Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler Wii's sold out again?

At this point, I think they can afford to take the risk and BELIEVE their product could keep selling enough to ramp up production more. You're right that it's an excuse, but it's not one I'm willing to let them use. Let's not celebrate the fact that year after year they're unable to give consumers an easy buying experience. They've had plenty of time to adjust their production. How can they really be concerned about a sudden drop-off in demand when their sales have consistently kept pace with their output? It looks like they're going to be the single winner in the console war this generation. No sympathy for winners.

I see them advertised every week at all of the major stores. Heck, even on Black Friday (Sorry, you can't borrow my time machine.) my local Walmart had gotten in 120 of them, and they weren't the "hot" item so it took a while for them to sell, and I don't know if they even sold out of them. I saw them at Target, Toys R Us, Best Buy, and GameStop stores last Friday, and the only place that I was at when they opened was Walmart.

There are a lot of them out there, but here is something to do. Pick up the phone and give a couple places a call. Ask when they expect to get a shipment in, or when there regular shipments come in and then visit or call the store the next morning since they stock the shelves overnight. WIth a few phone calls and a little effort, you should be able to pick one up locally. Otherwise you will have to check the online stores multiple times a day just to see if they marked any more as "in stock" and that will actually start to take up more time and energy than calling the local places.

Good luck!

People are still buying these? Havn't people realized there are only a handful of decent games for this console. Once you start buying the Wii peripherals so you can play the games the Wii ends up being the most expensive console on the market.

I do not think a lot of parents realize the amount of money they will have to invest into the console to keep it up to date for current games that their kids want to play.

Sorry for the rant

Whatever Dr House... You can try to tell me your propaganda, but I'm not listening...

Hey, where can I pick up 3 more Wii remotes, another nun-chuck, a Wii Fit, and a couple of games, oh I'll need the gun thing and some steering wheels too? No problem. What? How much? $527? On top of the $249 for the Wii itself?

Sure! Here's my credit card...
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Seriously though, my family loves it. As long as you pick some good games, you can have a real blast with it. For example, my 9 year old and I have been working our way through Mario Galaxy for months now. So much to do, and planets to revisit. WELL worth the $50. We only have 2 Wii-motes and 2 nun-chucks, but for almost everything we do, that is enough.

I think that all of the console systems are the same with their cost model. Some are more up front (PS3 is still the most expensive), and wireless controllers are all pricey no matter which platform you have. Good games run about $50 (I've seen $60 and $65 games for XBox and PS3 from time to time).

Hardcore console gamers will pay for their PS3 and XBox, but the more family oriented, or casual gamer doesn't want to have a $600 console up front and only 1 controller (like the PS3 was when it first came out). The Wii fit into the group of people who just want to play something fun.

Heck, when we visit our family, we are asked to bring our Wii along (not any more now that they bought their own Wii last weekend), and my 9 year old can play with me (mid-30's) and my parents (in their 60's) all just fine. Throw an XBox or PS3 controller, let alone the game, at my parents that it is Game Over.

For me, if I want to play something a little more "traditional" then I will play it on my PC.

To each their own, I guess.

I agree Nick - there's undoubtedly a market for these thing. They are a ton of fun to play with the family. The great thing is you can pick it up and play without a whole lot of video game experience. Yes, this only applies to a few key games, but that's good enough for me. I've had a ton of fun with mine & my friends and family. Even though we only play it once every couple of months for get-togethers, I'm glad I have it.

If you ever want a game that is cheesy in graphics, but a lot of fun and can make you and your friends to silly things, look at WarioWare Smooth Moves. Let's see some XBox and PS3 fan put their controller on their head for the "Mohawk" move!

Not propaganda, but fact!

I am glad you like your Wii :). It is a good console for children but it is not a "cheaper" alternative to the other consoles out there like we are meant to believe.

I never disagreed with you, thus my post with all of the sarcasm (that I guess you didn't get). Sorry about that.

I would argue, however, that it is far from just a console for "children", and in fact appeals to a MUCH wider audience than the XBox 360 or PS3 (as I stated above). That isn't saying anything bad about those consoles, they have their market. Clearly the Wii has its market too and has outsold XBox and PS3 console combined since it came out.

The Wii is not a gimmick or a fad, and when the Wii 2 (Wow, would that be Wii II with a lot of "i"s at the end) comes out with HD level graphics, you will see more "hard core" games for it. By then, there will be some XBox 720 and PS4 and a lot of people with buy those too. Like I said, the Wii just fits a larger demographic than the stated 25-40 year old male buyer that Microsoft and Sony are targeting (based off of their own words), of course that demographic (25-40 year old males)tends to spend more on games, so it makes business sense to them to target it.

Again, my post about cost was sarcastic. Go back and read it that way and you will see that I meant no disrespect, and was in fact poking fun at Wii owners like myself.

I'll agree the graphics are rather poor compared to the 360 or PS3, but I don't think it is as expensive as you make it sound. How many controllers do most consoles come with? The Fit may be expensive but not really more so than buying Guitar Hero or the pad for DDR for any other console or PC system. The steering wheel is an option for many driving games and is really just designed to be easier to hold than the remote for that type of game; I don't think it is required.

Microsoft and Sony will incorporate motion sensing controllers in their next gen consoles which will make the next gen Wii less of a novelty. I suspect the only main difference/attraction to gamers for the next gen Wii is the use of peripherals (kid friendly games) with their gaming console which seems to be the direction Nintendo is heading. The gap will most certainly close when it comes to worldwide console sales.