The Wii Shortage

[Beldaran]

The Wii has been out for 2 years. I still can't find one by walking into a store, and I don't give quite enough of a crap to make 10 phone calls a day and wait in line. (especially 2 years after launch) I know lots of people in the dorms where for every one guy that has a wii, there are three that that want one and can't find one.

So what is the official line on this? Why can't they make enough wiis? There are piles of Xboxes and Playstations at BestBuy and Walmart etc, but no Wii. Not ever. And Xbox is outselling Wii in America. So what the heck?

How do you get outsold and still have a product shortage?

[ctrl-alt-delete]

http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/microsoft/archives/134220.asp?source=mypi

Wii is outselling Xbox 360 in the US, at least for as much as two months...not a big deal, but might help to explain it.

I still cannot decide if it is Nintendo strategy or if they really just cannot keep up with demand.

[Beldaran]

http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/microsoft/archives/134220.asp?source=mypi

Wii is outselling Xbox 360 in the US, at least for as much as two months...not a big deal, but might help to explain it.

I still cannot decide if it is Nintendo strategy or if they really just cannot keep up with demand.

According to VGChartz, the 360 has sold about 2 million more units (http://www.vgchartz.com/aweekly.php) than the Wii in the United States. [scroll down to the hardware section and check the "Total" column.]

[Pineconn]

^^ Well yeah, the XBox 360 had a head start of a year.

I have to lean toward the strategy. I'm fairly certain that Nintendo could keep up with the demand. They just want the public to think, "Wow, the Wii is still wildly popular since it's been sold out since it was released!"

With that, the demand is still high, though. The release of Brawl has encouraged a lot of people to buy one (including many people I know). Plus, the Wii is just awesome.

[Beldaran]

I'm certainly not dissing the wii. I'd like one. I'm just not interested enough to wait in line and go nuts. I just want to saunter in to Best Buy and pick one up. I'm confused as to why all other companies have made this possible.

They've had 2 YEARS to figure out the Wii is popular. They should be pumping those bitches out by now.

[Pineconn]

Exactly. If Nintendo honestly isn't able to keep up with demand yet, they really should have increased productivity at least a year ago. But again, if they are holding back because they want the impression of being sold out everywhere.......I can't say I don't blame them. It's a good strategy, although it makes finding a Wii frustrating.

Ever consider eBay (http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?from=R40&_trksid=m37&satitle=wii&category0=)? :D

[Revfan9]

Wii was released at the end of 2006. It's not even close to 2 years old yet.

I got my Wii a year ago, so I'm not really one to care.

[Grasshopper]

This past February I read that Wii sold 400,000+, with DS in second, and behind that PS3. If that is the case, where are these 400,000 some units? The store here saw no more than 9(more like 3) if that many the entire month. I don't get it either Bel. :shrug:

[erm2003]

It's all about being in the right place at the right time... total luck. I found mine the week it came out, around 4 PM on Black Friday actually. A very odd time to have luck like that, but I must have gone into the store just after they received a shipment. Good luck casually running into one though. You may want to at least find out when stores will be receiving shipments so you can at least go at a time when you may actually find a few on the shelves.

[rock_nog]

According to Nintendo, their factories are running at full production, but it wouldn't be cost-effective to open a new factory. I'm willing to believe them, because at this point, artificial scarcity can't possibly be helping them. I mean, the whole point of creating artificial scarcity is to increase demand, but you if you don't supply the goods to match the demand, there's no point, is there? I mean, by now, I imagine a lot of potential Wii customers have gone out and just purchased a 360 instead, because it's actually available.

[ctrl-alt-delete]

According to VGChartz, the 360 has sold about 2 million more units (http://www.vgchartz.com/aweekly.php) than the Wii in the United States. [scroll down to the hardware section and check the "Total" column.]

Yeah, grand total, the 360 still has the lead in the US.

The Wii has recently taken over in terms of most sales this generation worldwide though...which also explains the shortage.

I was just referring to recently, which kind of explains why there still are not any out there.

[Mak-X]

I remember hearing the Wii already surpased the GameCube sales in Japan in its first year. Everyone wants a Wii.

