Brits can't find Wii for love nor money
by Chris Greenhough 
{ Nov 20th 2007 at 9:45AM }
Nintendo might well be cracking the whip on the Wii production line, but pretty much everybody still seems to be feeling the pinch of shortages. UK shoppers, for example, are becoming increasingly desperate for the console, with online retailers now getting in the region of 100,000 requests a day from panicky, possibly hyperventilating Brits.Meanwhile, Amazon's UK arm recently sold 1,000 machines in under 10 minutes, while the console on its own is typically going for around £300 ($615) on eBay. In other words, Wii fever is hitting some quite ridiculous heights on this side of the pond, and if Reggie is to be believed, things ain't going to get any better in the immediate future.
[Via Go Nintendo]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
ssuk @ Nov 20th 2007 9:59AM
Yep, I got a Wii for my bday last month and was damn lucky to get that. GAME, the UK's largest video game retailer has actually put up countless notices now saying stock many be pushed for the Christmas period. But I'll be damned if Nintendo even cares. Over the many, many, MANY years of being a gamer... Most of those years spend with only a Nintendo console of some description on me, it's made me think that Nintendo's priority isn't anywhere near a PAL region.
Anticrawl @ Nov 20th 2007 10:51AM
Well my friend, the "PAL region" has it's own personal division of Nintendo, if they aren't doing their job it's not that Nintendo doesn't care about your region it's that Nintendo of Europe is full of lazy douchebags who need to be sacked.
Kenban @ Nov 20th 2007 11:20AM
There are many reports of piles of Wii's available in other European countries so I have no idea why Nintendo can't just start shipping more to the UK and less to the countries were the system is not selling out.
But with every sales report and every report of sold out consoles it becomes even more obvious that Nintendo has screwed up production levels badly. Its going to be very interesting seeing how long it takes next year for stores to actually start having stock which lasts more then a day. Last year it took the DS almost 3 months to get back to regular stock levels and that was with a production of 2.5 million a month.
NobleArc, The Lazy Canadian @ Nov 20th 2007 12:32PM
To hell with the U.K. I'm in Canada, and I've been trying to get one since launch. Still don't have one. I'm going out later today to continue my hunt, so.. wish me luck.
ArashiUzumaki @ Nov 20th 2007 12:33PM
preordered it, cause like many other nintendo fans, i could see what was comming :)
that's what you get for being ignorant to the phenomenon that is Nintendo ;)
srenehan @ Nov 20th 2007 1:54PM
Hehe, It took a long hard hunt for me to get my own.
And now that i'm moving out, my mother and rest of the family are beginning the same long hard hunt, only now it looks worse then ever because there are both good games out, and several HUGE titles right on the horizon and supplys in the area are stupidly low.
SO it's not just the UK that's out... it's most of the world.
ALEGNA @ Nov 22nd 2007 10:02PM
one word EBAY... I got mine the day after it came out, paid 100 more and didn't have to wait out in the cold or go crazy looking...
danieru @ Nov 20th 2007 2:56PM
I bought mine from amazon.de a couple of weeks back, shoved a plug apapter on the end of the euro two-pin and voila! instant wii action
i had to buy an extra wiimote from amazon.fr
thank god for the european union
Kelvin @ Nov 20th 2007 2:30PM
I ended up buying one from Amazon.de for about £175 after trying for months to get one in the UK. I certainly wasn't going to pay a reseller £300 for one.
The only extra thing I needed to buy was a power adapter for a few pounds.
I described the process on http://www.squidoo.com/cheap-wii-uk/ in more detail if anyone happens to be interested.
blackgoose @ Nov 20th 2007 4:10PM
Australia is a PAL region. We got a Wii at launch by pre-ordering.
Others who didn't had to wait a few months. My impression now is that while Wii doesn't sit on the shelves, it's not "unobtainium" any more.
Max Headroom @ Nov 21st 2007 12:45AM
Are those Wii's on eBay actually selling at $600+ or are they just listed at that price with no buyers? If they are indeed selling, I find it truly amusing that the Wii ended up being the only console worth $600 this generation (even after a year of being on the market).
ChrisG @ Nov 21st 2007 1:03PM
@ Max
Nope, they're selling at $600. I checked a few auctions on the site before writing this, and was as surprised as you. Do remember, however, that a UK Wii in stores costs £180 / $370.
buywiiuk @ Nov 27th 2007 7:29AM
Quite funny, only 180 last year, 240 this year on ebay! :P
buywiiuk @ Nov 27th 2007 7:31AM
http://www.buy-nintendo-wii.info/buy-wii-uk.php also lists all places (and you can add to it if you know of any shops selling the wii) in the uk that have stores with the Wii in stock
Andrew @ Dec 6th 2007 1:13AM
It is sad that Europe and the US are still short of sufficient Wiis to cover demand....
Of course, at least for the Europeans there is an option! Look on www.ebay.com.au and you will be able to find yourself a Wii easily! :) You will probably have to pay at least 230 Euros for a new one from Australia, but thats because 230 Euros is roughly 388 Australian, which is what a Wii is going for over here these days. An Aus Wii along with a voltage converter will play all PAL games just fine in case you were wondering.