Wii U Question

[Johnny Nintendo]

I made the mistake of not pre ordering a Wii U, and now I'm on the Gamestop waiting list. What I was wondering is, since every online site (Walmart, Best Buy, Kmart, etc.) is sold out, couldn't I just go to Walmart a day or two in advance and just wait until November 18th and buy one in store? I guess what I'm asking is, even though the Walmart website says they're no longer available online, shouldn't they still have 10 or so in the store for sale? My brother in law works at sears and the website says the Wii U is unavailable online, but if they still have some for store stock I might get him to call me when they're about to put them out for sale. I know Gamestop is different, when they're out of preorders, that means that they won't have any available, but this shouldn't be the case with Walmart, Sears, etc. right?

[PapaStu]

There will be stock in stores.

Just like with any major tech release, there is stock beyond pre-orders. Jst because Apple shut down pre-orders after a few hours, having moved 2 million + phones, didn't mean that there weren't phones in each of their stores, in lots of Best Buys and carrier stores (Verizon and AT&T stores).

If you care that much, get there the evening before. I got to my local Target about 2AM on the day it released. I was like #19 in line, my store got 32 in stock. There were about 40 people in line by 6 or 7 AM.

[Johnny Nintendo]

Okay thanks. That's kind of what I thought. It seems like no matter how many are sold out online, they always have some to sell at the store for walk in customers. Looks like I might be camping out in the electronics department of my local Walmart. Good thing the camping supplies are just one aisle away.

[parallaxscroll]

I didn't pre-order. I plan to get to Walmart sometime on the 16th or 17th to wait in line. It seems from everything I've read, this is the way to go.

[CRTGAMER]

Camping out for a game console is silly. Wait a month and then buy it or wait six months for the price drop.

[Enmity]

Camping out for a game console is silly. Wait a month and then buy it or wait six months for the price drop.

If this sells even half as good as the Wii you will be waiting quite a while.

[kupomogli]

Camping out for a game console is silly. Wait a month and then buy it or wait six months for the price drop.

This.

If this sells even half as good as the Wii you will be waiting quite a while.

The first year the Wii didn't sell very well. It stayed out of stock, but the amount sold in comparison to subsequent years is small. Just another thing that points towards Nintendo creating their own shortage.

[The 1 2 P]

If this sells even half as good as the Wii you will be waiting quite a while.

He'll be waiting much longer than a month. This thing might not even be seen by most people for the rest of this year if it's an instant sell out upon release. And thats being conservative.

[Gameguy]

Camping out for a game console is silly. Wait a month and then buy it or wait six months for the price drop.

But then how can you scalp it to the desperate Christmas shoppers for stupid amounts like a tool?

[InsaneDavid]

The first year the Wii didn't sell very well. It stayed out of stock, but the amount sold in comparison to subsequent years is small. Just another thing that points towards Nintendo creating their own shortage.

Which is why I think the Wii U will be hard to come by out of the gate. As far as the mass public is concerned the Wii was impossible to find from the start, which will add to the holiday launch frenzy for the Wii U. I'm guessing that the staying power won't be there this time around.

[Johnny Nintendo]

Yeah, I think the Wii U will be the must-have toy/system this holiday season. I remember reading somewhere that the video game analyst, Michael Pachter said he didn't think the Wii U was going to be a strong seller. Shortly after the pre-orders sold out, he changed his opinion. I have only seen pictures of the guy and read a few headlines, but the guy looks like a total douche. Another reason I want to get the Wii U on launch day is Black Ops 2. From what I understand, BO2 will be available on launch day, so I want to start spanking online ass from day one.

[Bojay1997]

This.



The first year the Wii didn't sell very well. It stayed out of stock, but the amount sold in comparison to subsequent years is small. Just another thing that points towards Nintendo creating their own shortage.

Don't let the facts slow you down. The Wii sold almost nine million units in the first year in the US and over 20 million worldwide. It outsold the PS3 three to one in Japan. It sold very, very well and was the second best selling console worldwide after the DS in its first year of release.

