Slashdot Mirror
Why You Can't Find a Wii for Christmas
Nintendo is making Wii consoles at a record pace, some 1.8 million a month. Last week they sold 350,000 units. Yes, just last week. And yet, still, it's going to be almost impossible to find a Wii in a store this Christmas. Wired reports that the problem actually began back in August. Summer being the traditional 'dry' season in gaming usually leads to hardware surpluses, but not with Nintendo's console. The result is a holiday season that Nintendo essentially couldn't prepare for. "Demand for Wii is so high, says analyst Michael Pachter, because of all the different types of consumers competing for the units ... it's not just kids who crave Wii. [It's] an especially big hit at retirement homes ... Hard-core gamers, who initially spurned the Wii's lower graphic power compared to the Xbox and PlayStation 3, have changed their tune on the console, thanks to brilliant software like the first-person shooter Metroid Prime 3. And eBay scalpers? They really want Wii." In fact, the only reliable way to get your hands on a Wii is to go that most dubious of routes. Ebay Wii sales are very brisk indeed this week.
You'll be able to find a Wii on Christmas, but not for Christmas.
</grammar-nazi>
Sorry, couldn't help it. I'll be able to find my Wii on Christmas as well!
Self proclaimed typo king, and inventor of the bear destroying coffee table (patent not pending).
Sorry, but I don't get this materialism shit. I like money, I like spending it on things I like but I'm not going to get all hot and bothered if I can't buy something I want because it's out of stock - it isn't that important to me.
Gentoo Linux - another day, another USE flag.
That was the entire point of my post! I was saying, they DONT sell 350k a week, and stating last week's statistic only was misleading as it implies they do.
I think the why is actually important because otherwise you get into a false comparison, which I think you have. The reason why Galaxy isn't selling as well as Halo 3 is simple. People didn't buy their Wii to play Galaxy. They bought it to play Wii Play. Just like people bought the XBox 360 to play Halo (3, 4, et al).
You do realize this is a discussion (meaning, my post, what I replied to, etc...) as to the Wii as a movers of games right? Please consider that when writing things like "false comparision" and the rest of your reply since it's quite obvious you missed that part.