Even at $600 the Wii is a must-have gift this season

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Grand Master

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If you can’t track down a Nintendo Wii this holiday season, you’re not alone. Nintendo has not been able to keep up with the demand for its mega-hit console. Now thousands of desperate consumers who can’t find the Wii on store shelves have turned to web outlets like Amazon (AMZN) and eBay (EBAY), where they’re paying a premium to get one.

“We’re seeing an unprecedented demand for a console,” says Billy Pidgeon, a gaming analyst with IDC Research. “This is the killer gift this season. And if you’re lucky enough to get a Wii with Guitar Hero III, that would be the ultimate.”

* Nintendo braces for more Wii shortage

The Wii’s popularity and shortage has not only made it harder to find, but also more expensive to buy than the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3. Since Black Friday, almost 5,000 Wiis were sold at an average price of $420.50 on eBay and some with extra games and controllers have been purchased for more than $600. On Amazon, new Wiis are starting at $490 plus shipping. The console retails for $250. Both Microsoft (MSFT) and Sony (SNE) dropped prices for their consoles to boost sales this year. Microsoft lowered its entry-level 360 by $50 to $349 while the PS3’s low-end line retails for $399.

“Price alone won’t move hardware,” says John Taylor of Arcadia Research. “This isn’t about price or what’s available, but what people are willing to play.”

The Wii’s fun factor has made it a hit among the mass market compared to its more technologically-advanced rivals. The Wii uses a controller that requires players to simulate swings and punches to play video games. “Clearly, consumers place a higher value on accessible, fun games such as Wii Sports or Carnival than on high-definition graphics and leading-edge processing power,” says Lazard Capital analyst Colin Sebastian.

Though Nintendo increased production by 80 percent since its November 2006 launch, executives warned in October to expect a holiday shortage. Last week the company sold 350,000 Wiis, which gave Nintendo its highest one-week U.S. sales total since the console was released. Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime said that the company would not be able to keep up with demand until “early next year.”

“The challenge is in demand, not supply,” Fils-Aime told Fortune in October. “We planned optimistically for the launch, but no one could have foreseen how much more popular Wii would be than any other system in memory.”

Taylor says the best way to find a Wii without paying above retail is to contact store managers at gaming shops like GameStop (GME) or box retailers like Wal-Mart (WMT) and Best Buy (BBY) early in the week. “You want to call on a Tuesday or Wednesday and find out when the new Wiis are coming in,” he says. “Usually new games arrive on the trucks Monday night or Tuesday. If you wait to the weekend, you’ll find those shelves empty.”

Source: http://techland.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2007...ft-this-season/

Absolutely f'ing silly paying $600+.

Wait till these idiots find out if they're willing to spend that kinda money the 360/PS3 is the better route to go down.

You could probably buy a PS3 AND a 360 for just over the $600 mark :|

Get little Johnny a 360/PS3 for xmas and get the damn Wii early next year when it can be purchased for it's NORMAL price if he still wants it - Let him play it at anyone of his 900 mates houses who probably got one for xmas.

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Grand Master

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Your opinion is that the PS3 or 360 is the better route. For the majority of people buying the Wii, it's not. The Wii represents what they want; a quick, casual fix.

Joel im talking when you spend $600.... A quick "casual" fix for $600? Plain stupid.

There is no way to justify spending that on a $249 system or w/e it is.

If you're going to shell that amount out on consoles buy a 360/PS3 for this xmas and then buy a Wii when you can get it for $249.

I know its my opinion as well... but im sure its one favoured by the majority of level headed buyers.

Get another gaming console for xmas, or just don't buy a console at all, and hold onto your cash till Wii's can be picked up at a normal price.

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Nicholas-c Veteran

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in UK its selling ?300/?400 a piece which i find stupid, its more expensive than the PS3 and 360, the problem is.. everyone still wants the wii, when they can get the better [in my eyes] consoles, everyone i know who is gamer and my boss at work all dont use there wii's so it will be the same with everyone who gets one for xmas, sales will stop when everyone gets bored and then sony and microsoft will strike back...

