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May 22, 2008
Dear CNET members,
Even after a year and a half, the extremely popular Nintendo Wii game console is still very difficult to get your hands on in the U.S. It's short in supply, the demand is still extremely high, and we aren't even in the holiday season! Even if there were a few on the shelves, chances are they will be gone in no time. And if you're lucky enough to come across one in stock, it's usually never sold as a standalone console, but bundled with games and accessories that hike up the price substantially. With the release of Wii Fit (a Nintendo fitness game) just this week, I can only imagine that demand for the Wii is now even higher. Even my father, who is 78 years old and has no clue into the gaming world except for the Wii, asked me if I was going to get Wii Fit so he can try it out. He's considering getting the Wii and Wii Fit to put a little fun into his workouts. Amazing how the Wii has captivated his age group--just incredible!
Now, since the scarcity of Wiis has affected consumer demands, many people have been speculating that Nintendo is purposely creating an artificial shortage of Wiis. After all, it makes perfect business sense--don't saturate the market by releasing all you have; hold some back and keep the demand high to ensure its popularity and allow the buzz to continue to make everyone want one. (OK, not everyone, but you know what I mean!) However, in a recent Crave blog entry titled "The Wii is still sold out!", CNET editor Matthew Moskovciak reported that Wiis are essentially sold out online and when he wrote to Nintendo to question the persistent Wii shortages, Nintendo replied by saying it is doing all it can to keep up with the high demand and is raising production in hopes of addressing the shortages. But seriously, given all this time since its release, don't you think that they should be caught up by now? Do you think Nintendo is intentionally sandbagging inventory to keep demand high? Or do you think Nintendo has really just created a console that has captivated a wide audience from the younger to older generations, that it's just that hot, and that they really can't keep up with production? Maybe there's only a U.S. shortage as many members have mentioned that there are plenty of Wiis in other countries. So read the Crave blog entry, and when you're ready, Wii want to know what you think!
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This week's hot topic:
The Wii is still sold out! Artificial shortage by Nintendo?
In a recent Crave blog entry by CNET editor Matthew Moskovciak titled "The Wii is still sold out!", he reported that Wiis are essentially sold out online. And when he asked if anyone thinks Nintendo is purposely creating an artificial shortage, many of our members chimed in.
"Nintendo has had a sterling quality and reliability reputation for ages." x
"Saying "Nintendo should have been able to deal with this sooner" shows ignorance to a good business model. Nintendo has had a *sterling* quality and reliability reputation for ages. Save for the design flaw in the original NES, most all of my Nintendo products still work like new. Nintendo's quality assurance is unquestionable, and were they to rush getting new lines and..." (Read more)
--Submitted by: CNET member 8bithack
"I personally don't believe it."
"I used to work for a major retailer; the demand is just overwhelming. It didn't matter how many Wiis we received. It was sold out in about an hour, even with shipments of 80 to 120 units. There was always a line outside the store. Do I think Nintendo is holding back production to drive demand--I personally don't believe it. I don't think a video game company of that stature would do..." (Read more)
--Submitted by: CNET member sefuly
"Nintendo is purposefully not giving the U.S. as many consoles"
"I didn't come up with this theory, but I truly believe this is the case, that Nintendo is purposefully not giving the U.S. as many consoles as maybe it should. Instead, it is shipping more over to Europe. This is because of the weak dollar and strong euro. If Japan sells a Wii for 249 euro, the conversion to yen is 40,377. To sell a Wii for $249.99 gives Japan only 25,907 yen, way below..." (Read more)
--Submitted by: CNET member mswete7
"65-year-old parents bought one this weekend"
"I don't think Nintendo is creating a false demand. The problem is that the system is so widely accepted that everyone wants one. For example, my 65-year-old parents who haven't had children living in their house for 12 years, bought a Wii this past weekend..." (Read more)
--Submitted by: CNET member TonyAlto
Speak up!
Now it's your turn to speak up! When do you think the Wii will be in ready supply? Does anyone think Nintendo is purposely creating an artificial shortage? Does anyone have tips for Wii seekers? Tell us what's on your mind!
• Everything about the Nintendo Wii on CNET
• First look at 'Wii Fit'
• Games and gear forum
 Here are some interesting comments members recently submitted
on CNET. Read up on it and chime in with your opinion. Enjoy!
• A keyboard for spies and messy eaters
--Blog submitted by: Mike Yamamoto (CNET News.com)
CNET member Lerianis's response:
"Hey, have you seen what is in the average keyboard? I have, I clean my computer keyboards almost every month because of the crap I get into them, from skin leavings, to food, to a gunk I can't even identify. I would pay for this keyboard, as long as it lasted..."
(Read more)
• What I want from the new iPhone
--Blog submitted by: Kent German (CNET Reviews)
CNET member kingrah1 response:
"I want: 3G, GPS, Tethering, supported 3rd party apps (free--not have to pay for them), (if they don't have an app to use it for a Wi-Fi router i want to be able to jailbreak it), WiMax would be great, high definition would be preferred, ultra high definition video would be unheard of but loved, I also really want a higher quality camera with flash..."
(Read more)
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