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3165002


It overtook the 360 back in September

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3162770


The Financial Times reports that the Wii has surpassed Microsoft's Xbox 360 in global sales. It's the first time in 17 years -- during the dominate 16 bit days of the SNES -- that Nintendo sits at the top spot of the console market.
The report is based on sales figures from Enterbrain in Japan, NPD Group in the US and GfK of Germany, which tracks European sales. Sales figures from each console's launch date through the end of July (and the end of August in Japan) were added up, with the Wii just barely edging out the 360: 9 million for the Wii, 8.9 million for the 360, and 3.7 million for the PlayStation 3.

That's with the 360 having a head-start of a full year. The Wii, in fact, hasn't even been out a full year. Nintendo surpassed Sony in global market share in July.


Try Sundays when stores advertise in their flyers or during the week.

[Breaker]

I have an xbox elite and a wii. I found both by calling walmart and target everyday for a week and by luck they got one in and held it for me at customer service. If you want one, that's what you have to do. Call and find out when they get their shipments, then call on those days to see if they are available. Call your local best buy, circuit city, toysrus, costco, walmart, and target.

[Beldaran]

bleh, I'll just get one in 7-8 months.

EDIT: hey, this was my 7000th post. I... probably spend too much time online.

[Icey]

It doesn't make any sense to purposely have a shortage. That doesn't "increase demand". Then again, it doesn't make sense that Nintendo hasn't seriously upped their production capacity right now, unless they think adding too many factories or whatnot could be too costly in the long run. I think Ninty just needs to revamp its business model and start putting more consoles out, because if it still can't adjust, something's wrong.

[Radium]

There must be a supplier of a part or two who aren't able to keep up with the demand thus causing the shortage. The popularity of the system is world wide and the task of producing all of the systems is equal to the building the great pyramids of Egypt. :P I recommend buying one at Fry's Electronics if you live near one. When they get a shipment they usually last through the afternoon.

[Darth Marsden]

If you really want one, try grabbing one online, either through eBay (which I don't recommend - unfair price increases suck) or an online store, which is where I got mine. I tend to favour going online with things like this, because you can tell straight away whether they have stock or not (the big Out of Stock is a bit of a clue), and if there's a problem with your order, say it'll be delayed, then they'll keep you up-to-date.

But that's just me.

[Nicholas Steel]

yep, buy online so they can empty your bank accounts and the bank can keep you up to date with the amount of cash stolen ;)

[Dann Woolf]

And Xbox is outselling Wii in America.

RRoD. 'nuff said.

[King Aquamentus]

pretty much the same crap here. Nintendo should stop with the games for a minute and consider how much it pisses everyone off.

[Dann Woolf]

pretty much the same crap here. Nintendo should stop with the games for a minute and consider how much it pisses everyone off.

Stop with the games?

Right, and maybe McDonalds should stop with the fast food.

[FirstWizZedd45]

I was at a Gamestop the other day and asked whether or not they happened to have any Wiis in stock. Of course, they didn't. My next question was when they were going to be getting more in, and how many. Four... they were only getting four in. Those things are going to sold within ten minutes of receiving them. I definately think it's a marketing stategy. Now, whether it will pay off in the end or just piss a bunch of people off has yet to be seen. For now though, it's working!

[Dann Woolf]

Now, whether it will pay off in the end or just piss a bunch of people off has yet to be seen.

A little from column A, a little from column B...

[Warlock]

I thought Nintendo was working with GameStop for a "preorder" program, where you "preorder" it, and the next time they get a shipment in you get one automatically. Isn't that still going on, or was that a Christmas thing?

[DarkDragoonX]

No idea as to whether or not GameStop is still running that program. I got lucky with my Wii... I managed to snag one without too much difficulty, but only because I happened to call pretty much right when they got a shipment and asked them to hang on to one for me.

Stores don't seem to get more than three or four at a time, which is incredibly frustrating. I don't think it's just a marketing strategy any more... I did at first, as sold-out consoles nationwide inevitably creates the "Oh wow the Wii is so popular" media blitz. Still, a year and a half (ballpark) after it's release, I don't think they'd still be causing an artificial shortage. At this point, there are loads of people who would love nothing more than to give Nintendo money, and no company on the planet turns their back on money.

