Are Wiis still hard to get?

[NoahsMyBro]

Over the last couple of weeks I've been to Target two or three times, and seen Wiis in stock every time.

If I had more money and/or more time, I'd have bought one, but even if I wasn't broke, I've been too busy working lately to even think about playing the thing, so I left them for someone else to pick up.

BUT, they certainly seem to me to be easier to find than ever before.

[retroman]

My local ToysRUS in Maryland just got 68 of them in on Sunday morning. I was there about 1pm and they had 4 left the girl said.

[Trevelyan]

They had some in my local Game store last time I was in town (over here in the UK). I'm sure the drought is over where I live, though there was a shortage before christmas.

[DeputyMoniker]

Every couple months I see a Wii at Blockbuster, Gamestop, or some other game store. It's always in a large bundle so it sells a little slow. I saw a stack of Wii's at Best Buy early Christmas season last year. It was gone when I came back the next day. Other than that, I don't see them anywhere.

[Poofta!]

Still hard to find, people still selling them for 350+ on ebay, amazon, craigslist, etc.
Being an Assistant Manager at a GameStop around here I can tell you that they have been the same in rarity for the past few months, only getting some in a few times a month and only a few at a time...and those few go in the first half hour everytime we do get some in.

um no. ebay's price for the system alone, new, is average 280 (again, shipping not included). amazon is ALWAYS overpriced on anything remotely interesting or difficult to find.

with ebay and paypal fees, these sellers really arent making that much. the point is there is no longer a surge of people buying to sell, since the profit margin is minuscule (if even existant if you factor in time and gas).

edit: gamestop is not allowed to hold wiis, or sell as a bundle only. they do truly first come first serve basis, since management was apparently very adamant about strictly disciplining clerks who hold wiis for friends etc.

[Icarus Moonsight]

there are a couple of problems to this... nintendo ramped up production as much as they can in the facilities they have. They're pumping out almost 2 million consoles a month, it just happenst to be that they're all selling out.

The problem with adding more manufacturing is that demand well outstripped what nintendo expected. They're not sure when the bottom is going to drop out and they don't want to be in the middle of building a billion dollar manufacturing facility when demand finally levels out.

The only sound business move they can make is to wait it out. It's not like a lack of supply has lowered demand. Why take the risk?

I call this the Dreamcast Fear Theory and I agree 100%. When you consider the sales of the Gamecube, Nintendo is doing very well in terms of production for the Wii... well, as well as they can - safely.

The Wii manufactured shortage hubbub is pure crap. Otherwise, they would have kept production down (to ~1 million units/month) instead of running all their facilities balls-to-the-wall. Although, Nintendo may be diverting North American supply to other regions due to the recent suck, that is, of the USD.

[graciano1337]

They seem to be, but my local Blockbuster of all places had a couple just a couple of days ago. One had been there a few days...not somewhere most people are looking...

yup, i work at blockbuster and we got 3 of them last week. one sold very fast and two were bought by an employee a day later. blockbuster is trying to get more into gaming. we got some 360's, wii's, and even a PS3 for sale. and a ton of games and accessories, too.

[thetoxicone]

Ever since I quit working at best buy in Dec of 2006 I've seen them in stores twice, once when I was randomly stopping in a small town wal-mart to pick up a few things when I passing through the town.

Other was last Friday at a gamestop around here where someone was trading a 360 toward a Wii for their kid. Too bad there was only one employee and I had to wait there for 15 minutes to buy my one game, you think if a parent is going to ask 50 questions and then the employee is going to try and sell 50 other things to the parent that they'd kindly let the man with one single game in his hand pay quickly and leave. Not to mention when I finally did pay they put the wrong game in the case...good thing I check these things before I leave the store (sorry that was a little bit of a rant).

[rbudrick]

I've never seen one yet. However, the Wiimotes and nunchucks are finally plentiful in stock.

-Rob

[jjreason]

I haven't seen one for sale at Canadian retail since October - but I don't stop in stores specifically to look for them either.

[MeTmKnice]

If you are actively searching for one, know when shipments come, etc. Then there is no reasons you should not be able to get one. Yes, there are people that just buy them and some games and sell them for a recockulous amount. The Wii console I have currently ( I bought one launch day, and was offered a large sum of money so I sold it), I purchased used at the local GameCrazy when I was living in spokane. The person who traded it in, bought it on launch day and did not use it much, they never even registered it for the warranty, so after my 90 in-store warranty was up was when I registered mine (= . Granted they are fairily scarce, they are not tht difficult to find in most areas.

[segagamer]

I got my Wii as a bundled package at the local casino. It came with the console, Wii Play, extra Nunchuk controller, and two extra games. The package was overpriced but it was the only place I actually saw the console on the shelves. I have not yet seen it at the stores I frequent (Target, Meijer, EBGames, etc).

[Lothars]

I use to see Wii's all over especially till february but since February I haven't seen much, I am kind of looking for one for my cousin but it's all good.

[nickerous]

I saw about 30 in Wal-mart the week after Thanksgiving. Since then, maybe 1 or two on shelves.

A friend of mine decided on a Tuesday that he wanted one. He nearly got one that day as the Wal-mart had one. He missed out on it, but was able to get one the next week when that same Wal-mart received stock.

[The 1 2 P]

Since the Wii launched in November of 2006, I've seen a grand total of 2 in actual stores. Both were in Target, 1 each in a different Target on two different occasions within the last year and a half. Until you can actrually walk into any video game/electronics store at anytime of the day and pick one up with little to no problem, the Wii will continue to be hard to find.

[Hwj_Chim]

I see wiis all the time in my area. It seems like Best Buy always has at least one or two in stock.

[Ze_ro]

The Wii is still VERY hard to find here in Winnipeg. I was looking for one for about 2 months before I finally found one... and I managed to get the last one Future Shop had at 10:30 in the morning. Now, the Canadian versions have bilingual manuals and such, so I'm thinking Nintendo may be sending less of them to Canada, but who knows.

--Zero

[FlufflePuff]

There are none here. Haven't seen a retailer with one, except for ad-break events, since Xmas.

[RadiantSvgun]

I never see them in Gamestops, but I see them often in K-marts and Wal-Marts.

[Videogamerdaryll]

I haven't seen any around here"but I saw a used Wii at the Flea Market with a pile of Wii games..
Seeing a Wii at the flea market was a first for me.