Nintendo to offer 'Wii Rainchecks'

by JC Fletcher { Dec 14th 2007 at 11:28AM }

In an effort to help dull the impact of the Wii supply crunch, Reggie Fils-Aime has announced in a conference call that Nintendo will make "Wii Rainchecks" available to those who pay in full for a system on December 20th and 21st (but don't actually get a system). The rainchecks will be available at GameStop, and Reggie says they have plentiful supply of certificates, not to mention a large supply of actual Wiis heading out to stores including but not limited to GameStop.

Who wants to bet they'll run out of rainchecks?

Tags: gamestop, rainchecks, reggie

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Tristan @ Dec 14th 2007 11:53AM

I wonder how fast will these people get Wiis, and it would be a bit unfortunate for those who go to the store on the 22nd to find that the Wiis have been given to those who had rainchecks.

MountainLionLink @ Dec 14th 2007 12:08PM

Well Gamestop will perform one of their magically bad business moves and suddenly promise either:
[a] more rainchecks then systems
[b] you must preorder a raincheck for a system

It honestly doesn't matter to me, I purchased my Wii on opening day last year, but it does seem like a waste of profit for Nintendo to offer rainchecks to individuals that might not receive a console until many months afterwards.

Shadow31 @ Dec 14th 2007 12:35PM

Hmm... I'm interested to know how this turns out. My fiancee's family is looking for a Wii for Christmas. Wonder if they'll settle for this.

Gonzo @ Dec 14th 2007 12:50PM

I'm just glad I'm not the first person to assume that Gamestop will require pre-ordering the rain checks.

This sounds like another Gamestop scheme to rip off gamers.

They're very good at that, look at their stock prices. Damn good for specialty retail.

Sonic_13 @ Dec 14th 2007 1:00PM

Soon we will begin to see these rainchecks going up on eBay and being sold at a significant profit margin...

saylorsgang @ Dec 14th 2007 1:57PM

Are these rainchecks going to be like the Wii gift cards from W@la-mart and Target last year, the ones you bought in December and could'nt redeeem it till like April or May because of no stock? Great idea, I am so grateful I already have a Wii.

Kev @ Dec 14th 2007 1:46PM

Why GameStop? Why????

Eddy @ Dec 14th 2007 2:46PM

Each store can only logically sell as many rainchecks as wii systems that it will physically get in its store.

Now instead of running around to gamestop stores and/or lining up for wii systems, people will be running around to gamestop stores and/or lining up for wii rainchecks.

Until there is more supply, nothing will change about how people are aquiring Wiis. I just really hope a raincheck is tied specifically to a person's name/ID, so that they cannot be resold for profit by ebayers.

Cold, with two tees @ Dec 14th 2007 2:53PM

Perhaps they plan on rainchecks for the rainchecks.

wiiluver135 @ Dec 14th 2007 4:38PM

I'll do it...
I know exactly how they'll do it too:
1. You give them your payment methond (Credit Card, Gift Card, $$)
2. You give them you Name & Phone #
3. They'll call telling you that they've gotten a new shipment and give you a time limit to get there before they sell it to another "rainchecker".
4. You rush down to the store and pray that they still have one by the time you get there.

I'm still going to do it...

LeChuck @ Dec 14th 2007 5:30PM

All the major retailers are supposed to have some in this weekend so I'll try my luck but if I don't manage to snag one I'll be getting a raincheck. You're supposedly guaranteed to get it by the end of January so long as I have a Wii before Brawl comes out I'll be happy.

Jose @ Dec 14th 2007 5:59PM

Lol, that's just what every kid wants for Christmas, a raincheck :P

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mike @ Dec 14th 2007 7:25PM

There is a website called play2text.com that will be giving away 20 nintendo wii's on Dec 17th.It is a text messaging trivia site and it costs 99 cents to enter.Being that it is a new site there are not that many entries so the odds are pretty good.A friend of mine won an xbox earlier in the week.