Wii Shortages Will Continue Says Nintendo

People keep buying the damn things!

Posted by Staff
Wii Shortages Will Continue Says Nintendo
Nintendo's VP of marketing and corporate affairs (and apparent GameCube executioness) Perrin Kaplan, has said that we should expect Wii shortages to last for the foreseeable future. This comes nearly five months into the Wii's lifespan.

Speaking in a podcast about the Wii's availability, Kaplan said, “There is a lot going on behind the scenes in terms of working on what we are producing and the numbers continue to rise, but the product is so very popular that we may see the situation last for some time.”

Despite Kaplan's statement, come as figures apparently leaked from the UK's videogame statistics provider, Chart-Track, seem to suggest that the Wii has been shipped in large quantities over Easter.

25,000 Wiis were sold last week, outdoing the PS3 in its third UK week on sale by 8,000 units. It would seem, then, that the Wii's short supply has little to do with low production levels.

So what can Nintendo do about it? Not a lot, apparently. “We are at absolute maximum production and doing everything we can,” said Kaplan. “People are being really diligent about working with retailers to locate one but we are cognisant of the fact that a lot of fans are not able to get their hands on one yet.

“We are asking them to be patient and to know that we are working on this as fast as we can.”

Kaplan's comments mirror those of Nintendo's COO, Reggie Fils-Aime, when he admitted that the DS had been unavailable to US retailers for three weeks following Christmas.

Have you struggled to get your mitts on a Wii, five months into its lifespan? Let us know in the Forum.

† Source: GameTheoryShow
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Comments

Showing the 20 most recent comments. Read all 23.
SuperSaiyan4 11 Apr 2007 14:12
4/23
I am selling my Wii lol I dont want it anymore.
TimSpong 11 Apr 2007 14:26
5/23
Nat Wright wrote:
Hehehehe, booked my week off work, rocked up to my local Big W, waited for 3 people to get theirs, then walked away with my Wii, Zelda, and another Wiimote. Took maybe 10 minutes...
Then again, I DO live in sleepy little ol' Perth, Australia....
Shortages here are exactly the same... I was rather suprised Perthians took to it so well!!
; )


Is there are Harvey Normal in Perth? Does it have any? Also, and I maybe taking the piss unintentionally, a Myers?
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Mark 11 Apr 2007 14:34
6/23
Had to buy my Wii on a street corner in Chicago this weekend from someone who has obviously made an art (or business!) of locating Wii's at retail and selling them on for a profit. I didn't have the time to locate one any other way!
Nat Wright 11 Apr 2007 14:39
7/23
Tim Smith wrote:
Nat Wright wrote:
Hehehehe, booked my week off work, rocked up to my local Big W, waited for 3 people to get theirs, then walked away with my Wii, Zelda, and another Wiimote. Took maybe 10 minutes...
Then again, I DO live in sleepy little ol' Perth, Australia....
Shortages here are exactly the same... I was rather suprised Perthians took to it so well!!
; )


Is there are Harvey Normal in Perth? Does it have any? Also, and I maybe taking the piss unintentionally, a Myers?


Hehehe, yeah, Harvey Norman made the error of p*ssing off Nintendo not long before launch, and they decided to stock only PS3's and 360's....
And Myers is a feckin ripoff well and truly...
KMart, ToyRUs, Big W, GameTraders.... that's about all we got here in terms of affordable pricing (ie. $70-90 each game as opposed to $100 each game...
*sigh....*

Though.... we DID get the DS earlier than most!!! : )
TimSpong 11 Apr 2007 14:43
8/23
Mark wrote:
Had to buy my Wii on a street corner in Chicago this weekend from someone who has obviously made an art (or business!) of locating Wii's at retail and selling them on for a profit. I didn't have the time to locate one any other way!


If it hadn't been Chicago, it would have been a Velvet Underground narrative. For gods' sakes, get a photo of the guy (now you've got your Wii) and send it in to feedback@spong.com!
miacid 11 Apr 2007 15:57
9/23
Adam M wrote:
Nooo! Virgin in Bristol had stock in the shop last week. Where are you in Somerset? You could try ringing Virgin to check they still have stock and then make the trip up!


