Am I just retarded or is it really that hard to buy a Wii?
 

I'd like to buy a new Wii. Sounds simple right? It's been out for two years now so it should be readily available. I should be able to walk into any local Walmart, Best Buy, Circuit City, Target, Game Stop, Costco, or other fine electronics retailer right now, plunk down some cash and walk out tonight with a shiny new Wii. But I can't since they are never in stock. I can buy any game or accessory for a Wii right now. Any version of Guitar Hero or Rock Band? Check. Wii Fit? Three of them on the shelf last night at my local wally world. Hell every store I have been in has shelves full of Wii games and accessories but no Wii console.

Seriously what am I doing wrong here? Why am I having such hard time finding a Wii? It shouldn't be this difficult.

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They are everywhere around here, around Christmas time people were even bringing them back to the Target where my gf works. They bought them hoping to re sell on thE-Bay for big profit and the market just isn't there so they were bringing them back.

I will say that I do still hear of shortages but nothing like they used to be, but what I don't understand is how in the hell is Nintendo selling so damn many of them when they are still in short supply, and after 2 years I have always said, and still think it is an artificial shortage by Nintendo to keep the demand so high.

Bingo. A lot of people don't want to believe this but it has to be true. They are still sold out everywhere around here. I haven't seen one in-store in over a year. The shortage is made up by Nintendo to keep the demand strong.

The stores that I talk to here say they only get 1 or 2 for an entire two week period. It's obvious what Nintendo is doing and it's annoying.

I'm not so sure about that. Wii sales have still been strong.
(emphasis mine)
IGN: Wii Dominates December Sales

I don't know many who work in product management or manufacturing, but I'm sure managing these things isn't easy, especially when you consider unprecedented numbers and uncertain forecasting. And then you look at how you're doing compared to your competitors and it gets even more wild. Oh, and there's a global financial crisis!

It's crazy; sales are still increasing—and strongly at that.

Then there's this:
Gamasutra - Analyst: Wii Sold 3.5 Million In December, $299 PS3 By April

There are at least 3 in stock at my local mass market retailer.

We got ours 2 years ago in a Kmart here in town. My boyfriend called them one morning to find out when they would be getting some in. They happened to have one in and they were willing to hold it for us long enough for us to get over there and buy it.

I will always believe it is a Nintendo shortage on purpose to keep demand so high, but I will never understand how in the hell they are selling so damn many when they are still hard to find.

While it's entirely possible that Nintendo is fostering demand through limited availability, it doesn't look so much as "don't put out too much stock" as it does "only increase production by this much." Of course, this can be to either control demand or control costs of manufacturing and inventory. Hopped-up outputs and inventory overstock kill profits if not leading to losses when it is mismanaged. They are running a business after all. You can't blame them for being careful and efficient. These are big numbers we're talking about here. Look at how they're outselling the competition.

Think what you want, but if you look at the numbers, Nintendo is doing a far better job putting game systems into homes than anyone else. They're doing just fine. :)

That's what I can't figure out. I've probably been looking in earnest since last summer and have never seen one in stock. How do they sell what they don't have? Is my timing just that awful? Admittedly with my antisocial tendencies I have never bothered asking a store associate at any store when they get them in or if I can reserve one.
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I just wish it was easier to put one in my home.

What I dont get is why the hell people are even buying them at all. Sure they were fairly cheap for a game console when they launched, but I've had mine forever and I have yet to find a good use for it other than as a shelf decoration. There simply is 0 software of any quality for it. And now, you can get an Xbox 360 for the same price, which is infinitely more useful, and not just for games, but as a media center as well. I guess marketing trumps all, even common sense.

That's ridiculous. My Pet Rock is still my best friend...

Have you seen kids use the thing? My guess is no.

Not retarded but maybe bad timing? coming up through at least October I'd see stacks of Wiis all over the damn place. Now maybe I just lucked into shipment day but I'm still miffed how you can't find one right now.

