What is up with the Wii shortage?

tdog44632 · #1 11/30/2007, 03:14 PM

Been looking for the Wii for Christmas for my kids. the $249 system is going for $450 on Ebay! It's been out for over a year. A shortage is completely ridiculous. ARRGH!!!!

Satori · #2 11/30/2007, 03:23 PM

Last Christmas, we used http://wiitracker.com/ to get ours. It constantly scans all of the stores and websites for availability. Some might come up on Amazon.com or another store. They never last long, but you can sign up to get alerts so as soon as they're posted for sale you can jump on it. Worked for us, but it took a few tries to beat the clock.

JokerGirl · #3 11/30/2007, 03:24 PM

Little tip for you... Target and Wal-Mart get their stock in early on Sunday mornings and usually have it on the shelves by the time they open.

dc · #4 11/30/2007, 03:57 PM

I'm waiting till I master Atari.

Kevomac · #5 11/30/2007, 04:03 PM

I called around and found out when Gamestop was getting some in, then headed out at 5:00 am to go get in line (they opened at 7:00 on Black Friday). Good luck. I never thought I'd do something like that, but it worked out. They got in 23, and I was 7th in line.

Travis L. Stevens · #6 11/30/2007, 04:03 PM

I still can't believe I see these posts. Tulsa, Stillwater, and OKC WalMarts have had them nearly constantly in stock. You other states must play too many video games

Travis L. Stevens · #7 11/30/2007, 04:06 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Travis L. Stevens
I still can't believe I see these posts. Tulsa, Stillwater, and OKC WalMarts have had them nearly constantly in stock. You other states must play too many video games

I guess that doesn't mean that they aren't sold out now because of holidays coming up.

VoidRaven · #8 11/30/2007, 04:27 PM

I just think it's funny....all those nay-sayers out there "oh the Wii will flop compared to the XBox and PS3".....well, they still may be a bit short on games but Nintendo is still going strong with the Wii.

Travis, I think you're right...seems to be a regional thing. Although while out Christmas shopping today I saw signs at Best Buy stating they were out of stock on the Wii and did not know when more would be coming. I think the console has tapped into a gaming market previously unknown/ignored and is taking it by storm.

Travis L. Stevens · #9 11/30/2007, 04:40 PM

Quote:

I think the console has tapped into a gaming market previously unknown/ignored and is taking it by storm.

Bluntly, I think this is malarky. The Japanese knew about this with things like Dance Dance Revolution and all those amazing spin-offs that even included instruments before the days of Guitar Hero I. I think it took Nintendo's ingenuity to find a way to adapt the Japanese experience of physical playing to an American lifestyle and standard. Now with things like Guitar Hero and the Wii in general, there is a huge niche that has opened up. Unfortunately, it is just that; a niche. It WILL decline over time, and it will do it fast when it does. I don't care that most people will completely disagree with me, but that is one of Nintendo's largest flaws. They're innovative thinking leads to a one-way consumer fad battle. They come up with something unique, sell the crap out of it, then it falls downhill fast. But as always they will recover and come out with a new product. Just look at their old product lines and how they've "reinvented" them to a modern verion: The olympic pad from NES that you can run and jump on, all their guns (predominately NES and SNES), VirtualBoy, 4-Play Standard (N64 with it seen again on GameCube), GameCube look and game disk uniqueness (coupled with a revisit to the 4-play), and now they are going back to the "active" play like they had with the guns and pads back in the days of NES. It may sound a lot like I'm being negative, but I'm not. I actually applaud Nintendo for cranking out some of the most family friendly, yet fun and replayable games in the market throughout video game history while still managing to keep a strong grip on finding new ways to present consumers with the same old fashion experience. But their hold on this business style will ultimately cause them to "crash" later as people grow tired of Wii.

Now, what I would like to see is a console that upgrades. I'm tired of going out and buying new consoles and then having to buy new games. I want a console that can be upgraded, new controllers can be plugged right in whenever they become available, and games can be left on the same delivery method (disks, cartridges, dvds, whatever). Of course, for that very reason is why I play games on my computer and not on consoles

tdog44632 · #10 11/30/2007, 06:17 PM

I just was on Ebay somebody in now doing MYSTERY auctions 1 of 8 envolpes contains a Wii, the others contain some amount of money. All the auctions are around $300 . Somebody else has a 1 in 50 chance. Around here all Best buy, EB games, Gamestop Walmart and Targets have lines every morning. It's NUTS! Been watching various Wii trackers also, so far no luck. I'll probably just wait til after Christmas. I like gaming on PC's also, but I think they are the same as consoles. You must upgrade constantly Games coming out like Crysis will require DirectX10 card and Windows Vista( with all its upgrade incompatibilities) . You need a motherboard that does SLI. Shoot even power supplies need upgraded to handle new videocards. Add an additional monitor. No game company or computer manufactuer would make a easy upgrade path because if you don't buy new they don't make money.

