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Wii Warm Up: Nowhere to be found
The consoles aren't the only things to be sold out this year -- a number of Wii games and accessories have been scarce as well. Were you looking to buy something for someone's Wii this year, only to be thwarted? I personally had to check at several stores just to find a copy of Resident Evil 4 for the Wii, and forget picking up extra controllers without a lengthy search. How's your shopping experience been?
Surprise: Demand for Wii, DS out of control
While our quick glance at eBay this morning revealed lower sales prices than some we've seen for the Wii (we didn't see anything over $450), demand for the DS and Wii this holiday season remains extraordinarily high. UK-based MCV says retailers there are selling out of both systems as soon as they arrive. Nick Arran of Amazon (we assume Amazon UK) told the site, "The demand for DS and Wii is like nothing I've ever seen in my time in the industry." Many DS Lite models are sold out on Amazon UK, and as with Amazon US, Wiis prices at Amazon Marketplace hover in the stratosphere. At this point, there are probably a lot of desperate Brits who are hoping for a raincheck program of their own. The demand seems good for the retailers, though. While they may field endless questions about product, the moment stock comes within a few feet of their shops, it's gone.
Wii Warm Up: Have you seen it?
Have you ever seen a Wii actually sitting on a shelf, unpurchased? For a while, they were around, but we only ever saw one maybe once -- in an entire year. More than, now. Of course, right now, the Wii is more scarce than an honest politician, so we can't possibly expect to see one just hanging about, but did you ever manage to catch one in the wild?
Custom Wii on eBay LIKE NEW, except not [update]
Why lay down a fat stack of cash for a new Wii on eBay when you can get one that is like new ... if, by "like new," you mean "has been modded and messed with and some dude played Fergie songs and Naruto on it." At the moment, iliksprite's modded, region-free Wii is a whopping penny, but with a brightly-lit controller and five extra real games, not minigames, thrown in (read: probably copies of real games), we expect this one may garner some bids. After all, with Wiis in such high demand, we've seen even the ugliest of skinned systems roll out for upwards of $500, and this one isn't ugly. Just warranty-free and not particularly new.[Update: As one of our commenters noticed, it seems this listing is gone from eBay. A shame, too -- we were hoping to snag something like this just in time for "chrostmas." It's our favorite time of year!]
Wii Warm Up: Would you pay extra?
With the crazy prices on eBay, as well as those on so many of the ridiculous retail bundles, we've got to ask -- if you were (or are) still hunting for a Wii, either for yourself or someone else, would you pay extra? We're curious because some of these prices just seem ridiculously crazy and we can't imagine how desperate someone must be to lay down four hundred bones for just a Wii, no extras. Still, one good thing has come out of all of this, and that's hilarious eBay salesmanship. Wii + 14 games!!! Except those "fourteen games" are all the minigames in Wii Sports and Wii Play. So really, that's a) one game-that-isn't-a-full-game (even though we love it) that comes as a pack-in, and b) one game that most people buy just for the extra Wii remote. According to our sane Earth math, that's like one-and-a-half games, tops.But hey, we're not buying (crazy marked-up consoles, anyway). Are you?
Want a Wii? Wait until April.
It's been more then a year since launch, and demand is still heavily outweighing supply for the Wii. According to Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter, the two won't manage find balance in the U.S. until April. That means that people won't be able to walk into a store and find a healthy supply of Wiis for another four months. Pachter also estimates that the Wii will sell 1.7 million units this December, beating out the Xbox 360 and PS3 despite its limited supply.Need we really bring up the printing money meme again?
Japan chooses DS Lite over PSP, but only just
Japan's long-running love affair with the DS is well-documented, with the handheld comfortably outselling all other gaming hardware in the region since its December 2004 launch. The PSP, despite making more inroads into the handheld market than any previous challenger to Nintendo's throne, lies a distant second.Which is why a new survey, conducted by Cross Marketing Inc. and presented to us in the form of pretty pie charts, comes as something of a surprise. When asked which portable games machine they most craved, 23% of Japanese consumers revealed they fancied the DS Lite, while 22% opted for the PSP. Even taking into account the 7% who would choose the original DS, that's not a big lead for Ninty in the popularity stakes.We can't really fault how the poll was carried out, either. Of the 300 individuals who completed Cross Marketing Inc.'s questionnaire, there was a 50:50 male and female split, while 20% of the respondents were in their teens, 20% in their twenties, 20% in their thirties, 20% in their forties, and 20% in their fifties.In fact, the only beef we have with the survey is that the number of individuals polled is a tad low. 300 is a small enough figure, but when almost half of those express no interest whatsoever in gaming on the go, it suddenly makes the entire exercise a heck of a lot less representative.
