Slashdot Mirror
Where are Wii?
WirePosted writes "Santa is in trouble, it looks like supplying the Christmas need for a Nintendo Wii game console is in jeopardy as stocks wither under constant and heavy demand. Conspiracy believers suggest this is an orchestrated move on behalf of Nintendo." Since this happens to be what I want for Christmas, I hope they work it out, or my loving wife has already found one.
Every time the Wii shortage comes up on the dot, there are people who say they are easy to get. And maybe in certain locales that is true. But when even my local paper notices people hanging out at stores, following the UPS guy and such - I think it is safe to say that these little suckers are difficult to attain in many places. Reggie Fils Aimes has publicly said they wont meet demand through the holidays. And I don't think he'd be saying that if there were any chance of them ramping up production any further.
It's hard to believe that's how Micronians are made. Why don't we see it right now by having you both kiss one another?
It's not like Wiis are that cheap to begin with, at least not the way most people set them up.
Wii - $250
Wii Play w/Wiimote - $50
Two more Wiimotes - $80
An extra Nunchuk - $20
Component Video Cable - $20
And you're at $420 without buying any meaningful games, at regular retail price.
Sort of.
I am nearly your exact config (just add 2 classic controllers). But it probably took me 6 months before I had 4 Wii Remotes. (Although I actually had my "1st" Wii Remote, component cable, and spare nunchuk a full 4 months before I actually managed to get the Wii.
[At launch even the accessories were impossible to get, so I grabbed what I could, when I could.]
But while that might be how MANY Wii's end up, you can put a $300 box under the tree, if that's your budget, and still have something entertaining. If your buying it for someone over 15 they can accessorize it themselves.
That budget factor important to a lot of people. You can always add the other stuff later. And you definitely don't -need- 4 wii remotes on day one.
I'd say most people spring for a 2nd wii remote via Wii Play pretty quick, but it can take a while before they add more / finish it up. My parents, for example, got a Wii in the summer; and have added a second wii remote (wii play) and nunchuk, but that's it. They haven't bothered with the component cable either (their 32" TV can take component, but its SD, and for them its just not a priority. I doubt they are even really aware that they could upgrade the cable.)
Beyond that, I just don't buy the argument that a 360 or a PS3 is a true competitor to the Wii. People who buy the Wii want it for the innovative game play, and nothing else satisfies that demand.
Yeah, a BIG part of the market for the Wii only is interested in the Wii. For people who ultimately want both a Wii and either an xbox or ps3 (or all three) are going to get one of the other two, but yeah, a big part of the market just has no interest in the other two consoles.
My parents again, haven't got the slightest interest in either the xbox or ps3, at any price.
Craig's list!
Set up their RSS feeds and watch it. I got 2 Wiis for UNDER cost. One was from a kid bored with it selling it for a new BMX bike. No box, but everything was there plus 3-4 extra games $250 cash. Cheaper than if taxed in Illinois.
The second one... was an amazing find.
Wii
2 Full controllers (Not 4 controllers!!!! 2 nunchucks + 2 controllers as advertised everywhere else)
5 games
Rechargeable battery packs AND charger.
Component video.
All for $300. Foreign student moving back to his homeland. I e-mailed him with in 10 minutes of it being listed. I haven't added everything up but it looks like $450 worth of stuff no tax for $300.
One's going to my brother one I'm keeping.
This in the same are that I can't find one at any walmart anywhere. Where I've seen people selling them on Craig's list for
$600 with
4 controllers [sic] (2 controllers 2 nunchucks]
10 games [Wii sports + Wii Play added together]
etc.
For kicks I setup an auction exactly like the one I bought, in downtown chicago, same price.
5 e-mails in 6 hours.
The thing driving up prices is everyone seeing the prices being driven up which when they get their, they list it for $10 more...
I'd suggest these stores instate a "no returns" policy on gaming consoles, or tack on a fat restocking fee (like 30%), at least during the holiday season - anything to deter the bottom-feeders who are openly abusing the store's (supposed) goodwill return policy.
