jZnat's Journal: Sorry, Wii Are Not Available

Nintendo Wii came out a week ago, and boy was it a hot seller! Amazon says they sold out in less than a minute on its launch, and they still haven't gotten any more Wiis. Nintendo reported that they sold every single one of their launch Wiis{{fact}}, yet they are producing tonnes more than Sony is producing Playstation 3's.

So, it's a week after launch, and everybody who desperately wanted a Wii has one, right? That's what I thought until I tried to get a Wii. Everywhere is sold out. What the fuck. Some stores (notably Worst Buy) haven't even ordered another shipment since launch, yet their customer service centres are telling callers that they're getting Wiis on [insert shipment day here]. A local Target store had received about 20 Wiis for this morning, but they sold out faster than Metallica. The only local Game Crazy hasn't even finished supplying its pre-orders of Wiis let alone begun to supply with off-the-shelf Wiis. Any store you can imagine has already sold out of Wiis, and if they received any today, they sold out before the store even opened (apparently, some people are willing to wait outside starting at 5:00 in -10 C weather just to get one, but I'm not that insane).

What gives? I thought Nintendo was pumping out Wiis faster than a male teenager pumping--er, you know where I'm going with that one. What happened? This officially makes Nintendo the third of three companies to successfully not meet demand on its next-gen console launch, yet they continue to market the hell out of it when you couldn't even acquire one if you desired to. I've almost considered just buying an Xbox 360 along with Gears of War if I can't find a Wii. Nintendo, don't make me give my money to Microsoft! Halo 3 isn't even out yet!

So, to answer one of the old polls on GameFAQs, Now that they're all out, which console do you think had the best launch?: None of them did! Not Microsoft; not Sony; not Nintendo. None of them successfully met demand. Of course, Nintendo is probably having the best of them since they're producing the most, and they're making the most money on each console (which is also a positive number mind you) during launch; this doesn't mean they're doing any good, though.

Am I just sore that I couldn't find a Wii? Pretty much.

Same story

[maynard]

I've walked into a store and tried to buy a Wii three times. This morning I went to the local Target at 8am (which was a miracle for getting up on a Sunday morning), and they were sold out. The guy said there were six available with twenty waiting in line at store open.

You know what? Fuck Nintendo. Fuck Sony. Fuck Microsoft. I don't have time for this bullshit. Call me when I can just order one of these damn things online and be placed into a shipment queue. Apple has this right. Never once on release do I

Re:

[jZnat]

Yeah, this is ridiculous. I don't think any of those stores even take pre-orders (I've asked at pretty much all of them, and they all say no). Of course, there's a huge stack of 360's at Best Buy, yet they still cost $400 (I thought Microsoft was going to compete this Christmas)...

Re:

[maynard]

The real issue is time wasted. I don't know about you, but I have a full time job, ~400 pages a week to read plus papers to write, and landlording on the side. To take an hour for shopping is a big investment for me - far more than the initial outlay for the product. If I want an Xbox 360: fine, $400 bucks. Whatever. If I want a Wii: fine, $250. Whatever. Same for the PS3 - $600, while steep, is nothing compared to wasting hours trying to find one.

All of these companies should just put up an online store. L

Re:

[jZnat]

I totally understand; wasted time pisses me off when it comes to anything, and waiting from 5:00 in the morning until Target opens at 8:00 for example is an inane waste of time. Apple is great when it comes to this sort of thing, definitely. Your reasons for wanting the Wii are also great; Wii's library should be including simple games that anyone can get in to, and more complex games (e.g. Madden '07 is pretty complex I hear) for those who want to immerse themselves without regards for time.

I think you n

"Relaunch" on Sunday.

[jZnat]

It looks like the stores have been greedily whoring/hoarding all the Wiis for a "relaunch" on Sunday. I just think that will make it much easier for the scalpers to really scalp some skin come this weekend. I think I'm going to get a friend and go out to a store at like 03:00 or something. Ridiculous, I know, but it looks like that's the only way to get one before Christmas without stooping to the scalper market.