2008? 2010? A January to be named later?

Actually, given how hard they are to get, this is probably a Very Good THing (tm) for most people.

You have to pay full price before receiving the product at some later, unspecified date? I understand requiring a deposit, but not this is a bit excessive.

Could I take home a Wii and tell Gamestop I'm experiencing a money shortage that won't be fixed until sometime next month? Is this a one way street?

And what happens when they oversell and come "sometime in January" you don't get a Wii, but instead a letter from Gamestop claiming that they're "taking it very seriously..."?

Or you can make an effort, and visit your local games store for 2 weeks in a row on openings. You're pretty much guaranteed to get a wii then.

i cant wait for the "gamestop lied to me! its june and i dont have my wii yet!" posts

@pine22: Hahaha... Gamestop. Do they even carry inventory anymore, or do you just have to go in, order (and PAY for) something, and come back every Sunday for the next umpteen months until they get around to carrying it?

Like ChouChou, I got a Wii in under two weeks after deciding to cave in to the pressure, and all it took was a little regularly scheduled asking around (especially stores not advertising "we have wii"). It's not that hard.

Umm... NO!

Yeah, you can get it sometime in january, when the rush is over and any schmuck should just be able to waltz in and buy it on the spot.

Give your kid 250 bucks instead.

The rush that's been going on all year, that's going to suddenly end in January?

So now we're going to have to stand in line waiting for Gamestop to open so we can get a raincheck before they run out?

I can't wait to buy a raincheck of a raincheck for a Wii.

At this point, I approve of anything that'll make eBay resellers have to get a real job.

I envision the start of a brand new Wii raincheck market starting up on eBay.

I have a friend who works at a local Gamestop and he says that at his store more than half of the Wiis they get in are "sold" in a profit-splitting arrangement to people they know who immediately put them up on eBay. If Nintendo was seriously concerned about getting Wiis in people hands they would reign in their retailers and discourage price gouging with all the bundling going on.

I don't understand what's going on. Several months ago, my middle-aged parents simply walked into a nearby Target and bought a Wii. No rainchecks, no waiting lists, no calling in advance -- definitely no Ebay.

It looks like Gamestop wants to book the sales for the end of the fiscal year without actually selling the merchandise (or having any on order). They won't show it as a cost, but they'll be able to book the sale. Maybe they'll order your Wiis "sometime" in the 1st quarter of FY2008.

Any fools who do this will get a refund of their "certificate" in sometime in May (31st) and Gamestop will have your money to invest in interest bearing accounts for at least 1 quarter. That's right -- YOUR money -- which you won't have because you bought that "certificate for a Wii."

That's quite a scheme they got there!

My brother has a wii that's sat unused for months. Stupidest gaming system ever.

@Zombietime: That's going to happen a lot come Jan. or Feb. But in the meantime because of the annual Christmas frenzy over the hot "gift of the year" the circus continues. And probably most of the recipients of the Wii don't even know why they are "wanting" it - only that if it's hard to get they have to have one. Nintendo's "just in time" productivity rule always creates this type of thing - they even announce it in advance just so the frenzy gets a little head start - err, I mean so people will know the "truth". People who really want one and know why they want one and maybe will really play it will be able to get one fairly easily at the regular pricew in 2008 just like they could have back last spring and summer.

I lucked out and got one this morning from the local Fred Meyer's. They had a whopping 3 in their shipment. As it worked out, there were three of us waiting at the door when they opened.

One guy was mailing it to a buddy of his back in Colorado (I'm in Oregon), and the other was a game tester for the Atari. Made for a fun chat early in the morning.

@Zombietime: What a wonderful and informative post.
Sorry you don't like it, but 13 million people seem to disagree with you, so Nintendo is crying all the way to the bank.
Why not put it on eBay if you don't like it? Or sell it right outside GameSnot?

Also, another opportunity for conspiracy theory™ posters to bash Nintendo for creating demand.
If something is selling as soon as you ship it, why would you not be doing everything you could to ship more?
These aren't widgets (or bose)... you can't just throw a switch and double your production.

They're not that hard to get if you really want one (hint...Sunday mornings).

And if you don't like it fine, but we don't need another post stating that and only that.

Nintendo claimed they were going to rev up production about 8 months ago. Guess what, monthly sales in units did not grow. Now, in the month of November they've sold twice the amount of systems compared to previous months. Sorry but it does not take over 6 months to convert another building wing into a production line and if you think it does, then you know nothing about manufacturing.

You gotta love this quote from Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime: "We expect this to be a great way for consumers who desperately want a Wii to have something to put under the tree,"

[www.msnbc.msn.com]

Because Nothing says Merry Christmas like an IOU.
Conspiracy? who knows? Idiocy? Absolutely!!

@shades_of_blue: Where did I say anything about converting a building wing to increase production?
Do you work for Nintendo or have the plans for all of their manufacturing facilities worldwide to even say they have the capabilities to do this?
Or was this just a swipe at your perception of my lack of manufacturing knowledge to make yourself seem somehow smarter or better?

I have worked in manufacturing longer than you might think. What part of 'these are not widgets' are you having problems with?
These are somewhat complicated electronic devices NOT BRICKS. You can't just buy more molds to ramp up production. You have to increase the flow in the ENTIRE SUPPLY CHAIN in order to increase production, not to mention bringing in more equipment and/or staff.

You want to know who holds back on finished goods to increase demand, you need to look at Sony and Microsoft.

But if I keep my money, the Wii will be all over the place in January anyway and I can get one then. Maybe with a bonus game deal or something to get me to shop at whichever store wants to sell it to me the most.
So... I think I'll just hold onto my $250.00.
But thanks for thinking of me.

Sometime in January, huh? That's real generous seeing as you'll probably be able to pick one up in a Rite-Aid by then.