Wii Warm Up: Through the roof
Just yesterday, we were discussing the insane prices for Wiis on eBay, but the online auction service isn't the only place anxious consumers will pay through the nose for a Wii. Bundles at many stores, even with multiple games, are more than they should be for all the components included, and all the Amazon marketplace sellers are charging crazy amounts for consoles. As the month wears on, how high do you think prices will go -- and how do you feel about the phenomenon, particularly in regard to retailers overcharging for bundles?
Wii Warm Up: The great hunt
The holiday shopping season is in full swing, which means that once again, Wiis are absolutely nowhere to be found. Do you know anyone who's hunting them this year? Between the ridiculous bundles and the horrific markup on eBay, it's not a good time to be in the market for a console, but what's a desperate shopper to do? If you're looking, tell us what plans you're making for the possibly-inevitable disappointment, or some of your hunting experiences. If you know someone who is looking, or you're just in a good mood, leave a few words of encouragement!
Wii Warm Up: Shortages
Nearly a year into the release of the Wii, the shortages continue. Some areas enjoyed a little short-lived respite, but with the holidays around the corner, it seems that once again -- for a variety of possible reasons -- getting your hands on a Wii is about as common as spying a leprechaun in the wild. As a Nintendo fan, does the continued demand for the console surprise you? Certainly, during the holidays, it makes sense; during November and December, it can be difficult to find a toothpick, much less a hot commodity, but it's not like this is new. Did you expect things might taper off a little? Nintendo seemed to expect it, even if you didn't, at least now that we've all gotten over the initial shock that came with everyone demanding a Wii.
Playing the AH on Patch Day
Richard and Paul are both way smarter (and by consequence, way more rich) than I am. They thought ahead, took notes on all the ingredients for the brand new recipes in 2.2, and had all the supplies sitting at high prices on the AH yesterday, ready to be sold to anyone who didn't want to wait to make the new items. Beautiful. I'm jealous-- wish I'd thought of it first.Soulcloth is the big winner, it seems-- it requires Netherweave (which pretty much everyone has), and tons of Soul Essences, which basically drop like candy in Karazhan. If I recall correctly, Soul Essences have sold ok but not great in the past (at least on my server), and they probably still won't sell well, once everyone's made everything they want. But for the next few days, while everyone's learning the new recipes, you'd probably do well to clean out your Soul Essence inventory.Primal Shadow and Primal Air are also doing well from the patch, but since those are Primals, they're fairly rare anyway-- if they were really everywhere (like, say, they dropped off of every demon in the world), Blizzard would change things. But over the next few days (and probably every few days after a big set of crafting changes, so keep an eye out for 2.3 profession news), there's lots of money to be made.
The Wii will flow this holiday says Reggie
In a painful to watch video by anyone with an iota of video production training, the Mercury News interviewed Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aime about the Wii supply for this holiday season. Fils-Aime says, "Wii hardware that will be in North American stores will be unprecedented – substantially more than the launch, substantially more than has been seen to date." Yes Nintendo, keep diverting those precious Wiis our way.Then Fils-Aime rains on the parade saying that despite the extra supply, consumers should "regularly check" to see if the system is available. He says demand continues to outweigh supply, so those in need of Wii should be waiting at the store when the product arrives. As for the competition, Reggie dismisses Xbox and PS3 saying they haven't impacted their business. If you have no video training whatsoever feel free to watch the Mercury News clip and soak in the Reggieness.[Via GameDaily BIZ]
Amazon still has Burning Crusade CE in stock
In case you really wanted it, the Burning Crusade Collector's Edition apparently isn't all that collected-- it's still in stock at Amazon for $74.99, a few bucks off the original price. The original Collector's Edition is a little harder to find-- it's been out of stock for a while, and copies are going for around $200. eBay is the same story-- you can buy the BC:CE for as little as $50, while the original CE is going for much, much more.My guess is that it's the old laws of supply and demand-- by the time Burning Crusade dropped, everyone knew it would be a hit, so Blizzard made a bunch, while the original CE probably had a lot fewer copies made. But the noncombat pets might be a draw as well-- the original CE had Diablo, Zerg, and Panda pets, while the Burning Crusade only had a pretty unimpressive Netherwhelp pet.And the other interesting question is what will happen when the next expansion drops. Being that WotLK is much more integral to the Warcraft that everyone knows and loves (while BC was much more involved with the ancient history of Warcraft), will people who've skipped Burning Crusade so far be more inclined to pick it up when Wrath releases? Maybe the BC:CE will get rarer as we get closer to Northrend.[ via WoW Ladies ]
iPhone orders at online Apple Store see 2-4 week delays
Uh oh, it looks like Apple might have dumped the majority of their iPhones into brick and mortar stores, making web shoppers wait longer than usual for a new device. The online Apple Store currently displays a 2-4 week shipping time for both 4GB and 8GB iPhones. While this could simply be an overestimation to help manage the demand, it might be motivation for more users to try their luck if they have a local Apple or AT&T store. Just remember: only one phone per customer is allowed at AT&T stores, while Apple has a cap of 2, and you can always check your local Apple Store's iPhone stock from the comforts of your pajamas before making the trek.Thanks to everyone who sent this in.
