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.

[vchhahira]

They are creating an artificial shortage. I've been looking for a wii since last August. Luckily my mom staked out Gamestop in her state for days to get one for the kids at Christmas. Out of curiousity I kept looking...haven't seen them until last week...just a couple at Walmart and Best Buy. Yesterday Target had at least 20 (I've never seen them at Target)...hmmm...yesterday was the Wii Fit launch too...

Anyway, couldn't help but laugh at the people waiting for Best Buy to open as I drove by. They had another hour to wait...Target was open and had plenty.

[alphamale303]

I finally broke down and bought a PS3 because of the lack of WII's, then I drove out of town to a job, in a relatively small town that had a KMart, i was looking for games for the grand-kids, and just asked if they had any WII's and of course they had several at $249.00, a little late for me, but i might buy one anyway, if i can scrape up the cash.

[SirHomeALot]

why would you hold back product if demand exists? How could you justify that to your shareholders? Sounds like the grounds for a lawsuit if it turned out to be true (which I highly doubt). Besides, the more consoles in-market, the easier time they'll have getting games developed which they sorely need to keep the Wii's popularity at its current level.

[soggy0]

Hmm, if you create a shortage with a popular product, like Wii or iPhone or even gmail, it makes people want it so much more, and the people that get it will be really excited and tell everyone. Sometimes it's not what's right in front of you.

[Nerfman]

I think it's just market demand. When I bought mine I just happened to be at a Target store that had two in stock.

[shrode]

I think the demand is there and difficult to fill. It appeals to many people across huge age groups and economic levels. I am grateful that they have remained stable with their prices; they will continue to have a demand because of it and a lot of people will be able to enjoy the Wii.

[soggy0]

A better question is, what do you consider to be a good price for a barebone system?

[fruehaw]

Only way I managed to get one was to buy it online at $100 over retail. If they are sandbagging, they're shooting themselves in the foot. Fewer consoles out there means fewer people buying software, which is usually where a lot of money is made in videogames.

I'm sure people who want a Wii will do what they can to get one - even wait. I waited over a year because I was fascinated by its concept of game play vs. the others. But surely there are people who bought another console because they are tired of waiting and wouldn't be willing to pick up an additional machine.

I can somewhat buy the idea that Nintendo isn't shipping them here for profit reasons, but that flies in the face of what I learned about price, supply, and demand in my economics classes. Seems like if they wanted it to be more profitable, then with demand being what it is they could simply jack up the price to make what they "need" to make.

It almost too-easily hit a trifecta being small (especially for older folks who don't want some hulking rig on/under/beside their TV), fun to play, and the least expensive. They could have hit two out of three and charged more.

[cjswan]

It is a case of the old supply and demand. This is not, nor will it be, the only time a greater demand for a product was created by the simple fact that it is difficult to find in stock. This fact alone makes the product appear more in demand than if the stock were readily available. Much as the $1.95 product selling faster on a $2.00 sale table. Manufacturers and suppliers are well aware of the buyer mentality. Just as there are not clocks visible to shoppers, in order to keep them fully aware of the time spent in the store. Think Intel 27 years ago, for those of you who have been around as long as I. Or Cabbage Patch dolls for the next generation. Now Wii!

[gamenana]

Just to let you know that we were able to find a WIi console in Western Canada in April. Several of the department stores had received shipments. We feel very lucky to have found one as we were only there for 3 weeks. We missed WiiFit by a few weeks, so maybe next time!
My husband and I are 54 and 60, and enjoying the fun and activity we get with Wii Sports!
Don't give up hope - they are out there somewhere!

[Mijke]

I was in Hong Kong last month and could have purchased as many Wii machines as I wanted--even at discount prices! Perhaps it is the exchange rate as some people have said, but the Hong Kong dollar is tied to the US dollar. BUT they still have the Wii!!!!

