We're coming up on the second anniversary of our favorite console this November, and with the supply of Wii consoles still not catching up with the demand, we were wondering how many of you out there are still hunting for a system still? Are you hunting one down for yourself or for somebody else? Already have one, had your folks try it, now they want you to find them one?Posts with tag stock
Wii Warm Up: Are you still looking?
We're coming up on the second anniversary of our favorite console this November, and with the supply of Wii consoles still not catching up with the demand, we were wondering how many of you out there are still hunting for a system still? Are you hunting one down for yourself or for somebody else? Already have one, had your folks try it, now they want you to find them one?Reggie: Wii stock balance soon, Nintendo manufacturing more consoles each month
Nintendo is apparently not blind to the pain Wii console shortages cause, now made that much more worse by the shortages of Wii Fit, the hot new exergaming bundle. Reggie wants us to know that they're working on fixing the situation, although they pretty much have no idea as to when things will be better. With their monthly output upped from 1.8 million units a month to 2.4, Nintendo is indeed trying."Currently, demand is higher than supply, but we believe we'll soon get back to a more balanced situation," says Nintendo's resident name-taker, ass-kicker Reggie Fils-Aime. Unfortunately, that's all he had to say on the situation, leaving us all in the dark as to when the supply will start meeting the demand. Until then, we're forced to keep checking in with retailers and trying to find one online.
[Via Go Nintendo]
Rumor: Circuit City restocking Wii, Wii Fit
We did our own fact-checking, calling up the local Circuit City in our own town, as well as checked their site online. Online, we had no luck, but the young lady that answered the phone at our local Circuit City store said that they did indeed have consoles in stock, but they were holding them until Sunday. Then, they plan to hand out vouchers and sell the consoles like it was launch day. When asked about Wii Fit, she assumed the store would do the same thing, but had no official word to give.
So, for those of you still in the market for either a console or Wii Fit, we'd suggest calling up your local retailers (it might be other retailers than just Circuit City) to see what the deal is. Because this isn't something confirmed by corporate (or a Sunday circular scan), we're going to keep it in the rumor pile.
Gallery: Unwrapping Wii Fit
[Thanks, Shawn!]
Toys R Us to have Wii this Sunday
You'll have to put some legwork in, as securing yourself a console means you have to go down to your local Toys R Us and plunk down a $200 deposit. Once done, show up on Sunday with your receipt and you'll be one happy camper. But, hey, as annoying as it is to make two trips, it's far less annoying than having to buy a ridiculously overpriced bundle from Circuit City.
[Via Joystiq]
Pachter: Shortages coming to an end later this year
Michael Pachter is at it again. This time, of all people, he spoke with a writer for the Dallas Morning News. Now, we're not experts in this institution that reports real world news, but we do know that video game news tends to usually fall below their radar. But they care about the Wii because, well, everyone and their grandmother bought one.Regardless, Pachter did, and he is saying that those of us in the U.S. need to blame it on
His belief is that the console will be more readily available in the U.S. later on this year, when the dollar is expected to bounce back some. Based on the fact that the console released over a year ago, though, we're not going to hold our breath.
[Thanks, Matt!]
Gamestop: Wii shortages aren't going away
Seeing as how the console released in November of 2006, you can probably understand why we're frustrated in having to report on the inability to freely and easily locate our desire out in the world beyond tubes. We want everyone to be able to enjoy the console, so why can't Nintendo churn out enough? Why has it taken them this long to satisfy demand and why has demand been at record highs throughout the console's short lifespan? Gamestop might know, as they recently stated in a report that they expect console shortages to last for another 6 months. We're betting that the retailer's forecast is fairly conservative, as it's easy to imagine another 6 months of early mornings trying to hunt one down. The console has been hard to find since its launch, so another 6 months doesn't seem like much of a stretch to us, at all.
This is just the expectations of Gamestop, though, so should Nintendo emerge from the dark mist like some knight in shining armor, we would most definitely take our own foot and place it within our own mouth. But seeing as how Nintendo hasn't figured out how to satisfy demand issues yet, we're going to have to assume it'll take a while to get healthy Wii stock on shelves.
Nintendo to help Blu-ray win the format war?
He seems to think that because the Wii is so popular, but unable to completely fulfill the incredible demand for the console up until now, Nintendo inadvertently pushed sales over to Sony's PS3. This, combined with the good numbers Blu-ray discs were getting at retail, are going to be big factors in what Enderle sees as Blu-ray's eventual victory.
While the high definition format war isn't something that we usually cover here at Wii Fanboy, it's interesting to see someone look at Nintendo's problem of satiating demand for the console in this way.
[Via Go Nintendo]
One place in the U.S. is still getting Wiis daily
As the guillotine's blade falls ever closer to your neck (see: Christmas is right around the corner), you might be in a panic that you're not going to get that Wii for your loved one. It sucks, we know. But, if you live in or around the New York city area, there's one place that's getting Wii shipments on a daily basis: the Nintendo World Store.New York City's Rockefeller Center is no stranger to crowds. But, it's been commented that multiple people have been lining up outside of the Nintendo World Store each morning, as the news of consoles being seen at the store each morning gets passed around, with "at least 20 [Wiis] lined up behind the main counter. Just Wii boxes waiting for the next person in line." Bag, please open and release cat.
