Continuing Wii shortage in the US – buy a PS3 or Xbox 360 instead!
Believe it or not, there is talk of a Wii shortage in the US again this Christmas for the third year in a row. Which begs two questions: Why is Nintendo still not supplying the amount of consoles to meet the demand; why the hell aren’t people buying a PS3 or Xbox 360 instead?
It seems as though the Wii has been hard to come by ever since it was released at the end of 2006. The first Christmas was always going to be one where the demand outstripped supply, with the Wii proving massively popular, a popularity that even took Nintendo itself by surprise. But the trend continued over the holiday season last year, with many kids being disappointed on Christmas Day when they found an IOU instead of a Wii under the tree.
While stocks have caught up with the demand in Europe, the US is still experiencing shortfalls. And those shortages are set to continue throughout the 2008 holiday season. GameStop CEO Dan DeMatteo told PC World:
I’ve never seen this type of demand before. I know they’re making more, but we’re still short like everybody else. I think we’ll have a continued shortage this Christmas.
I don’t see a near-term end in sight for Wii shortages, not unless they really ramp up supply. I think they’ve ramped it up 20 percent or so, but Nintendo is fairly cautious by nature. They ramped it up 20 and it’s still evaporating.
So Nintendo has ramped up production but clearly not by a big enough margin to make any difference to the supply and demand issues that currently exist. Is this a purposeful ploy on the part of Nintendo to keep the Wii in the headlines as a much sought-after object of desire?
While it could well be a strategy such as this, I think it much more likely that Nintendo just doesn’t want to up production by any more only to see demand lessen and it get caught out. The Wii may still be dominating the hardware sales every month, but sales are slowly but surely dropping.
Which leads me to the second question of why people just don’t buy a PS3 or Xbox 360 instead if they can’t get their hands on a Wii? I’m not a Wii-hater by any means but the Nintendo Wii does really only offer cheap and cheerful gaming that only really satisfies in short bursts. Dollar for dollar, either of its competitors offers much better value for money.
Buy a PS3 and you get arguably the most powerful dedicated games machine ever built. You also get a Blu-ray player thrown in for all your HD movie needs, as well as some of the most exclusive games of this generation.
Buy an Xbox 360 and you get a solid all-round gaming machine that offers the chance to play some of the best games ever developed. You can also play against people around the world without needing a degree in computing.
So, with the Wii shortage set to continue this Christmas, I urge every parent eager to please their little cherubs to buy a Playstation 3 or Xbox 360 instead. You won’t regret it.
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16 Responses to “Continuing Wii shortage in the US – buy a PS3 or Xbox 360 instead!”
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September 13th, 2008
It seems to be smart business sense to me if they continue to have “shortages” of hardware…. What better publicity can you have by having “we don’t have enough hardware to supply demand”….
This publicity keeps fueling the “it’s cool to have Wii”
Nintendo are on a good thing with Wii and they will fish this lake dry.
September 14th, 2008
Well as Nintendo supply had already caught up with the requirements in Europe, and it’s surely still growing, what’s the point stating that it’s the company’s tactic to see ‘continuous shortage’?
September 14th, 2008
My point was publicity not if it was actually occurring or not…. No need to get yur panties in a twist Vic ??
September 14th, 2008
Can you guys just shut up about Nintendo faking shortages? It wouldn’t serve any good. Face it xbox360 and ps3 lose. Nintendo was smart to use older technology and skip dvd player. Make money on each system sold or lose money? Hmmmmm I wonder which one I would pick if I was a business owner. To wait for profit from games is just following in the footsteps of Sega. I hope to see Sony and Microsoft to lose massive money. By time they even start gaining money Nintendo will have a system with just as good graphics power coming out that they can sell for a profit. Keep your fanboy crap rolling. You guys are just too dumb to realize real business practices. Nintendo can sell system for cheap but then bam they get you on controller cost. They need to lower their overpriced Wii Remote down to 25-30 and nunchuck to 10. This is the main thing I have against them. Oh and possibly help some 3rd party developers actually make a decent game on it.
September 14th, 2008
Blue-ray is a joke. The internet is the future for downloading movies. Not sure why they don’t lower cost since there isn’t a disc involved. Disc formats are obsolete. Sorry to inform you Sony that technology is changing at a faster rate than ever before. The VHS and DVD standards lasted a long time, Blue-ray will not. I have a nice collection of DVDs that I am happy enough with the video quality. I see no need in buying overpriced Blue-ray movies that have just a little better quality. I’ll take my movies on hard format (non dics) in the future. I don’t even care about blue-ray supposedly being scratch resistant nor am I impressed with their holding capacity.
September 14th, 2008
“Which leads me to the second question of why people just don’t buy a PS3 or Xbox 360 instead if they can’t get their hands on a Wii?”
Because the xbox or ps3 are not nearly a comparable alternative for the wii? Believe it or not, many people don’t like the last gen-control-menanics of these consoles. And above of that the wii has many exclusive games and often the best versions of multiplattformgames.
September 14th, 2008
It IS smart business sense, but it’s got nothing with creating fake shortages. The US dollar is LOW. It’s dirt cheap compared to the euro or the yen. When the price tag for the Wii was set, the dollar was so much higher. Think of it this way: in Europe, each Wii costs 250 euros, which is roughly *350* dollars. Even in Canada the Wii is 275 Canadian dollars, with the two dollars almost at parity. The Japanese version (25,000 yen) fetches about 230 dollars without Wii Sports.
Nintendo simply make so much more money selling the Wii anywhere BUT the US.
Of course, raising the price in the states is unthinkable, especially when everyone else is slashing prices like crazy. So the only reasonable alternative is to try and divert as much of the stock that they can produce to other markets.