Wii have been sold up North of the border too, and I found mine by buying it through a friend who didn't use it anymore. Must less, Wii fit has been going like crazy and you can't find one of those. I personally like my PS3 better for blu ray alone, and the games are better too. Nintendo definately has it right, posting profits in a economically hard time... can't argue with that.

Since it's quite hard to find any Wiis in stock I recently ordered mine from Amazon. I think that would be the quicker way to go instead of waiting forever on the stores to re-stalk.

There is no doubt that Nintendo is winning the "gaming wars" with MS and Sony if you go by sales. But if you go by anything else, the Wii is a joke. The games for it are as bad as Nintendo's last two systems (Gamecube and N64, both failures if you go by quality game-count). I applaud Nintendo for making it big with the Wii but I seriously hope that motion controls don't start being implemented in MS and Sony consoles in the future. I can't stand the Wiimote and Nunchuk. People say they add something to games but they only add value to extremely casual gamers.

The Wii is an excellent party console and great for families with kids but as a true gaming console it sucks. I've owned every gaming console that has came out since 1990.....except the Wii, and I don't plan on buying one because it's popularity and success is based on its cheap price and gimmick control scheme, not due to quality games.

The Xbox 360 Arcade can be found for $169.99 with a game on the Internet now. Now there's a cheap console worth buying.

If I want "real" games, I use a PC. The games I typically enjoy are either unavailable on consoles or don't work well enough due to controls. I'm a strategy gamer with occasional hankerings for games such as WoW and shooters like TF2 and L4D.

This is why I have a Wii and not an Xbox or PS3. It would be either a PC or Xbox/PS3—not both. I chose PC recently when I replaced by dead gaming machine. My choice was based on my desire for PC gaming over console gaming.

We each have our own reasons for choosing a machine. The sales figures for Wii reflects the causal gamer appeal, which is fine. I use my Wii for casual gaming too, especially when playing with other people. I use it for such games as Guitar Hero, etc. But most of my time is spent playing strategy and role-playing games.

To call the Wii a joke and thinking it sucks is a subjective thing, of course, knowing fully that you are taking all things into consideration. There are many (millions, actually) who disagree with you, and I'm one of them. The Wii isn't meant to be a direct competitor hardware-wise with the other consoles. Look at the hardware and original price points. The designers know this, the companies know this, developers know this, and most players (I imagine) know this. It isn't a joke, nor does it suck. It is what it is and it's fun for what it's meant for.

If you don't like it, then just say so. :)

Let's see.... because it's inclusive. When my family goes to my sister-in-law's house, the kids end up sitting in the family room, watching one to two cousins using the Xbox to shoot up each other on Halo. *yawn* . Great for one or two ppls, but for 6 kids?

On the other hand, New Year's eve, same two families, 6 kids, 4 middle aged adults and an 84 year old grandmother, all jockeying for and playing the admittedly less sophisticated games on the Wii in my living room.

Yes, there was drinking, yes, there was a buzz, but the fact is that all of us were interested in boxing, bowling, skiing, Flying WW2 fighter planes, driving Mario Kart (with the Vancouver cousins too, in real time over the internet) and an 84 year old woman was having a great time using the game system for bowling,

Let's just say the system is "fun". I think that is the attraction. Much as I would like to have a holodeck level of gaming system, nothing beats inclusive activity.

And yes, Wii is very difficult to purchase around Toronto. Some Best Buy stores advertise the arrival of "21 " units, and a line forms up long before the store opens.

I agree with Baraka. PS3 or 360 won't give me a proper FPS experience, I need a keyboard.
I enjoyed Zelda, and SSB:Brawl on the Wii, as well as Super Mario Galaxy.
You could compare the Wii and the PS3, it'd probably be exactly like comparing the DS and the PSP. Both Nintendo consoles have an original, intuitive control scheme, that if done right, can be simple and very fun, while their Sony counterparts focus more on resolution, video and image quality, and a step towards bridging the console/PC or handheld/PDA gap.

the only thing that annoys me about the Wii, is the Nintendo character set. I don't like Mario et als. and they are all over the games. But I do like the non Nintendo universe games

And you just answered your own question. That is why it is kicking PS and XBox ass. It is selling to a whole new market.