Wii Warm Up: Will it last?
It's the thing that just won't go away -- the idea that the Wii is overhyped, and that any day now, demand is going to simply disappear. The Wii will die. The gaming industry will crumble. The flood will come. Puppies and kittens everywhere will go unhugged. Please share in a moment of collective yawn with us, because we've heard it all before.But that doesn't mean we can't discuss it. Do you think the Wii has staying power? As soon as the console gets over the first-year hump (we saw it with the early DS lineup, after all), will this even be an issue?
Nintendo increasing Wii production to flood planet
It's worth noting that the alleged plentiful supply of Wii we expected Nintendo to supply post launch simply couldn't keep up with demand. So much so that major retailers called foul on Nintendo and reporting shipments of Wii to stores is still appreciated by readers. GI.biz reports that a Nintendo spokesperson has confirmed to them plans to increase Wii production are now in effect.GI.biz was told, "For the first three months of this year we have been producing one million hardware units per month. We are increasing the manufacturing capacity and forecast to ship 14 million in this fiscal year to our distributors and retail customers globally."Nintendo says they expect a steady flow of Wii through 2007. They also say they've sold 5.84 million units and coyly add that they can't predict when the shortages will subside because there's just so much demand. That's fantastic that Nintendo is ready to flood the world with Wii, now if we could just get some first-rate Wii developed software to go with it.
Wii Warm Up: Continued shortages and our periodic check-in
Every now and then, we just have to ask -- if you've been looking for a Wii, have you found one yet? Have you given in to bundles just to get it over with? Give us a status update! And in general, we'd love to hear about demand where you are. Are random people (read: not gamers) still crowing about the Wii where you live? Have the shortages seemed to have an affect -- good or bad -- on the desires of the masses? Some people think the demand will wear down eventually, but the commercials and word of mouth seem to be fueling a continued momentum.
Nintendo searching for more Wii manufacturers
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Nintendo_searching_for_more_Wii_manufacturers'; Nintendo has struggled to meet the Wii's demand in every region, so much so that retailers have accused the company of planning "strategic shortages." Four months after the console's initial release, it's still unlikely that you'll be able to find a Wii on store shelves.Up until now, Foxconn Precision Components has been the sole manufacturer behind the Wii's assembly. Nintendo hopes to increase its production by taking on an additional manufacturing partner, researching offers from Asustek Computer, Compal Electronics, Inventec, and Wistron.It's great that Nintendo is looking to increase the amount of systems it ships out, but how long will it be before we see the benefits of this partnership? It was already evident that the Wii's supply was constrained months ago -- why didn't Nintendo bring in a new manufacturer then?[Via Next Generation]
Best Buy to stop carrying Sony's 20GB PlayStation 3?
You may have noticed that nearly four months after both the Wii and PlayStation 3 hit the market, Nintendo's console is generally still more difficult to locate than Sony's counterpart -- especially the widely unwanted 20GB flavor. While rumors galore have been floating around, it looks like one of the largest PS3 retailers are pulling the plug on the (so to speak) cheapo version, leaving Best Buy consumers with exactly two options, either cough up the $600 required to cop the 60GB edition, or look elsewhere for their gaming satisfaction. According to Joystiq, they have checked with numerous Best Buy locales and have confirmed the "Discontinued" status that was recently printed out from a BB computer system, which means that the flow of 20GB units into Best Buy stores should all but stop here in the very near future. No word on whether the creators of the 20GB PS3 sauce will be drying up their production as well, however.
NoE's Laurent Fischer talks Wii drought relief
Laurent Fischer, Marketing Director for Nintendo-Europe, recently spoke with German financial hub Finanzen regarding the massive Wii shortage. Fischer admitted that early demand for the console, particularly in Europe, outstripped expectations, and since the trend shows no sign of slowing, Nintendo of Japan has already begun to work on expanding production capacity. For those of you who are still Wii-less, this can be nothing but good news. Fischer also mentioned that despite shortages, Nintendo's set to easily reach their goal of six million systems sold worldwide by March 31.