Thanks for that Adam, they are near Yeovil. Don't think they'll be willing to make the trip to Bristol, especially as they've now paid the £20 or £30 deposit.

I was lucky enough to get mine from Game in Yeovil on Dec 23rd (Swindon was all sold out) and I had to get their early as they all went by 8am. Looks like things haven't go any better, as Game said they will be getting them in but it's first come first served and they said they'd sell out straight away!
Ditto 11 Apr 2007 16:01
10/23
miacid wrote:
Thanks for that Adam, they are near Yeovil. Don't think they'll be willing to make the trip to Bristol, especially as they've now paid the £20 or £30 deposit.


Yeah, I guess it is a bit OTT for a games machine. Yeovil used to be one of my favourite shopping places for games btw, when it used to have GAME, EB, Gamestation and a few independants. It's a nice place.
TimSpong 11 Apr 2007 16:49
11/23
Nat Wright wrote:
Hehehe, yeah, Harvey Norman made the error of p*ssing off Nintendo not long before launch, and they decided to stock only PS3's and 360's....

And Myers is a feckin ripoff well and truly...
KMart, ToyRUs, Big W, GameTraders.... that's about all we got here in terms of affordable pricing (ie. $70-90 each game as opposed to $100 each game...
*sigh....*

Though.... we DID get the DS earlier than most!!! : )


Of course Myers is not a feckin' rip-off... oh, no, certainly not... nope. No way. (Translation note: Read Debenhams for Myers).

So, exactly how did Gerry Harvey piss Nintendo off? And is this official or good old Hyper-like scuttlebutt?

Cheers

Tim

PS: How is the Glory going then?
Nat Wright 11 Apr 2007 17:38
12/23
Tim Smith wrote:
Nat Wright wrote:
Hehehe, yeah, Harvey Norman made the error of p*ssing off Nintendo not long before launch, and they decided to stock only PS3's and 360's....

And Myers is a feckin ripoff well and truly...
KMart, ToyRUs, Big W, GameTraders.... that's about all we got here in terms of affordable pricing (ie. $70-90 each game as opposed to $100 each game...
*sigh....*

Though.... we DID get the DS earlier than most!!! : )


Of course Myers is not a feckin' rip-off... oh, no, certainly not... nope. No way. (Translation note: Read Debenhams for Myers).

So, exactly how did Gerry Harvey piss Nintendo off? And is this official or good old Hyper-like scuttlebutt?

Cheers

Tim

PS: How is the Glory going then?


No idea what they did to piss 'em off, think it was advertising or selling something before they were supposed to... anyways... type in harvey norman nintendo into google and you'll find something...
http://www.arnnet.com.au/index.php/id;853428790;fp;4;fpid;56735
I've seen it pretty much everywhere, and I've never seen Wii's in all the HN's I've wandered aimlessly around : )
btw... We got our TV from JB's for $2400, talked down from $3000.... HN's was asking $4000 with no bargaining.....
*yet another sigh....*
Nat Wright 11 Apr 2007 17:40
13/23
Nat Wright wrote:
Tim Smith wrote:
Nat Wright wrote:
Hehehe, yeah, Harvey Norman made the error of p*ssing off Nintendo not long before launch, and they decided to stock only PS3's and 360's....

And Myers is a feckin ripoff well and truly...
KMart, ToyRUs, Big W, GameTraders.... that's about all we got here in terms of affordable pricing (ie. $70-90 each game as opposed to $100 each game...
*sigh....*

Though.... we DID get the DS earlier than most!!! : )


Of course Myers is not a feckin' rip-off... oh, no, certainly not... nope. No way. (Translation note: Read Debenhams for Myers).

So, exactly how did Gerry Harvey piss Nintendo off? And is this official or good old Hyper-like scuttlebutt?

Cheers

Tim

PS: How is the Glory going then?


