According to This Guy, Wii Are Out of Luck

Nintendo's Wii is, as Mugatu might say, "so hot right now." The white video game console the size of a hardcover book has been harder to find than Waldo since it launched and things haven't gotten better post-holiday shopping.

But, hey, the holidays have been over for months. The Wii supply should be meeting demand in no time, right?

What do you think industry analyst #1?

Punchjump:

"I believe the Wii will continue strong growth although supply continues to be a problem," said Billy Pidgeon, video game analyst, IDC. "I’d like to see Wii hardware shipping in larger quantities or mass market consumers may cool on it. Having said that, I don’t believe supply will meet demand for the Wii until 2009."

2009?!?

Guess that is just in time to get your Wii before a Wii 2 is launched.

Wii Are Still Waiting

This "report"from Play.tm:

Reports filtering in from across the information motorway reveal that Wii stocks are on the up in the UK, with large shipments flooding into starved retailers in the last week or so. News in suggests that the arrival of fresh supplies has already seen Wii sales soar in the charts.

..."Nintendo chose to release quite a large supply of Wii stock last week, meaning that those eager to get their hands on the innovative new system would finally get their wish, thus impacting greatly on the UK charts," read a statement from Chart-Track, compilers of the official UK charts.

Ahem! Middle of the U.S.A. still waiting here...

Wii Still Want to Play

AP:

Nintendo Plans to Boost Wii Production

Friday April 27, 6:22 am ET
By Yuri Kageyama, AP Business Writer

Nintendo President Promises to Boost Wii Production, Increase Deliveries to Meet Shortage

TOKYO (AP) -- Nintendo's president acknowledged Friday that the shortage of the hit Wii game machine was "abnormal," and promised production was being boosted to increase deliveries by next month.

"We must do our best to fix this abnormal lack of stock," Nintendo President Satoru Iwata told reporters. "We have not been able to properly foresee demand."

The comments came a day after the Japanese manufacturer of the Wii -- which comes with a wand that can be used as a sword, tennis racket or fishing rod depending on the game -- reported that sales nearly doubled for the fiscal year, lifted by robust sales of the Wii and the DS portable, a handheld video game.

...The Wii has pummeled its rivals in a head-to-head battle in next-generation video game consoles involving Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 3, which has been plagued with production problems, and Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360.

Iwata refused to disclose the monthly production capacity for the Wii, and said it was too early to say by how much the production was being raised.

But he said efforts were under way to increase production, and more machines will get delivered to stores around the world.

"We will do our best to offer the machine for those who are waiting," he said at a Tokyo hall.

Well it's about bloody time!!!

This Wii wait has been ridiculous. Nobody should have to stand in line at a Toys R Us parking lot at 4 a.m. with a bunch of guys who sustain themselves by selling Wiis on eBay simply for the privilege of getting to play Wii Sports. I should be able to walk into my local Target, hand over $250, and go home happy.

I'm giving Nintendo until the U.S. Open to get enough Wiis to the market to ensure that I'm playing Tiger Woods golf when the pros are playing at Oakmont.

Fore!

I'm not a "gamer" but I do want a Wii.

I realize that not everyone understands my need for, and occasional obsession with the Nintendo Wii (a video game system that I do not yet own). The interest gravitates around my belief that playing a sports video game by acting out the sport can only make the game about a billion times better.

The game that I've wanted to see on the Wii from the beginning was Tiger Woods golf.

Until recently I could only imagine what playing Tiger Woods on the Wii would look like, but now (thanks to the power of YouTube) you can see how to play.



EA Sports has even started running TV ads of the actual Tiger swinging the Wiimote, as if I needed anything else to stir up my excitement about this game and its March release date. In fact, I don't think I've been this excited about a video game since the original World Series Baseball game came out.

I Wii-ly want to play.

Without Wii

Twice I have now been at a Target store where they had at least one PlayStation 3 available for purchase, but at both of those locations (and all the other stores I've visited) there was not a single Nintendo Wii available.

Lame.

How am I going to use Tiger Woods 07 to get ready for the golf season if I can't get my hands on a Wiimote?