If you live in the city, you might want to check this out. Any of our NYC readers planning on doing this? Did you get your Wii from the Nintendo World Store?
British flock to France to find Wii
British tabloid The Mirror is reporting that due to the scarcity of the console in the UK, many have apparently taken trips to neighboring country France in order to track one down. Where the console is going for upwards of £1,000 on eBay, many are apparently finding success in French shops, where the console sells for £150 (or about €209). The credibility of the paper is questionable, however our own UK blogger Chris has mentioned that he's heard of people being successful in Calais. So, if you're someone living in the UK and looking for a Wii, don't go over to France thinking you're guaranteed to leave with a Wii, but it might be worth a try. Still, the country just sold its millionth Wii, so the demand is there, as well.
Consumers: Dude, where's my Wii?
Well then, who saw this coming? Certainly not us. With a console being scarce and incredibly popular for a whole year now, we never would've figured that consumers would be angry they could not find one. The nerve!But, in all seriousness, we feel your pain. It's been tough trying to get a console ever since it released and when stores like, oh we dunno, EB Games tell you that they're getting stock in on a certain day and you show up that day to try and get one and they say "Sorry, we don't have any,"we'd be pretty ticked off too.
And Robert Whitted is the latest casualty, stating "They [EB Games] said they should be getting in a shipment this week, went by there on Tuesday of this week when the shipment was supposed to arrive and they're telling me now what they don't have any in stock." Thing is, they did get the console in, but they're not selling them until Black Friday. "They're telling me that the message from the store should be that they're not selling them until Friday."
Robert feels cheated, going on to say "They're telling me a lie, they're telling the community a lie, that they do not have them in stock and we all know that they will no be getting them in Thanksgiving Day or the morning before they open."
Is Best Buy purposely holding their stock?
The tipster even said he overheard two manager types discussing the "sales technique," deciding on when they should send out the next Wii.
Still trying to find a Wii? Try Amazon this week
Have you been sick to your stomach over the last year, hitting up store after store in your region only to be welcomed by such a lazily-made sign such as this, by some employee who is equally sick of seeing your face so often, because all you want is the best gaming console ever created? Well, you've got an honest shot at securing a console from Amazon.com come Wednesday morning, as a PR rep for the company has informed us the online vendor has been stocking up consoles and preparing to fling them out the door with equal the speed at which they arrived.That's right, come this Wednesday at 10am PST (Pacific time, that's 1PM for those of us on the East Coast, so you might want to take an early lunch if you're at work), Amazon.com will be selling the console from their video games section of their website. We can't provide any exact figures as to how many consoles Amazon.com has to sell, but we've been told it's "significant," if that means anything to you.
Happy hunting to those of you still on the prowl and be sure to let us know how you fare!
WRUP: Getting ready for the weekend stock edition
Not much on the weekly releases radar this week, so maybe you don't have much planned in the way of gaming this weekend? Well, what about the rest of you? What about the people who still can't find a Wii? What are they to do? Well, the news this week shows the Wii will be in stock at Gamestop and EB, at least, so perhaps you want to get up early and try over there? Of course, there's always the long shot of entering a contest ...
Remember, if you can't find a Wii, there's always those kids meal toys from Wendy's to cheer you up!
Previous posts: What were you playing?
Wiis at Kmart this Sunday
It will be months before manufacturers will be able to meet the Wii demand and end its shortage, but you might not have to wait until then to get your hands on the supply-constrained console. Kmart's latest circular advertises that the retail chain's stores will have Nintendo Wiis in stock next Sunday, but we doubt that the systems will stay on shelves longer than a few minutes. It was just this morning when a few of you confessed to us about not being able to acquire a Wii yet, so this must be a sign from the heavens! Or from Ace of Base! If you're still looking for an opportunity to buy the console, especially considering this week's Super Paper Mario release, here's your chance. You won't even have to go broke over outrageous eBay prices or offer up your unsullied body on Craigslist! Jump past the post break for the Kmart flyer.
[Via CAG]
Nintendo quiet at GDC due to Japanese stock situation?
Before going into GDC07, we all thought Nintendo would remain relatively quiet. And, they kind of did. Miyamoto reassured us that Super Mario Galaxy would be arriving this year and even told us about a new Channel. So, it depends on how you look at it, but we consider the show to be a success here at HQ.Regardless of what we thought, many others are saying that Nintendo really didn't have a presence at the show. And these folk are pointing to the current Japanese stock situation as the reason why Nintendo didn't reveal much at the show. So what does that mean for us? Nintendo is going to stay "hush hush," for awhile. But, when you think about it, hasn't Nintendo always been kind of "hush hush?"
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