Wii has been readily available for the last number of months here in ireland and the UK (the markets are very similar in both taste and sales), But after mario galaxy, you cannot get a wii to save your life. There was a lot of wiis in the country, so for it to be sold out means that an awful lot of wiis has sold in a very short space of time. I don't want to be mean but you can readily get a ps3, both first and second hand :p.  I do think ps3 will have a resonable christmas, but again the wii will be the hot product go get.

Reggie @ Fox : "it's gonna be a Wii holiday"....

you must be mistaken, the wii is a fad and sales a dropping off. that's why 1/3 of japanese wii owners have stopped playing it. PS3 is where it's at. future proof and you play games in 4-D. Blurayz FTW.

I think November is shaping up to be a good month for the Wii. I can't imagine what December will be like. I hope Nintendo has set aside enough stock to win December and garner all that free press.

The reason it is sold out is because people heard they would be sold out for christmas and were sensible enough to buy them early to avoid disappointing their loved ones at christmas (a sort of stockpiling you could say just that it's done by the consumers rather than producers and retailers). It has very little if anything to do with the release of Mario. Here in the UK there are tons of news stories about frustrated mums not knowing where they are going to get a Wii for their children who have said that is what they want for their christmas present. There was a story about a mum who camped out several times until she was able to track down a Wii. She said she is going to be supermum this christmas.

@etuoyo: Some parts of your post make sense, but where's your evidence to say that it has little to do with Mario?

Trust me, I still see signs in shop windows, saying Wii's back in stock, but not for long... It's gonna be a good Xmas for all those at Nintendo Corp...

I'm not sure that I have ever seen Wii in stock

wasnt there the thread about ordering on amazon.de and get the wii shipped to the uk? could anyone drop a memo to all the panicking moms?