[King Aquamentus]

Stop with the games?

Right, and maybe McDonalds should stop with the fast food.

Hey, I think this guy owns a wii.




I'm going to make it very simple what's probably going on: Nintendo is churning out plenty of wiis for everyone. The problem is, people keep buying more and more wiis that should have gone to someone else, and making overpriced monopolies on ebay.

[erm2003]

I'm going to make it very simple what's probably going on: Nintendo is churning out plenty of wiis for everyone. The problem is, people keep buying more and more wiis that should have gone to someone else, and making overpriced monopolies on ebay.

There is a lot of truth to this. It doesn't take much to go on ebay, craigslist, or other sites to see people selling Wiis they advertise as NEW and they sell them for at least $50-100 over retail price. It's horrible to see them take advantage of other people but unless your timing is right, there is not much we can do besides not give in to the overpriced sales.

[Warlock]

Overall, the problem has been covered. Nintendo's factories are churning them out as fast as they can. But from a business perspective it is not cost effective to open up brand new factories like crazy. Eventually, that demand WILL die off. Then you are left with a bunch of unnecessary factories chewing into your profits. I assume they *are* opening some, but not enough that they will be screwed once demand dies down.

I'll also agree the eBay thing isn't helping. People are just greedy, all there is to it.

But yeah, I lucked out - went launch day, waited in line for about 3 hours (DS ftw!). It was cold as hell but I got one, no problem.

I suppose the only advice I can give is that sometimes you are better off with a less-Electronicy store. For example, GameStop, Best Buy, Toys R Us, etc. Those places are likely to get sold out right away. But supermarkets like Target, Walmart, etc might be a better bet. I got mine at Target and in fact, the line I was waiting in wasn't even full until an hour before the store opened. Literally a guy walking up at 7am got the last Wii ticket they were handing out. So those might be better places to focus on, but who knows. It's all a matter of luck.

Now is probably a bad time regardless though - with Smash Bros just having come out, Wiis are going to be REALLY hard to come by.

[King Aquamentus]

By the time the demand goes down, Nintendo will be releasing another console. The wii has 3 years left before that happens.

[Archibaldo]

The Wii shortage is actually kind of interesting. See, with most products, not just video game stuff, the demand is a pyramid shape. At first everybody wants some, but as time goes on the demand decreases and we move up to the top of the pyramid. But the Wii pyramid is up-side-down. At first, few people wanted them (Well, few compared to now) and as time went on more and more people wanted them. Because, (especially around the holidays) people would bring them to parties and the other people were like "Wow, I want one of those things." So every one started buying them up.

But the artificial scarcity is a brilliant idea. It's pissing people off, but it's working. Basic economics, supply goes down, demand goes up. Just be glad they're not raising to price to meet the demand.

[Flash Man]

I know that when I was working for Wal-Mart that the amount of Nintendo Wiis that they received was proportional to the additional accessories, games and warranties that were sold on the same transaction as the Wii.

So if we sold more Wiis with all of the accessories then we would receive more Wiis on our next shipments.

[King Aquamentus]

And what do you think happens when everyone finally gets one and then Nintendo is like "hey wanna get a new console? No we can't give you one in exchange for your wii but this thing is cool!"

[beefster09]

Try going to Walmart on a Saturday->Sunday midnight. (assuming you aren't anti-walmart)
Most people don't know that Walmart supplies (or at least used to supply) around 12 Wiis at that time. It's how I got mine. My sister took me at about 11 o' clock and we were 5th in line out of about 7 people.

[Aegix Drakan]

:P I went to Toys R us on saturday morning at 6:30 ish

Was 3rd in line. Most people only showed up at around 7:30.

...I'm just glad I had my Music-filled R4 loaded in my (half-busted) DS phat. If I hadn't hand my music to take my mind off my freezing toes... >_< It would not have been funny...

