I'm Dreaming of a Wii Christmas
Today's The Joy of Tech proposes why Nintendo can't ship enough Wiis. It is rather astounding that a console that shipped a year, a month, and two days ago still can't be found on store shelves. I don't think the shortage is manufactured, though it's certainly saved Nintendo the cost of marketing.
I never had a problem getting my Wii: waiting in line for an hour before GameStop opened one October morning guaranteed me #12 of the 14 Wiis they were promised for launch day. It's the first and only time I've ever waited in line outside a store for a product. What about you — is everyone here getting (and giving!) what they want for the holidays? To what extremes have you gone to get your goodies?
Tags: Christmas, holiday, Nintendo, Wii
A week prior to Christmas my wife and I decided to get my son a Wii. Of course nobody has had consoles in stock for months. However I was able to get one by showing up at the computer store when it opened in the morning. The store received 12 units overnight. That morning I was the 4th person in line at the cash and all those before me also bought Wii consoles. So while it is not easy to find them, it is possible.
– Mark
I found my Nintendo Wii behind the sales island counter in the electronics department last year almost 1 year ago today. It's hard to fathom that this "underpowered" console is still out of stock everywhere over a year later.
I went to Wal-Mart last month in search of a Wii Points discount I'd read about. I made my inquiry to a clerk whose English was not the best. He said he had one such item left, in the back, and that he'd go get it for me; he came out a moment later with a Wii — the last of a shipment of 20 they'd received that morning. I played cool as if that's what I wanted and bought it. I brought it back to my office five minutes later and sold it to a co-worker who'd been wanting one since launch day.
My profit? The $5 I would've saved on the Wii Points I'd asked for. :-)