the excellent Super Mario Galaxy and the holidays coming, the interest in the platform is not a surprise. But the whole year? Very impressive.

vidGuy @ Nov 15th 2007 10:46AM

Doesn't surprise me at all. If you look back at my post history, I was predicting that this would be the case back when the Revolution was first announced, and certainly after the PS3 price point was announced. I said that there would be two distinct markets with some overlap, and the Wii and 360 would easily outpace the PS3, with the Wii taking the lead within 18 months.

I think things will start to change now that Sony has put the PS3 at a reasonable price and actually has some games for it, but the Wii will continue to be a strong seller for another 6 to 12 months. After that, Nintendo will have to drop the price, but then the Wii's already 18 - 24 months old and overdue for a price drop.

Nate @ Nov 15th 2007 10:50AM

I picked mine up slightly used and got a great deal on it w/ Zelda. I've only seen them at one store since the release.

matxer @ Nov 15th 2007 12:18PM

I'm quite surprised by that shortage. In France the wii is available everywhere.
You can buy it at amazon.fr for EUR 247. It will work in most countries (PAL) except US, Japan and Brazil, I guess. You'll just have to change the language selection in the parameters.

Bluebreaker @ Nov 15th 2007 2:20PM

I think if Amazon's $79 dollar Wii sale goes through it will tank its website...

NobleArc, The Lazy Canadian @ Nov 15th 2007 6:58PM

Today was supposed to be the day I finally got a Wii. I've been trying to get one since Launch day, to no avail. Whenever I did see them, I had no cash, and whenever I have money, they're sold out.

I had one on hold, and I got my cash today, so I went into the local video rental place (they sell consoles if you have 'em ordered in for you) and was told that the Wii I had on hold was sold to someone else, because they offered to pay double for it. Someone paid $600 for a Wii. Just so I couldn't have one.

Or at least that's how I see it.

Anyway, they're ordering another bunch of 'em, since that one sold so well, and apparently I'll be able to pick it up between Monday and Wednesday. If by Friday I don't have one, I'll make a trip out to the city (Vancouver, BC) and try and pick one up there.

Seriously, since LAUNCH day, I've been trying to get one. I've only ever played two Wii Kiosks for about a minute each. One had Wii Sports Bowling/Excite Truck, one had The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.

I want one.

It's just not fair.