No idea what they did to piss 'em off, think it was advertising or selling something before they were supposed to... anyways... type in harvey norman nintendo into google and you'll find something...
http://www.arnnet.com.au/index.php/id;853428790;fp;4;fpid;56735
I've seen it pretty much everywhere, and I've never seen Wii's in all the HN's I've wandered aimlessly around : )
btw... We got our TV from JB's for $2400, talked down from $3000.... HN's was asking $4000 with no bargaining.....
*yet another sigh....*



BUGGERSKI!!! Forgot to mention!!!
Glory, last I heard weren't doing all that well at all.... and they had 3 of their best (and admittedly oldest) players retire at the end of last season so it's all a bit dodgy atm... but hey, that's football... :)
Absinthe-Review.net 11 Apr 2007 23:37
14/23
"Wii Shortages Will Continue Says Nintendo
People keep buying the damn things!"

With a title like that there's little incentive to read the story, eh?

Anyway, I work at a store that carries Wiis and after the launch I would check the electronics department every hour or two. I would never even SEE any, but I soon learned we got almost half a dozen every Tuesday and Friday, so those days I would check EVERY hour! But even STILL I couldn't get one! That means that the demand was so high half a dozen were sold in less than an hour on a REGULAR BASIS!! The only way I got one was because someone had put one on layaway and couldn't afford it! Lucky me, ha ha!

My friends would ask me to keep checking for them too, but even so it took over 2 MONTHS to even SEE one! By the way, when I finally saw one and called, he got there too late!

Yes, demand is THAT high, people!!
Hypnotoad 12 Apr 2007 04:58
15/23
Basically, Harvey Norman pulled their usual bullshit trading terms, which ate into Nintendo's profit in comparison to what they were making through every other retailer. Nintendo, instead of stepping up to negotiate, banned Harvey Norman from selling Wii and retracted from any and all future business.

Here what my boy Vispi had had to say...

"They are telling the market that we are in discussions with them but this is not true. We don't like their terms or the way they operate and we are refusing to do business with them." claimed Nintendo Public Relations Manager, Vispi Bhopti."


Kudos for telling Harvey's to shove it, but curse them for releasing such a POS system.

Here's a link if you want more info...

miacid 12 Apr 2007 07:46
16/23
Adam M wrote:
Yeovil used to be one of my favourite shopping places for games btw, when it used to have GAME, EB, Gamestation and a few independants. It's a nice place.


All the independents have gone now, or they had last time I was there, the one by Tesco survived for a bit but it's now a hair salon.

Also when EB took Game over there were two Game stores about 30 metres apart! Now the old EB store is an O2 shop I think.


Person 13 Apr 2007 07:03
17/23
I got mine today woot! After 2 months of stopping by target before work everyday.
TimSpong 13 Apr 2007 08:49
18/23
Person wrote:
I got mine today woot! After 2 months of stopping by target before work everyday.


Which Target? Whereabouts are you in the world?
Yelloww 13 Apr 2007 11:18
19/23
still trying to get one in Montreal, Canada but everytime wii is sold out. Availibility is very limited....I went 50 times to the ea games stores, best buy, toy r us...nothing...I called several times no luck........
dub 13 Apr 2007 19:41
20/23
Nintendo had better get their act together or the remaining fans that want one are going to turn on them. I for one am tired of wasting my time trying to find one and will spend my money on something else.
mike churchill 18 Apr 2007 20:25
21/23
i went to wii available site at http://www.wiiavailable.co.uk/ and watched the live updating ticker to see who had stock, got mine from game and got it next day! give it a go
Evan Williams 26 Nov 2007 11:13
22/23
Hundreds of websites offer stock checking on wii consoles, availability, etc but most are unreliable, since the only places listed are limited to the websites relationships for whatever reason. I got a tip from a mate who suggested trying * http://www.ecbiz.co.uk/wii-console.htm for non-profit listings on where to find a Wii in stock before Xmas 2007 in the UK. I did and got my boy's delivered today from Royal mail 9am.
Daryl 23 Dec 2007 01:49
23/23
Good thing I got mine on Agust 10th 2007
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