[Cloral]

It's funny. Everyone forgets that when the 360 came out the same basic thing happened. Remember when all the retailers had to recind like half of their preorders on the 360 because they weren't getting as much stock as they first thought? And then again in the last few months there have been 360 shortages because MS underestimated demand for the system and didn't make enough.

As for the Wii, the fact that all the old folks' homes, rehabilitation centers, and cruise ships want one isn't helping things either. I'm just glad I work in the games industry so I could order both directly from the manufacturers. :p

[vegeta1215]

I got my Wii last March from Walmart. They didn't have any out in the display case, so I asked the clerk - it turns out they had them behind the counter.

There was no way I was missing out on Metroid Prime 3, so I got lucky I guess, especially considering how scarce they are now. (or so it seems)

[Flash Man]

Try going to Walmart on a Saturday->Sunday midnight.

I would actually argue against that. It most likely depends on the store. The one I worked at generally brought them out to the floor as soon as the receivers checked them in, unless they are being held for an event. Most stores operate in that manner. The store I worked at only received them Monday through Friday, because they received it via UPS not from their Distribution Centers.

[Dann Woolf]

Hey, I think this guy owns a wii.




I'm going to make it very simple what's probably going on: Nintendo is churning out plenty of wiis for everyone. The problem is, people keep buying more and more wiis that should have gone to someone else, and making overpriced monopolies on ebay.

I do, wanna make something of it?

[Warlock]

It's funny. Everyone forgets that when the 360 came out the same basic thing happened. Remember when all the retailers had to recind like half of their preorders on the 360 because they weren't getting as much stock as they first thought? And then again in the last few months there have been 360 shortages because MS underestimated demand for the system and didn't make enough.

As for the Wii, the fact that all the old folks' homes, rehabilitation centers, and cruise ships want one isn't helping things either. I'm just glad I work in the games industry so I could order both directly from the manufacturers. :p

I remember, but I also remember that it only lasted until March when Microsoft was able to adaquately stock their system. The same thing happened with the PS3, and we all saw how that went :) Wonder how many people are stuck with $600 PS3s they couldn't pawn off for $2000 on eBay :D

I'd say overall those were more of an early stock shortage than anything else. That's understandable. Of course, at this point Nintendo *should* be producing enough stock to meet demand but isn't, so that's crazy ;)

[Dann Woolf]

The Wiis are selling like hotcakes. Why are you complaining?

Would you rather the shelves be bursting at the seams because Nintendo can't sell shit?

[King Aquamentus]

I do, wanna make something of it?

Hahaha I was right. See, why care about if there's enough wiis to go around if you already have one? It won't effect you. That's my point.


Would you rather the shelves be bursting at the seams because Nintendo can't sell shit?

YES

[Beldaran]

The Wiis are selling like hotcakes. Why are you complaining?

Would you rather the shelves be bursting at the seams because Nintendo can't sell shit?

You can't claim they are selling like hotcakes when they are being sent in giant shipments of 3. I mean, a local store recently got 3 Wiis. That's how many they get per month.

Selling 3 consoles per month in a store is not selling like hotcakes. It's bad industrial planning.

[Aegix Drakan]

...When I got my Wii, they had 50 of them in the store.

(I went to toys R us)

[Dann Woolf]

You can't claim they are selling like hotcakes when they are being sent in giant shipments of 3. I mean, a local store recently got 3 Wiis. That's how many they get per month.

Selling 3 consoles per month in a store is not selling like hotcakes. It's bad industrial planning.

Everyone wants one, and Wiis don't grow on trees y'know. Any company would have difficulty meeting these kind of demands.

And then there's another factor contributing to the shortage: dickwads who buy a metric assload of Wiis so they can sell them on Ebay for a profit. What's more, they can jack up the prices as much as they want, there's plenty of people with more cash than brains, or soccer moms who want their brats to Ess-Tee-Eff-Yew.


...When I got my Wii, they had 50 of them in the store.

(I went to toys R us)

Belderan, you said that a "local store" got a whopping 3 units. Would this store be a big name like Toys R Us or the like, or one of the smaller stores that aren't part of a chain?

