Wii availability - will not improve anytime soon

[johnlucas]

I got incredibly lucky getting my Wii last December.

I never bought a launch console before & me and my friend thought we could nonchalantly walk right up to the store right before midnight and 'snag one up'

Maaaaaaannn...Hahahahahahaha! So foolish. Turns out the long line we thought wasn't there was on the other side of the building outside. Oh THERE it is! Hahahaha! I learned an important lesson that night.

Since I work nightshift (typing this message from my job as we speak) it turns out that worked for the best in getting a Wii.

December 5 last year I was in town on a paying the bills errand already resigning myself to a much later Wii purchase (just sort of put it out of my mind for a while. ain't no way i was gonna get one in this Xmas rush. maybe i'd try again in January). I decided to go to Wal-Mart to paw like a puppy at the glasscase to see what I was missing (pining for the Wii *sigh*) & suddenly I see on the case a cutout of the ad paper saying Wiis will be in stock the next morning at 8AM. I said YOWZA! It was perfect. I can leave my nightshift job and go straight to the store instead of going home.

Ended up being 12th in line and only 30 would be in stock. Had them by the register, no point in stocking them in the glasscase. More than 30 people showed up by the 8AM deadline. We were given tickets. The 11th guy was on cell phone with his contact in another nearby town store's Wii line. His contact ended up getting the Wii and I became 11th!

Got my Wii on December 6 & later showed it to my friend who went with me. He was shocked of course. And to this day he STILL hasn't been able to pick up a Wii. Every now and then I may see a few or a couple in the case but they don't last very long and probably sell out moments after I see them.

I don't think Nintendo's supplying short on purpose. Makes little financial sense and Nintendo's always about that profit. The demand is truly just that crazy.

I don't think it will end at all this year. A whole year of launch frenzy. Never been done before. As the Holiday 2007 season gets near it will only get worse. It's really the WiiDS Phenomenon in action. Don't expect easy Wii buys anytime soon. But maybe you can persuade people irrationally complaining about their Wiis on the internet to part with theirs and get one before they realize their mistake.

Oh & wait until they finally unveil those colors. Some people are simply holding out because they want the Black Wii. Kotaku let that picture slip and people went crazy over it.

John Lucas