[nickrandocps]

I have been a fan of Nintendo for about 11 years now. I own all Nintendo consoles but the NES and a few game boys and I am still amazed every time i turn on my wii. I personally do not think that NIntendo would intentionally weigh down their production, a company this enormous has enough economic sense to know that if more people have it, more word of mouth and other advertisement would largely increase.

[Camarillolaw]

I don't think that Nintendo is whitholding demand, rather worldwide demand was higher than expected. Add a weak dollar, and you have many other sales in Europe. I just got the Wii and Wii Fit for my daughter, so you can find them. I was able to get the last Wii Console at one store last Sunday. I went back on Wednesday for the Wii Fit, but they sold out in less than an hour. They had received pleanty of Wii consoles, however. I went to anohter store where I was able to find the Wii Fit, but they had sold out of the Wii consoles. So maybe it is just a matter of trying to hit every store along the way.

[hannedog]

The notion that Nintendo is artificially decreasing supply is as laughable as is the frequency which with the notion reoccurrs. People, the Wii sells out on consistently on a monthly basis. Even still, the total numbers per month sold are steadily increasing.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=296026

At 714k units sold in April, there is no question that supply has been increased... nearly doubled from ealier last year. Doubling supply is A LOT. It is ridiculous to assume that Nintendo can do more in such a short time without making ridiculously large, unwise, and unnecessary investments.

[willmcneill]

Nintendo is not holding back inventory intentionally. It's a supply chain and demand forecasting issue. When building a sales forecast, one of the most rudimentary tools available to a manufacturer is past sales performance. In this case, remember that the GameCube got its butt handed to it by the PS2. So if Nintendo was using those sales as a basis for its forecast, it's really no surprise. Also, consoles are expensive to make and if you stockpile them and don't meet demand, you suffer from millions of dollars in excess inventory. The bottom line is that the higher complexity of game console manufacturing and the poor economics behind stockpiling pre-release inventory means that we will probably always see this type of phenomenon with hot, high-tech gadgets. It has happened with every previous major launch of game platforms, as well as with virtually every iPod release. So, until somebody figures out how to speed up the rate of manufacturing, don?t be surprised if you hear this same story again the next time around.

William McNeill
Rob Bois
AMR Research

[bsfan247]

the bigger problem with the Wii is with people who already own one. I currently own a Wii, Xbox360 and a PS3. I havent picked up my Wii in months. There is a huge shortage of quality Wii software. All the games feel like poorly exceuted tech demo's. Of the robust library the Wii already has there are only about 5 games that are any good. This leads me to believe the Wii will soon lose a very important demographic, real gamers.

[postype]

If there i a shortage of Wii why are there over 3500 listed on eBay?

[Skorpii]

Thanks for the tip...I had no idea there was a shortage south of the border(US), Now I can buy some here and sell them back at a 'premium' ;)

[BlkPheznt]

t is NOT hard to find a Wii console. If You need one, check out Ebay. There are lots of them available for lots of different prices.Consoles with or w/o extras. This might explain the shortages, all by itself.

[shrode]

Target, Wal-Mart, ToysRus, Best Buy, other big box and discount stores,etc in the central Minnesota, USA area (St. Cloud, Buffalo, Alexandria) finally tend to have the consoles in stock as well as some previously hard to find games (DDR, MarioKart, Wii Play, etc) Several stores had Wii Fit available last night although I am sure they are sold out for now. I didn't have a problem waiting until I saw the console or the games on shelf. Maybe because I enjoy the hunt or surprise encounter!

[Ken Jr.]

They're not holding back. Investors won't let them do that.

When I bought my early 2004 Prius (had to wait >3 months for it) the same rumors were floating around. It took quite a while for manufacturing to catch up to demand, but catch up they did.

I really do believe that this amazing demand for the Wii took Nintendo by surprise. Who'd have believed that 70 year olds like me and virtually every nursing home in the country would be scooping them up as soon as they become available (Also .. a lot of sons and daughters are buying these for their couch potato parents and grand parents).