[theoakwoody]

The Wii is the only console I've ever bought on Day 1 and it wasn't easy. I went to a couple of places including Best Buy which had 99 of them. Problem was I was # 101 so I headed next door to Toys R Us and they had plenty and also had tons of games available.

My buddy camped all night for a PS3 just so he could sell it. I think he ended up making like $300 but to me it's not worth it having to camp in a Walmart parking lot. I think he even bought the tent at Walmart and then returned it.

I would think the Wii U will be similar at the beginning especially as the holidays are fast approaching. I was surprised Nintendo didn't release the 3DS in November but maybe they were trying to beat the Vita to market.

The thing I hate about Nintendo systems as it always seems like there are a few must haves at release and then it takes forever for the 2nd wave of games to hit. The worst was the N64, I think I bought Mario 64, got Shadows of the Empire for Xmas, and then I had money burning a whole in my pocket till like March when Turok came out. That game blew my mind back then, I know Goldeneye set the standard for console FPS but I remember thinking that game looked so great at the time. I'm not going to take the time to research what games were actually available during the first 6 months of release but it seems like every time I went to the store it was like Pilotwings, Cruisin' USA (not 3D what?), and Wayne Gretzky Hockey. With the Wii obviously Zelda kept me busy for a few months as I made sure to do a few play throughs and finish most of the side quests.

I know this post is all over the place but I really do have such fond memories of each system I acquired whether it was new from the store, a trade, or ebay/craigslist.

[Tanooki]

Hey man you're not alone, I couldn't preorder. The moment I walked into the store 5min before grabbing a ticket if that, my realtor called and my condo sold so I couldn't put cash down as I knew I wouldn't be in-state anymore. I'm basically fubar unless I can find someone to wrangle one up or I get lucky once I'm at my destination in another couple weeks. I really want the deluxe system but I'd even settle for the white one at this rate if I had to. Nintendoland I'd like to get but I wouldn't pay $60 for a small selection of mini-games, not on a bet, and while having 32GB of storage is nice you can get a 500GB USB drive for less than the cost of the wii-u to wii-u deluxe version.

Toys R Us and various other outlets refusing to preorder the black system to date is Nintendo's fault, they're not telling these people still how many units they'll get and don't want to run into pissed off people having paid for what they can't get in time for Christmas. In conjunction with them already indirectly saying they're short on tablet controllers so they won't sell the individually until sometime next year I know it's going to be a damned mess. I'll get one somehow and I refuse to play predator slimebag reseller scum prices of 2-3x MSRP.

Only a fool would think Nintendo shorts systems to cause demand. They lost a lot of potential sales and really infuriated people over the Wii debacle back in 2006. They coming off a rough time with moving Gamecubes made what they could but couldn't forsee the explosion of interest that thing had out of the gate let alone the first year which is why it was a bitch in some markets to find one even by the time Christmas with Wii year 2 hit. I doubt WiiU will have that level of stupidity trailing it considering they overdid production on 3DS, but the difference there is that 3DS was asking too much, and WiiU pricing is in one hell of a nice sweet spot.

[kupomogli]

Don't let the facts slow you down. The Wii sold almost nine million units in the first year in the US and over 20 million worldwide. It outsold the PS3 three to one in Japan. It sold very, very well and was the second best selling console worldwide after the DS in its first year of release.

Did I say anything about it not selling better than any other consoles? Didn't think so. I said it didn't sell well its first year in comparison to subsequent years. That essentially means "it," the Wii, and "subsequent," future years, by the way. It wasn't just by a miillion or so sales, it was by "millions," with an s. The second year on the market Nintendo sold one third more Wii consoles than it did the first year. It merely adds more proof that there is a high probability that Nintendo manufactured the demand.

Of course, the demand issue, in accordance to you, did nothing for sales. Consumer perception of the Wii being out of stock so it must be good and constant free daily advertisement through local news stations about the Wii is still out of stock didn't do anything. I mean really. No one watches the news do they? Only about 90% of adult population. It obviously had no effect on any of them hearing Wii this and Wii that whenever they turned on the tv.

