It is unprecedented, but also unprofessional, and very costly. Being sold out for a few weeks is good, but sixteen months of not being able to find it in stores means that if you don't feel like calling the store every day, or camping outside of Best buy/target/wal-mart then you would have had to buy another system to satisfy your gaming needs. I go to Best buy almost twice a week (my bro works there) and I have never seen a Wii in stock. I'm at GameStop at least three times a week, buying a used game or just being bored and I've never seen a Wii there. If I wasn't a gamer, I wouldn't even know that it was out. That's lost them hundreds of millions of dollars, maybe even a few billion if they can't get supply in order. That does not deserve credit. :(

 Well remeber they were timid because of the GCN, which they overproduced and then couldn't sell

i know people who had to wait two months to get a wii. they pre-ordered it in june and the next 4 shipments were all reserved. there were that many people on the waiting list. they finally got it late august.

@DJmeister
I would agree with you if all the systems offered the same functionality or were going after the same demographic. Wii offers a completely different gaming experience and Nintendo is going after the non gaming crowd.

It's sort of like going to a car lot specifically to buy a 6 person passenger car or minivan for your family but since everyone is sold out for a while you buy 2 person pick-up truck instead. Sure it's going to happen but not enough for the manufacturers to stop making cars because everyone is buying trucks now or even enough that trucks become the dominate mode of transportation.

I do think it's good as a gamer that Nintendo are getting back in the game for real again, but I hate the fact that they did it with a product I don't want...
It's the first Nintendo I haven't craved, so I'm pretty sure that even though the Wii reaches new markets, there's a whole lotta gamers like me feeling kinda letdown.
I'm hoping they'll change the recipe slightly next gen, so I can get back on the horse!

 That is the strangest analogy ever, try again. If you don't find that car, you buy a different one with the same capabilities or you go to another car lot. Have you ever bought a car? You do know that they cost slightly more than consoles, right?

Does anyone else no of another product in history that has not been able to meet demand for this long of a period of time? I cannot think of anything that even comes close.

no you want to know what is ridiculous

Mummelmann said: I do think it's good as a gamer that Nintendo are getting back in the game for real again, but I hate the fact that they did it with a product I don't want... It's the first Nintendo I haven't craved, so I'm pretty sure that even though the Wii reaches new markets, there's a whole lotta gamers like me feeling kinda letdown. I'm hoping they'll change the recipe slightly next gen, so I can get back on the horse!

 if you liked nintendo before you still won't be disappointed by titles like Zelda, Mario, Metroid, Super SMash enz, does it really matters is has so many casual titles? there still enough good games for you if you liked nintendo titles.

mesoteto said: no you want to know what is ridiculous

 That's awesome :P