I didn't have a question.

I assumed that there was an implicit question of, "How can an inferior console be winning the gaming war?"

Oh I know the reason it's winning. I said so in my post up there. It has a gimmick control scheme and it appeals to to a gigantic range of people. And it's fucking cheap.

The Wii is dominating the HARDWARE sales charts, we get it. The game sales charts? Not so much. It's funny seeing Wii Play in the top 10 NPD charts even after all this time though. However, you really think people are buying Wii Play for the game or more for the Wiimote bundled with the "game?"

Brawl is still the only game I have for my Wii and I purchased both in April of 08.

i see them alot in the stores when i am out....maybe i should pick one up for u

Yup, it's official, I'm retarded. Three weeks ago I gave up and bought a Wii off Amazon. Amazon didn't have it in stock so I bought it from one of their sellers and paid the double dick in the ass price for it. Then today I was at Wally World and they had not one, not two, not three, but twelve Wii consoles in stock. Argh!

The only people I know who have Wiis asked to reserve them, waited a couple of months, then picked them up.

yeah its just the wii has been so popular since it first came out....in some areas it is very hard to get it I would suggest getting it online it does make your life a lot simplier and dont have to go to stores around town trying to find out if its out of stock

Here is what I did in order to buy a WII.

I went into my local Best Buy and asked "When do you get your next shipment of Wii's?" His responce was to look in the weekly add that comes in the Sunday newspaper and if it shows the Wii in it then all of the stores are required to have so many in stock. So I did just that!! I always get my paper early in the morning delivered to my home. In about 3 weeks I noticed them in the Sunday add. I went to Best Buy about 10 minutes prior to them opening and sure enough they had 10 in stock!!
I also did the same thing in purchasing a Wii Fit.

Reading through this has been helpful in making my decision on which console to buy. Also why dont you guys just shop online (to be honest I haven't tried so I dont really know)? http://www.hostimagehere.info/imgs/P/N.gif

I just got a Wii the other day. The GF hit 3 stores before finding one.
The games are simplistic but they are a lot of fun. The GF is even playing (and routinely kicking my butt in bowling) and she never plays any type of game, be it console, PC or online.

From what I've read about the Wii, they are insanely popular in senior housing/nursing homes. Its used as a way to get a little exercise and social interaction.

I work in a video game store and i can say that they have been getting easier to get. It used to be that we would get maybe 4 in at a time (which sucks during the holidays) but for the past month or two we've been getting some bigger shipments (12+.)

The funny thing is, when we have them in stock no one buys them. Same with the Wii Fit. Maybe 1/4 of the people who ask if we have Wii or Wii Fit in stock actually buy them.

Personally I'd go with a 360.

I think it is odd how people say Nintendo is the gaming company that "cares" about its gamers and customers and Sony and Microsoft are the selfish companies....yet Nintendo is the company making a profit off of the Wii (because it's a Gamecube with a new controller which makes it dirt cheap to produce) and Sony/Microsoft are the companies offering DVD playback, Bluray, Internet and online gaming communities, hosted online servers, big hard drives, HD capabilities, fiber optic audio, etc. while losing money on each console sold. It seems to be that Sony/Microsoft are the companies that are interested in giving value to the consumer while Nintendo is the company that is interested in making a profit by refinishing old, cheap hardware with no extra services.

Sorry, this has been on my mind for a while.

Lasereth, I completely agree. Even my buddy has one but his two kids are bored with it and have gone back to the PS2, because mom will by 9.99 games at gamestop all the time but balks at 49.99 games for the Wii. It is just not that interesting to me being a RPG and sports fan, I bought the PS3, might have considered the xbox but wanted the blu ray and scared of the RROD (it was just coming out when I bought mine)