I would say sarcasm, but I honestly think you believe this. Rob2600? I know he believes this. I'm pretty sure he believes that Nintendo is somehow involved in all the good in this world. Life as we know it would not exist if it wasn't for Nintendo.

[InsaneDavid]

I'll get one somehow and I refuse to play predator slimebag reseller scum prices of 2-3x MSRP.

Slimebag? Reseller? My home this is! ...one time.

[Bojay1997]

Did I say anything about it not selling better than any other consoles? Didn't think so. I said it didn't sell well its first year in comparison to subsequent years. That essentially means "it," the Wii, and "subsequent," future years, by the way. It wasn't just by a miillion or so sales, it was by "millions," with an s. The second year on the market Nintendo sold one third more Wii consoles than it did the first year. It merely adds more proof that there is a high probability that Nintendo manufactured the demand.

Of course, the demand issue, in accordance to you, did nothing for sales. Consumer perception of the Wii being out of stock so it must be good and constant free daily advertisement through local news stations about the Wii is still out of stock didn't do anything. I mean really. No one watches the news do they? Only about 90% of adult population. It obviously had no effect on any of them hearing Wii this and Wii that whenever they turned on the tv.

I would say sarcasm, but I honestly think you believe this. Rob2600? I know he believes this. I'm pretty sure he believes that Nintendo is somehow involved in all the good in this world. Life as we know it would not exist if it wasn't for Nintendo.

It sold well in its first year and continued to sell well for most of its life. Your conspiracy theories are really pretty absurd. It's just as likely that Nintendo felt safe in ramping up production (i.e. they realized that demand was going to be pretty consistent or even grow and was not just a fad) in the subsequent years which is not something they could have anticipated prior to launch. An artificial shortage may drive some short term demand, but it does very little for long term profitability and it builds a secondary market from which Nintendo would derive no benefit and could in fact be hurt when people spend over MSRP for the console to a reseller and then have less money to spend on accessories and games. Your complete inability to even allow for the possibility that there are other explanations for market behavior is both amusing and sad in many ways.

In any event, let's assume by some miracle you are 100% right and Nintendo is a totally diabolical company that creates artificial shortages. Your response does zero to assist the OP since he wants a WiiU at or around launch.

[Tanooki]

Slimebag? Reseller? My home this is! ...one time.

Being silly or did that line bug you?

Anyone taking advantage of a video game console shortage on a first year release around Christmas to fuck someone out of 2-3x the real value of the system I think fits the description well if not far worse. I'm already seeing the punk behavior on amazon and ebay already with outrageous presell prices and if that's the benchmark it's going to get ugly if Nintendo isn't lying and has heaps of them lying around to ruin their fun like 3DS did. I seriously doubt it though due to the supposed controller shortage.

[InsaneDavid]

Being silly or did that line bug you?

Anyone taking advantage of a video game console shortage on a first year release around Christmas to fuck someone out of 2-3x the real value of the system I think fits the description well if not far worse. I'm already seeing the punk behavior on amazon and ebay already with outrageous presell prices and if that's the benchmark it's going to get ugly if Nintendo isn't lying and has heaps of them lying around to ruin their fun like 3DS did. I seriously doubt it though due to the supposed controller shortage.

Just being silly. I spent ten hours sitting on cold concrete in an unseasonal rainstorm over an October 25th - 26th to get a PS2 at launch. While the upwards of $2,000 they were selling for in the open market was crazy, I kept it for myself as I wanted it. I spent eight hours in front of the same store on the eve of the GameCube launch but that was a lot more fun (patched into the power connection off a parking lot light pole, entire front of the line was all a bunch of friends, freezing cold but great atmosphere) and again, that was for me. I had the opportunity to purchase a Wii U Deluxe reservation and jumped on it, buying one, and I'll admit I did so specifically for resale.