Altpers0na · #11 11/30/2007, 06:28 PM

hate to say it , but an upgradeable console wont happen. its not in the business model...

the old NES gimmick controllers were really bad... the games were as bad... i cite the power glove and the 3d viewer...

the wii does have the gimmick controller, but the games are the star...

personally i like the line drawn between consoles and pc's, my pc is a stable work ish area, my console is where my son and i battle and talk smack... no driver issues, no need for the latest video card or gripes over frame rates...

as far as nintendo goes, id say one of their best aspects is not holding on to long to a particular product... if it can be upgraded and stay compatible they tend to do it... thats why they have like 8 models of gameboy that are all compatible with the previous games

otherwise they keep pace with the other console makers, for the most part... with new product lines..

as far was where the wii's are..

the major retailers get regular shipments. gamestop gets a ups truck every day... walmart is a little less predictable..

a friendly store employee should be able to say when the next batch should be in...

and i saw this morning amazon was saying they had them in stock , but that was at 5 am...

BrianD · #12 11/30/2007, 06:29 PM

Travis, if you really see them all the time at Wal-Mart, why not buy them and make $150-$200?

nk57 · #13 11/30/2007, 07:07 PM

Here's a little known fact... Every Sunday morning, Toys-R-Us gets a shipment of 10 Wiis. They never advertise this shipment. A girl who goes to high school with my daughter tipped us off and thats how we got ours.

Nancy

EWC88 · #14 11/30/2007, 07:26 PM

If you want a Wii this is what you should do ( I did it ) I went to bestbuy early in the morning to see when they get there shipments in. When I found that out I went there the next week waited and got it right away...My cousin told me you can find out the shipments online but I'll have to ask him about that to let you know

Blitz99 · #15 11/30/2007, 08:21 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by BrianD
Travis, if you really see them all the time at Wal-Mart, why not buy them and make $150-$200?

that's shady stuff there.

i sold my wii last week for 250... it included an extra nunchuck and wii mote...

in my opinion the system has little staying power until it gets some real games and a better control.

Joe · #16 11/30/2007, 08:33 PM

Nintendo WANTS the shortages....It's contrived! There is no other reason for it. My son works at Circuit City, and says Sunday is the day to buy a Wii (anyone see a pattern?). I could have him hold any number of them for me, before they hit the sales floor, but I don't want one, and neither does he! I won't take advantage of anyone else by selling them on E-Bay.

Joe

crp · #17 11/30/2007, 09:31 PM

I got mine 3 days before x-mas last year. We have about a ton of games for her so far and I've picked up a bunch more for x-mas. It's the only console that I would play and we even got my mother in law bowling. It spans generations instead of boys sitting on the couch. I think it's a great game and will be around for quite a while.

The shortage started last year before x-mas. Most stores get there shipments in on Sundays. You should be at the store as soon as it opens because they sell out fast. Not sure if people still do it or not, but last year people were camping out the night before to be the first in the store.

Altpers0na · #18 11/30/2007, 09:42 PM

if i recall right, they are producing 1.8 mill a month world wide, and selling something like 350k a week.

crzy4reefs · #19 11/30/2007, 10:39 PM

That was supposed to be my husbands gift this yr but i'll wait till it dies down a bit and get one, but it does look cool and now that they don't make games for the old xbox we were looking into a newer game system.

crp · #20 12/01/2007, 12:52 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by crzy4reefs
That was supposed to be my husbands gift this yr but i'll wait till it dies down a bit and get one, but it does look cool and now that they don't make games for the old xbox we were looking into a newer game system.

People said the same thing last year before x-mas.

Lotus99 · #21 12/01/2007, 01:39 PM

Back in May there was a shortage... my stepdaughter wanted one for her birthday, and it meant a trip to Target at 8 a.m. on a Sunday to get one.

Apparently the technology upon which they are built means the company can't just have them built in any factory, so production is limited.

Jeremy Blaze · #22 12/01/2007, 01:50 PM

Its all about supply and demand.

NbMaxx13 · #23 12/01/2007, 06:32 PM

I second , third and fourth the Sunday is the day to buy Idea... We bought 2 a few months ago , Went waited outside of Circuit City for an hour ....

all of the business and all that aside ... It is just Fun! The kids and the Spouse LOVE it ... It is well worth the money ...

TheBimbo · #24 12/01/2007, 09:46 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by dc
I'm waiting till I master Atari.

just give it time Debi, just give it time

...

I want one of those arcade games for the t.v. they have pac-man~dig-dug~frogger... wonder if they would harm our t.v. ???

Christy-

clavery · #25 12/01/2007, 10:50 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by crp
I got mine 3 days before x-mas last year. We have about a ton of games for her so far and I've picked up a bunch more for x-mas. It's the only console that I would play and we even got my mother in law bowling. It spans generations instead of boys sitting on the couch. I think it's a great game and will be around for quite a while.

I'm with you, Carrie. I have absolutely no interest in video games. Shooting people, looking for things, racing cars. yuk. But the Wii is fun - bowling, tennis, baseball, golf. We all get into it and laugh and giggle at each other. It's a lot of fun for kids and grown ups alike.

My son bought the Wii with his own money because I refused to buy into another system, so when he took his off to college, we bought one for us!