So you want to know when the Wii shortage will end? When the dollar starts gaining strength in the world market. That’s when.
September 14th, 2008
“Why aren’t people buying a PS3 or XBox 360 instead?”
Because they don’t offer the same thing as a Wii. What kind of question is that?
“We’ve run out of iPhones. Why don’t people just buy RAZR’s instead?”
“We’ve run out of Swiss Army Knives. Why don’t people just buy butter knives instead?”
September 14th, 2008
*sigh* at everyone saying ps3 relies on blu-ray and blu-ray is going to die out.
Last time i was using my ps3, i was watching Die Hard 4 from an avi file. O.o Ps3 has Divx/Xvid codecs….thus ready for digital content. But the blu-ray offers surround sound and sharper pictures . Yeah the prices suck balls but the quality is there. I just need time to watch Stargate: Continuum on blu-ray.
For gaming, the extra storage allows developers to create better quality games. Its like comparing a 320×140 wmv file to a 720p h264 file. The quality is noticeable.
But Wii shortage is a tactic to keep demand = supply. More demand, higher the price. Its simple economics. Besides, Nintendo is making a killing on the pathetic machines. I just CANT wait for the ps3 to bloody get hacked so someone can create a wii emu. (and yes, its possible)
September 14th, 2008
Trurl…. “And above of that the wii has many exclusive games and often the best versions of multiplattformgames.”
What in the world are you talking about? Wii Play? Madden for dummies?
You and Seth are delirious. Seth missed the whole point of the article instead enlightening us with the business course he took in highschool…
I’m sure you’ll both have tons of fun playing Wii Music.
Sigh, Disc formats are obsolete? I thought you yourself owned a “nice collection of DVDs”. But hey, I guess you are right… books are obsolete too and they are pretty scarce nowadays. You obviously haven’t seen HD multimedia running on HD tv.
So before you go running your mouth off, I suggest you actually do some research. Because of buyers like you Nintendo keeps releasing half baked video games with shallow move your arms like a moron controls.
September 15th, 2008
Actually Bert, before *you* mouth off, you should do the research – such as the fact that the market has changed a bit since 2001, and that people have been after the Wii despite shortages since November of 2006.
People *want* the Nintendo Wii for these ‘half-baked games’. Granted, there is a crapton of 3rd party shovelware on Wii, but believe it or not, that’s not what the casuals are buying. They’re going after the Nintendo-made titles like Wario Ware and WiiFit that actually utilized the A team developers over at Nintendo. Games like these are not only fun but addicting, and they appeal to a much wider audience than Halo.
Now, if that makes you feel inferior as a gamer or in some way upsets you, I simply don’t give an explitive. People like you simply can’t understand that people aren’t buying the Xbox 360 or PS3 because they DON’T WANT the Xbox 360 or PS3 – they *want* the Nintendo Wii. Get it through your heads, fanboys, and stop crying that you lost the console war.
Oh, and I totally agree that disc-based formats are on the way out. You totally missed the point of the DVD comment. EVERYONE has a collection of DVDs because they have been the leading movie format since the late 90s. Nobody’s going to rebuy their entire collection in Blu-Ray simply for HD content when they can either a) upscale their DVDs, or b) download HD movies. As broadband speeds and storage capacity solutions increase, optical format usage will decrease. Soon we’ll be watching HD movies on high capcity SD cards through our Ipods or cell phones connected to our TV sets.
September 15th, 2008
Bert do you really think I buy crap games? For one I check out gametrailers.com for user and their reviews. Secondly, I have only bought Mario Kart, Battalion Wars 2, and Super Smash Bros Brawl for the Wii (thinking about getting Metroid Prime 3 when I see the used game value of it drop down cheap). Just because there is a lot of shovel ware on the Wii which reminds me of another system (PS2) doesn’t mean I buy the crap. I have probably spent more money on the virtual console than actual Wii games. I understand you trying to say I contradict myself about saying discs are obsolete when I own a bunch of DVDs. I will first convert them to HD through various methods before going out and buying an entire new format. That option alone is the perfect option while waiting for internet speeds to improve. Is it my fault you are too lazy to just upgrade your old dvds and go out and buy a new format?
September 15th, 2008
The PS3 is a powerful DEDICATED gaming machine? Even you, Mr. Parrack, admit its also for playing bluray movies.
Nintendo needs more room to get production much higher. Had they started builing a new factory when the Wii was released, we wouldn’t have seen the effects yet.
Even then, I will assume the suppliers of the parts could incease production esily, which is unlikely.
People want a Wii. Sony abandoned 100 million PS2 buyers, whi want the Wii. Nintendo loyalists want the Wii. I’m sure some Wii bashers on any site even want the Wii.
September 16th, 2008
LOL The Wii Kicks Butt! I love the Wii.
Now my mom who hates games likes it because she just got into playing The Price is Right on it.
Maybe I will buy her one for X-Mas. There are plenty here in Canada.
September 16th, 2008
let me make it simple. I don’t want a game system that is not reliable. I have a life so I like short quick games. I love my family and enjoy playing with them. I can’t play with a 12 button controller. I hate online chat and gaming with young punks. I do on a ps3 because bluray is a true home theater experience. Online movie downloads are compressed garbage with horrible sound. It is better when rented on the ps3 but comes nowhere near bluray. People want a wii because it fits a need that Sony and microsoft can’t fill. No amount of price cuts can replace simplicity and safe online play for kids and adults. If I need something grown up I have my of.
September 21st, 2008
i didnt saw it in that way, nintendo is doing that because if they say that the wii is in shortage people will think the wii is selling like crazy and think the wii is the good thing now… but i dont believe that shit… i dont even consider the wii be on the console war, i only consider it on the console war because it was released on the same period of time of the ps3 and the xbox 360