I tried a little experiment last week, I posted a (fake) Wii for sale on a local board. Within minutes I had a dozen replies offering $400-450 (retail price is ~$300 Canadian tax-in). Using their email addys, I looked them up on the sale boards and realized they were all resellers tacking on another $100 and re-flipping Wiis.
At that point I was EXTREMELY tempted to lure them to a remote area and beat them senseless with a Colecovision.
Sure, Christmas is little more than a sales event (sorry, Jesus freaks!), but this is just outright hateful greed.
-Billco, Fnarg.com
As someone who was "lucky" enough to be working at a Toys R Us during its launch last year (I say lucky because while I most certainly would not have been able to find one if I weren't there to make a reservation, it's hard to think of even the best game system being worth getting paid minimum wage to work in that festering shithole), and got one on day one, I hate these people with a passion. Are we really such greedy bastards? I don't even SELL my games. I don't sell books when I'm done with them, even if I'm not likely to read them again. I don't sell movies. These are experiences I've had, and I keep them as at the least a reminder of good times and fantasy worlds I can use for a little needed escapism.
Let's face it. Video games are GAMES. Their only real purpose, in my opinion, is to be fun. Yes, they can improve hand-eye coordination, make us better/worse readers (depending on what games you play. I have a hard time believing RPGs that are 3/4 text make us worse readers than people who guzzle down trashy romance novels), provide an outlet for stress, etc. but they're still just GAMES. Where's the love of playing the game? Where's the FUN? Have we, as a society, lost the ability to just DO something for the sake of doing it, without thinking of ways to make a buck off of it? (The correct answer is: Yes. Yes we have.) I mean, obviously Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft want to make a profit. But that's business. But getting a Wii. That's gaming.
Guys its really not a big deal. It's a video game system. I hate it when people say things like this, but if a 15-20% extra cost is enough to keep you from buying a console that only costs perhaps 1% of the average US household income, that you supposedly want so badly, badly enough to fuss on the internet about, then you probably don't need to be buying it in the first place, and don't need to be trolling the internet about it either. The time you saved not standing outside the store when the console launched, the time you chose to spend working or with your family or something, was the price of that Wii you want oh-so-badly. Everything has a price, and the fussers made their decision. But they want to have their cake, and eat it too, and are angry they can't. This is the real sad story, not that people are smart investors.
So the people that didn't want to spend 4 hours outside Gamestop on launch morning could have spent 4 hours investigating a smart stock to purchase, such as an Asian index fund (most of which are making 20+%/year). Take that $250 you stashed away a year ago when you knew the Wii was coming out, that you were planning on spending on a Wii, and stick it in that index fund (as soon as you knew you wanted to buy the Wii), make your 20%, and pay the 20% premium is currently costs to get a Wii off the people who are calling the stores and standing outside to buy Wii's to resell. If you don't like the chance of losing money on the stock market, then honestly you should have come up with a different idea or just gone out to the store and waited a couple hours to buy the darn console. You don't have control over losing money on the stock market, but you do have control over getting yourself a Wii. If that chance is in danger, just plan to show up earlier until that danger goes away.
So basically what I'm saying is everybody that wanted a Wii had a chance to get one, and the people that want one still and don't have one made their opportunity cost decision to spend time at work/asleep when they could have been out to get the Wii, and now that they're unhappy the only real person/thing they can legitimately be angry with/about is themselves for not making the right decision that they knew they should have. Besides, there are much more important things in life to spend time contemplating about than not having a Wii, such as what you could be doing differently at home so that you don't have the headache again this year you got last year on December 25 when your child found out he doesn't have his Wii; or why an extra $30 is so out of your budget that you suddenly can't afford a Wii. Seriously, just go do some manual labor or work at McD for 8hr * $5.15 to make up the premium to having a Wii! Yes, working at McD sucks, much more than standing in line with some friends at 4am to buy a console. Yes, I worked at McD for a year a worked manual labor for several months, so I'm not just saying it; I'm just giving an example of a very simple, no commitment way of making up the extra $30 that I saw Wii's cost on ebay just a few weeks ago.