I can tell you for a fact that on the first weekend the reservation was available you could have went into any Toys R Us and reserved a Deluxe system. For the first two days it was UNREGULATED as they had no idea the demand mess they were getting into. Following with their usual corporate incompetence concerning all things in their electronics departments, they had an immediate knee-jerk reaction of freezing all reservations until they could figure out exactly how many they had sold. This was required due to their initial knee-jerk reaction of "other retailers are taking reservations, we need to as well!" without putting any limits in place. For twelve years I've dealt with reservations, hardware shortages, doubletalk from manufacturers and vendors, born resellers and idiotic regular consumers - across four different retailers. The worst is the people whom you tell, "Come in on this day, we'll have hardware in that morning and if you get here within the first hour the store is open you will leave with one." A flat out guarantee that the hottest electronics item of the season will be available to them, hell, I'll even stash a couple under the counter. Then they never show up that morning, only to come back a week later and act all butt-hurt that their kid is going to be so disappointed. Even during the grand Wii shortage years ago, if you would call the same few stores every day within two weeks anyone could have purchased a system. The problem was that when some place had them in stock, the consumer would have to get off their ass and actually go get the hardware which was always the weak link in the chain. Its been that way concerning all popular hardware since the PS2. They need it so bad but they can't take ten minutes to go pick it up once it is in stock.

The scum are the people who come in every day, three times a day, "Do you have Wii? Do you have Wii?" Then want to buy three at a time, call their contacts, have them buy the maximum limit, then swing around six to eight hours later to do it again once the staff has been cycled through. Then the next day they do it again. And the day after. And the day after that. If everyone, including those that buy for resale, would purchase ONE piece of hardware, the supply chain would be much more padded. I can tell you in all honesty one of the problems is that when people see some hard to find hardware is back in stock they buy one for them, and one for their sister that is looking too, and one for their friend who has been trying to get one for weeks. Then those pieces of hardware end up being returned because, guess what, those other parties found them on their own. Nothing irritates me more than that as people would come in right in the morning, only to leave empty handed, and then two hours later here come the returns. New release hardware should be like gobstoppers: everyone gets one and one is all anyone ever needs.

Either way, it's not that the hardware is ransomed off because it's impossible to find. The hardware is out there, it can be found, I've witnessed that first hand through the last three major hardware generations. It's that people are too lazy to take a little initiative, brush up on their social skills, do a tiny bit of legwork, and find the hardware themselves. The majority of those people, I've found, are the ones who will pay a premium for anything. Especially when it's for their self entitled kids that probably don't even want it but their parents have to get it for them since it's what's popular.

You know in the past I've been offered up to $250 to ensure that a customer would be able to get a video game console. Wasn't an isolated incident either. When you're being asked to scalp things it shows you how out of hand the whole smash is. This was after I let them know the specific day the resupply was coming in and rather than show up on that day, they'd rather pay me a couple hundred dollars to put one aside. Completely absurd.

In all honesty I'm for ZERO reservations and one piece per person. Unfortunately I don't think things will ever go back to that and if come early December someone wants to kick me twice retail for my Wii U, I won't argue.

[Tanooki]

I couldn't get the presell because of some wretched f'd up timing or I would have. As I was walking into TRU that morning to nail the Deluxe down my realtor calls and her first weres 'start packing' so I couldn't peg it down because I'm moving now on the 17th. Due to that I couldn't presell as I'm not flying back out here to pick up a WiiU. So basically by the time I got home the online ones were gone and I was fucked.

That's why I'm hot about it because I've always pre-bought systems knowing how the lines can limits can be, and scared stupid into it after seeing what happened with the Wii. Now I'm a victim of circumstance so I have to hope I can peg a black one down locally at TRU where I'm heading once they unlock those again when they learn their numbers. I'm trying to get a couple people I know online to try and peg one down for me and I'll gift them some nice shit in return and cover the system+shipping obviously too in full.

I'm with you though I loathe entirely pre-sell, pre-purchase scams that the gaming industry has made trendy. If you can't get off your ass and get to the store before it opens you deserve to have nothing plain and simple. I hate paying in advance so I can get it later so they can make money in the bank off my preorder dough. It also bugs me the Gamestop slime back with Wii wouldn't even guarantee a system after telling you they would so you'd have to line up anyway and get a damned number just so the liars could scam $5 out of people ahead of time. To me if you take my money it's a binding contract.