Nintendo Wii Fanboy

If you're near a Best Buy store, gather up your $2 bills and get going, because they're in the midst of an epic videogame clearance, and you'll want to get there before the unscrupulous speculator types grab all the stuff to sacrifice to the ravenous eBay. You've got to be wily to get to the goods before the FatWalleters and the CAGs!

There aren't any Wii games on clearance, but there are plenty of Wii-compatible Gamecube games. We've got a list of all the Gamecube software on sale after the break. Don't expect to find all of it-- most of it has been out of stock for months or years at most stores, and the price changed to clear out remaining copies. But we hope you do find what you're looking for in abundance. And we hope we can make it to Best Buy soon enough to luck into our own copy of Chibi Robo.

[Thanks, ali emamdjomeh!]

Courtesy of our big poppa site Joystiq comes word that a few major retail chains are to supposedly have some Wiis for sale this Sunday. This mighty tipster to our parent site sent in some blurry camera phone pictures of each retailer's Sunday circular, promising Wiis for sale:

• Circuit City has Wiis. Limited quantities. No rainchecks. While supplies last. Limit 1 per household. Vouchers will be handed out Sunday, 1 hour prior to opening (10am).
  
• Best Buy has Wiis. Minimum 20 per store. No rainchecks. Stores open at 11am on Sunday.
  
• Target only has Wii remotes and nunchucks in the ad (who knows if they've been stockpiling consoles).

Past experience teaches us that the Wiis will go quick and will not satisfy the whole gathering of people looking to get their hands on one, but we can dream, can't we? We've embedded the other pictures past the post break.

[Update 1: According to our mother-site Joystiq, Circuit City will also be hoarding Wii supplies for the 21st. Target will also have Wiimotes and nunchuks ... and heck, probably more Wii units as well. Good luck!]

According to some highly overpaid analysts, the Wii is still very, very hard to find. See? You could be an analyst, too! Through rain and mud and Mordor, many of our readers have trekked away their nights and days looking for that elusive white box. We would send you ours, but Nintendo has keyed our Wii's to our genetic signatures, and will detonate upon transfer.

Still, we feel as though we owe you guys a bit of assistance. And here it is: apparently, a (reputable) tipster has given word that Best Buy is stockpiling units for a January 21st (Sunday) release. Each store should have at least twenty units, and possibly around forty, but Best Buy will be announcing this lovely treasure trove in a weekly store ad quite soon. A word to the wise: the Wii is still hotter than Alpha Centauri, so don't think you won't need to work for it. Wake up early. You won't regret it.

So, we already heard that Best Buy may be holding their in-stock Wiis until Sunday ... and a number of sources are reporting that GameStop is doing the same. What's more? All of our sneaky anonymous sources within the two retail giants are saying that the hold is absolutely true. December 17 is the new Wii day.

Expect a holiday frenzy if you're out shopping this weekend, and if you want to snag a Wii, get there early and cross your fingers. Anyone up for camping?

According to a scan of The Retail Insider (we assume it's an in-company newsletter, we never worked for Best Buy) available over at Go Nintendo, all the Best Buys are going to be holding all of their available Wii units to sell on the weekend of December 17th. You can read the reasons why above, however we're still chalking this up to be a rumor at this point due to the typo in the last bullet point.

What do you guys think?

Crushed because you came away from the Wii launch empty handed? Dealing with waffling salespeople at your favorite retail outlets? Concerned that it may be a while before you can get your hands on one? Relax, dearest fanboys, because a little birdie told us that GameStop and EB are getting in new shipments for this Friday and they're going to open up a few hours early -- we're hearing 7AM. There's no word on the number of units allocated for the forthcoming madness on the year's biggest shopping day, but we expect no less than preorder numbers and likely more.

On a related note -- we spoke with some folks at Best Buy also, and while they couldn't give us a firm date on when they would receive their next shipment, the did tell us that several shipments arrive at stores each week, with games, accessories, and yes, more consoles. So if you're trying to find an extra nunchuk (like we are), a Wiimote, or even to find out when your Best Buy will receive more Wii units, give them a call in the mornings -- keep fishing and you'll catch one.

1UP is also reporting that new shipments are expected, and it seems some of the commenters talked to our little birdie or one of his co-workers, as the 7AM story is repeated there.

So who's camping this week to remedy the lack of Wii?

Planning to camp out this weekend in search of a Wii? We understand. Promises of plenty of consoles for everyone be damned -- when it's launch day, it's time to get your camp on. But there's a problem, see. There will probably be other people camping, too, and when it comes to a console launch, anything goes. We don't advocate violence ... but if someone tries to get between us and a Wii, well, we might have to kill them in front of their momma (apologies for quote bastardization). But no worries, fanfolk -- the crew at Gaming Out Loud did a little research* for you and they have some tips for outcamping all the other console-crazed individuals.

We favor tip #3 (check out the original article for the rest):

Nothing gives you more insta-cred than whipping out a DS lite while waiting for the sun to rise. Not only does it validate your nerdocity, but it can be a great way to spark conversations with others.

"Hey, is that DS lite?"
"Yes."

Isn't that amazing? That right there has bonded you two for life.

Though now it's going to seem like copying if we take a DS. Thanks, Alec. Thanks a lot.

*They read a wiki. Not the Wiki, just a wiki.

[Thanks, izzyb412!]

Over at GWN, there is some speculation pointing towards Best Buys getting Wii kiosks set up on October 29th. The information suggests that the Wii area will have two Wiimotes, Wii Sports, and a Phillips 480i, standard definition television set hooked to surround sound. Sounds good to us, but we would've liked to see them sooner! I guess we're just selfish like that.

Check after the break for the images.

[Thanks Nushio!]

[Update 1: Turns out the second image is fake, as we initially thought. We're still holding out for the date though. Thanks Neko!]