[Archibaldo]

Yeah you need to consider that maybe for a store in a small town, 3 would be enough for a month. Wheras if you lived closer to a big city a store would need more just for the sake of the population. If you live in a small town you can't blame them for wanting only like 3 or 4 of them. The worst thing for a store is to have products on the shelves. So, as much as we want the store's shelves to be filled with them, the stores would rather have none on their shelves. Especially when it comes to something as expensive as consoles. If a store ordered 50 of them and they sell a bout 30 of them, and the demand in their area is met, they are stuck with 20 systems and no buyers. So by keeping the supply low, they can be assured that their chances of having some left on the shelves is greatly reduced.

[MottZilla]

If you're interesting in a Wii, you have to either pay a premium or put some effort into being able to buy it. I don't like either option. I'll still wait to buy another Wii. Honestly I believe alot of the issue is perception. I really don't think there is THAT huge demand for the Wii. I think alot of demand is people buying them all up to sell for a markup. So they are choking the market basically. Though honestly I don't care. I'd like to have the Wii, but I can wait 2-3 years. Actually that's a lie, I don't really mind if I never get another one. There are many other gaming options. Better options too.

[King Aquamentus]

The Wiis are selling like hotcakes. Why are you complaining?

Because they are selling like hotcakes.


Wiis don't grow on trees y'know

Something about this contradicts something else but I don't know what.


And then there's another factor contributing to the shortage: dickwads who buy a metric assload of Wiis so they can sell them on Ebay for a profit.


I'm going to make it very simple what's probably going on: Nintendo is churning out plenty of wiis for everyone. The problem is, people keep buying more and more wiis that should have gone to someone else, and making overpriced monopolies on ebay.

[Dann Woolf]

Oldskool:

1: So you'd rather Nintendo not get buckets of cash that they could use for, oh, I don't know, paying bills, wages, and not going bankrupt? The Wiis selling well is a good thing. Maybe not for you personally, but for everyone-- or everyone who cares about quality.

2:


I'm going to make it very simple what's probably going on: Nintendo is churning out plenty of wiis for everyone. The problem is, people keep buying more and more wiis that should have gone to someone else, and making overpriced monopolies on ebay.

Sounded better the way I said it.

[Beldaran]

Belderan, you said that a "local store" got a whopping 3 units. Would this store be a big name like Toys R Us or the like, or one of the smaller stores that aren't part of a chain?

It was Best Buy. Sears gets the same. They get 3 wiis which get snatched up immediately.

[Grasshopper]

The two Gamestops where I live do too. Its major retail chains. The Wal-Mart here isn't any better either.

Maybe we're just cursed because we live in "small" or rural towns or something.

[Beldaran]

Waco, Texas may sound small, but there are 120,000 people living here. It's not as small is you might think, it's just spread out thin. Not only that, from what I understand, it's even more difficult to get a wii in larger markets.

[Cloral]

I'd say overall those were more of an early stock shortage than anything else. That's understandable. Of course, at this point Nintendo *should* be producing enough stock to meet demand but isn't, so that's crazy ;)

I totally agree. I can't remember the last time anything was this hard to find over a year after launch.

[King Aquamentus]

1: So you'd rather Nintendo not get buckets of cash that they could use for, oh, I don't know, paying bills, wages, and not going bankrupt? The Wiis selling well is a good thing. Maybe not for you personally, but for everyone-- or everyone who cares about quality.

Yeah. They're gonna go bankrupt if the wii doesn't sell like hotcakes.

[Beldaran]

I totally agree. I can't remember the last time anything was this hard to find over a year after launch.

Thank you! Yes, it's weird. I remember the SNES was massively popular too, and they had piles of SNES consoles all over the Target, Fred Meyer, etc. There have been consoles more popular than the Wii. It is not historically, record breakingly popular. The ridiculous shortage after a year and a half is weird and indicative of a corporate and/or industrial failure at some point down the line.

[Grasshopper]

I like waffles better than hotcakes.

Despite what is being said by Nintendo, I think its a control launch of systems to generate hype to sell them. I think if more systems were readily available, the popularity would drop. :shrug: