Comments on: The Wii is still sold out

Even a year and a half after its release, the Nintendo Wii is still sold out online and is unavailable for purchase from major retailers such as Best Buy and Amazon.

[linton23]

Are you kidding me my local walmart has had wiis on the shelf since last month. I bought a wii fit last night and they had 10 in stock. I think the problem is speculatyor buyers those that buy them and try and sale them on Ebay or such. The Wiis are out there if you go into the store and look.

[exjoburger]

The demand for this console is just amazing. Stores which are taking advantage of the shortage by selling for ridiculous prices (like $300+ for just the Wii) and those expensive bundles are doing more harm than good, but people obviously must be prepared to pay those prices or the stores wouldn't be doing it.
I was fortunate enough to get a Wii for list price, but it was more a case of checking the right site at the right time, but I had been looking for a long time.

[digibal235]

I think the shortage is intentional by Nintendo to account for the weak US Dollar. They make $50 less per console now as compared to when it first came out, even through the price hasn't changed. The Dollar has decreased in value significantly in that time. Which would account for the ability to get the Wii in Europe so readily. You can go to Amazon UK and find them in stock.

The PS3 and XBox360 are higher priced consoles and may have more protection built into the price; more protection than Nintendo does.

But I'm glad to say I found one at my local Game Stop last month and jumped on it.

[Doom Fox]

According to wiitrack there are more Wii's in stock on both Circuit City (Pick up) and Best Buy.

[Raphaelae]

A Target in southeast PA that opened at 8am, had a melee for the 1st 15 minutes, said the staff. But when I arrived at 830am, it was quiet... with 30+ Wii Fits, and even 5 Wiis just sitting there.

I agree that you just have to call/look. And hopefully, people GOT IT -- that with this Wii Fit release on May 21, would come more Wiis.

[ev61]

If you would just pay the $300-$350 through ebay rather than driving all over town for 2 months, you would actually save some money and would have been playing your precious toy by now. I guess you also would have found out two months earlier how much of a bore the wii really is, so maybe the hunt is the fun.

[heimdal77]

ita aimple nintendo ships more number tocountrys out of the US due to theweak dollar. The lose so much money on the curency echange i read they lost around half a billion or more over the lastyear do to it. IF want do a real story on it see how many unitsship to europe instead the US. Also with the wii fit launch demand gonna increase evan more from whole new markets opening to them like gyms and other fitness related ones.

[heimdal77]

oh and if u do have a Wii should really check out endless ocean its a great game with rich graphics

[heimdal77]

oh and if u do have a Wii should really check out endless ocean its a great game with rich graphics

[clumpkin]

I predict a major traffic jam on I45 North and South today as Dallas and Houston commuters descend on Corsicana

[zgreenwell]

I have a Wii, but I bought it used from a friend along with all of his accessories. With the huge amount that is selling someone has to be buying them. I'm sure they're not all speculators.

[slein]

I have seen several wiis in local stores over the past 2-3 months. In fact I have helped 3 friends get them. They tend to sell out, but the do seem to be instores for longer than a few minutes now.

There is another tracker site that is also good over at xpbargains.com. http://www.xpbargains.com/wii_locator.php
In fact it shows best buy and kmart have wiis available for order, and not part of a huge bundle. While there are a lot of bundles if you watch it for a while you can ususually get a basic system.

[csmk6]

I was at 2 different Target stores over the weekend and a different Target today and they all had 5-6 consoles in case in plain sight. I was also able to purchase a Wii fit at 2 seperate stores today. One was purchased at 8:30 and I just purchased the other one at Wal Mart for my brother in law at 1:30. I am in the St. Louis area so it look like production has stepped up. Also I was at Wal Mart with a friend last week on Tuesday and 18 Wii's were received for sale immediately!

[cjvarela]

I have a 360 and Wii, say want you want but i love them both. As for the shortage, I can't speak for other areas but here in Houston I have told people to check in the store itself, not online or over the phone. It may be inconvenient for some, but luckily there is a Best Buy on my way home for work, I stopped by twice in one week. The second time they had some, but i had to ask someone to go into the stock section in the front of the store and physically check because I was told different things by 3 different employees. Turned out they had six. As well, a friend said they called the next day and was told that they were out of stock. I said "no, go into the store, have them check." Sure enough he had his the next day. Hope this helps, good luck.

[RadioNed]

We've got about 30 of them here now in Bridgewater, NJ. Our Wii Fits, however sold out within 20 mins of opening.

Craig
Blue Shirt Nation

[vasanisalim]

Game Stop gets smaller but regular weekly shipments. Call them and theywill tell you when the next shipment is expected. If you show up on the day, you will most likely get one. I bought mine 2 weeks ago and love it.

[Composer_1777]

You know what's sad, I could go and buy a porsche tomorrow but ask me to find a Wii and i'm in trouble.

If demand is inelastic and price is fixed it makes no sense to short supply... They are essentialy loosing money , if in fact that is there strategy. Maybe they are scared Demand will suddenly drop.

[tsrini408]

So far, I've picked up 5 wii's either on the net or B&M and helped a couple of others to do the same. And no, it's not to ebay them, they make great presents for people you want favors from (:-)).

[sillygil]

This article is incorrect. I bought my sister a Wii for her birthday at GameStop just two weeks ago. I didn't have to rush down, wait in line or buy a expensive bundled package. I bought it at MSRP. All I did have to do is call to see if they were expecting a shipment. They got 12 in and they lasted all the day and the next. I also recently went to Costco and they had a whole flat of bundled Wiis (but things you would get anyways - Wii play, extra Nunchuk and Mario Galaxy) all for $350. That's a steal. So, if you really want a Wii, go to a smaller store and talk to the employees (preferably a manager or someone that knows what is going on)... NOT a big box store where employees might be clueless and unhelpful.

[AJC3317]

first of all, the "shortage" is being purposely done by nintendo. it's basic economics, keep supply low to increase demand. second, my friend got a wii last week from gamestop with ease

[apcarandang]

I actually found a Wii console at Toys R Us last Tuesday. Walmart, BestBuy and Circuit City in my area were out of sold out. BB said they has a big shipment through the wekend and it sold out Sunday. The Toys R Us store had several consoles available.

I haven't had a gaming console for several years now but now I can understand the appeal of the Wii. Too bad it doesn't play DVDs/CDs though. Both the Xbox and PS3 can do it.