Is Nintendo planning a Wii shortage or something?

[Newc]

A couple of people at work have asked me to help find them a Wii for their kids/grandkids for Christmas, and I'm having zero luck. There's a $250 bundle out there (possibly a limited thing) but everywhere I look shows them out of stock - Target, WalMart, BestBuy, etc etc.

The local stores are only getting in like 2 or 3 at a time, maybe once a week.

I know they're all over Ebay for 2x the price, but has anyone seen these listed online as In Stock?

[Jason1212]

I have been looking as well. I think it is very suspect. I would like to see the numbers they are producing, shipping and selling. You can walk in anywhere and get a 360 or ps3 with no problems what so ever. Even the low end models of those systems are abundant.

[rjohnstone]

I picked one up at Target last week.

According to Nintendo, it's not a "planned shortage", they are just selling out faster than Nintendo can make them. Nintendo reports that they make like 1.5 million of them a month or quarter... don't recall the exact time frames, just the amount.
Nintendo said they could increase production, but then they would risk running into QA issues like some PS3's and Xbox 360's have.
A company that chooses quality over quantity... imagine that.

The Toys R Us near me had like 30 of them and they were all gone in less than 15 minutes.
I drove to Target and asked if they had any and the guy said they had a "few in the back" and got me one.

Check Target first thing in the morning (before 8 AM on Sunday is the best time I hear).
They do not put all their stock on the floor and if you call them, they will tell you they have none even if they do have them.

The $249 package is the basic setup. You will need to buy an extra set of controllers if you want to have two people play.

Good luck.

P.S. Mine didn't stay in the box until Christmas... we broke it out two days ago... the thing is a blast!

[Newc]

There was a 5-game + console bundle for $250. Saw it online last week. I think that's what they're looking for.

[Drake S.]

I got my sons at Best Buy like 3 weeks ago , but this is Miami where everything is in demand & the locals are very demanding !

[Jason1212]

Honestly I think I will end up waiting till after Christmas. My daughter wants one, but it isnt anything she is actually pushing for. She wants a new bike more than the Wii for some odd reason.

[rjohnstone]

There was a 5-game + console bundle for $250. Saw it online last week. I think that's what they're looking for.

That's the standard package... it comes with Wii Sports for free (Baseball, Tennis, Bowling, Golf and Boxing).
The boxing game is awesome. You really do have to throw punches. My arms were tired after 5 rounds.

My 4 year old has mastered Bowling.

[Soap]

http://www.jcfonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=76776

I wouldn't think its a shortage issue but who knows?
They were all over the place back in Aug, Sept and Oct but when Nov hit, wow couldn't find one.
I went to the day after thanksgiving early morning sale and got lucky and and got one.
They're dirt cheap in comparision to Xbox 360's and PS3's and loads of fun
and everybody is buying them up left and right.
Learn when the truck delivers and be there that day, even so, good luck this late in the game.

[BTB007]

Yeah, the Wii is the hot gift this year. You know, I sold my PS2 last year and I don't really have any interest in video games any more. But, I got to hand it to Nintendo because their marketing for this system is just really top notch. I've seen a few commercials that were just very nicely done and made me even consider buying one.

[iced_earth]

It sure seems like a planned shortage... I bought one last year during the holiday season from Target.com. The best source of in stock info that I found was actually the Wii Hardware forum at Amazon.com (just go to the product link and scroll down). Any time that an online retailer has stock people will post there. Since then I've seen Wiis in store twice - Target and Costco. The "5-game + console bundle" is probably the standard bundle for $250 that comes with Wii Sports (Wii sports has "5" games to play).

[rjohnstone]

An interesting short read about the shortages.

http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/10/08/nintendo-a-wii-shortage-for-the-holidays/

Not planned and the shortages are hitting the companies bottom line.

[marcus]

Nintendo has been saying that the shortages were coming for months. Apparently they were correct. I don't think they planned it though. It will probably hurt them this year, with the Xbox 360 and PS3 being readily available.

I got one around April of this year, there were shortages then as well. I got sick of going into places like EB and whatnot and asking, so I asked them what the hell I had to do to get one. They said that they get shipments in on random weekdays, essentially, and that I should just call when they get shipments in, around 11 AM at the store I was at. I called at 11 for just a couple of days, and they had one. I had to go get it right then, but it worked. I don't know if that will work now with Christmas coming up, but you can give it a try.

[Spivonious]

It's just the hot gift this Christmas. Nintendo claims to be making 1.8 million systems per month worldwide.

Last February I got on a kick to get a Wii, and it took me literally 3 weeks of calling stores, checking inventories online, and driving around to actually find one in stock. I found lots of good tips in the Amazon.com forum for the Wii on how to find one and check stock and such.

[VinceV]

They are just sold out everywhere. I lucked out and happen to walk into a Toys r Us the day it was released, and they had 100's so I got one that day.

My Sister in law started looking for one this Summer for my Nieces Christmas present and finally scored one in early October. They are just hard to get.

[anuske9]

Bleh; Keep in mind that Nintendo's selling out the industry and you'd be hard-pressed to name 5-10 decent games on the Wii or 1-2 decent third party games on the Wii