Where are all the Nintendo Wiis?

Now that the the insanity of Christmas is over and we are well underway with the the New Year, you would think that last year’s ‘must have’ gift would once again be lining our shelves. The Wii was, over Christmas, the most desirable piece of consumer goodness, with stocks of  just the console selling out by October. There is little word from Nintendo about the delays and no sign of new stocks either. The lack of the console also puts down the rumour that Nintendo created an artifical market before Christmas to up the desire for the Wii, and to create hype around the shortage. This was, it seems, a genuine problem and not a piece of marketing. But you would still think that the company would have a little foresight to produce more products when they are needed most, or to get them where they should be – i.e. on the shelves and into homes.

The Wii has been out for over a year (with my sister’s fiance getting one back in 2006) so the question I am asking is what’s happening, and why haven’t we been told when stock (at a reasonable price) will appear? Because of the huge desirability of the console, a lot of high street stores cashed in on this limited stock and huge demand problem, and not naming any names (but the companies sound like Blame, and, erm, Blame-Basin) doing some unwelcome things. These include selling off second hand consoles for more than the RRP, selling Wii Sports as a separate game, and putting the console direct from Nintendo together with stock they couldn’t shift and creating their own more expensive and frankly rubbish ‘special offer bundles’. The scene for consumers before Christmas was a nightmare, and it seems now after the festive period this has continued. You would think that by now that the stock from Nintendo would have been replenished and the shelves would once again be groaning under the weight of all those Wiis but it seems that’s not the case. From the industry reports it seems that the UK had imported its quota of Wiis from Nintendo for December and January before Christmas to try and meet demand, and this is understandable. But really it’s now nearly February and still the shops are bare, and the continued horrific pricing policy continues. I would love a Wii, and having played Mario Galaxy over the festive period can see why the console and the top games are popular. But I am willing to wait, bide my time and get a Wii for the price it is supposed to be sold at, with the games of my choice when they eventually come in. I just hope that a lot of people are feeling the same and that the high street gets the message and when stock does actually come in that they decide to play fair with us and provide what they should… but knowing them I bet they won’t…