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Joel

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Joel im talking when you spend $600.... A quick "casual" fix for $600? Plain stupid.

There is no way to justify spending that on a $249 system or w/e it is.

If you're going to shell that amount out on consoles buy a 360/PS3 for this xmas and then buy a Wii when you can get it for $249.

I know its my opinion as well... but im sure its one favoured by the majority of level headed buyers.

Get another gaming console for xmas, or just don't buy a console at all, and hold onto your cash till Wii's can be picked up at a normal price.

So you also thought anyone paying over retail for a PS3 at launch was a fool, right?

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Sheppard

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So you also thought anyone paying over retail for a PS3 at launch was a fool, right?

The PS3 isnt a casual gamers console, $600 for the odd Nintendo 1st party title which are few and far between and a load of minigame games is ridiculous, the PS3 is a hardcore gamers console like the 360.

Not to mention Sony and Microsoft had sorted their supply problem by 6 months into the consoles life.

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wst50

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The PS3 isnt a casual gamers console, $600 for the odd Nintendo 1st party title which are few and far between and a load of minigame games is ridiculous, the PS3 is a hardcore gamers console like the 360.

Not to mention Sony and Microsoft had sorted their supply problem by 6 months into the consoles life.

Demand for the ps3 was abysmal though, and the x360 was getting lots of bad publicity over RRoD, so less people bought those.

Thing is, the Wii is a winning concept there, people want to have casual games that are fun, not serious 'hardcore' games which take a long time to get into. It opened up gaming to a whole new market of luddites and no-one could have foretold such major demand for it, based on numbers.

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Grand Master

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So you also thought anyone paying over retail for a PS3 at launch was a fool, right?

Yes I did.

Does that surprise you?

*sigh*... Don't even know why you had to ask that question in the first place when it's obvious how I feel.... :ermm:

Paying slightly more, for example $10-50 more is reasonable if you're stretched and determined to get your console... but $350 more? Thats more than TWO TIMES the original cost.

If you try and defend that, I don't know what's going on in your head as a consumer.

This isn't a 360/PS3 vs Wii issue... it's a cost issue, and being more sensible with your money.

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Joel

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The PS3 isnt a casual gamers console, $600 for the odd Nintendo 1st party title which are few and far between and a load of minigame games is ridiculous, the PS3 is a hardcore gamers console like the 360.

Not to mention Sony and Microsoft had sorted their supply problem by 6 months into the consoles life.

So it's OK to pay $1200 for a $600 unit because it's 'hardcore'? Interesting logic.

Nintendo's problems with supply isn't really a problem so much as a lack of anticipation. They've sold the most and people still snap them up as soon as they arrive at stores. That's not the case with the PS3 and 360.

Yes I did.

Does that surprise you?

*sigh*... Don't even know why you had to ask that question in the first place when it's obvious how I feel.... :ermm:

Paying slightly more, for example $10-50 more is reasonable if you're stretched and determined to get your console... but $350 more? Thats more than TWO TIMES the original cost.

If you try and defend that, I don't know what's going on in your head as a consumer.

This isn't a 360/PS3 vs Wii issue... it's a cost issue, and being more sensible with your money.

It costs less to pay twice the price for a Wii than twice the price for a PS3 or 360. As a consumer, you pay what you're prepared to pay.

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Grand Master

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It costs less to pay twice the price for a Wii than twice the price for a PS3 or 360. As a consumer, you pay what you're prepared to pay.

Bit of a daft comparison :/

You DON'T HAVE to pay twice for a PS3/360.

You have to pay UP TO around twice the cost of the Wii in some cases.

I know you pay what you're prepared to, but it's down right stupidity to pay like $600 instead of holding fire for a few months.... and as I suggested if you really want a games console for xmas for yourself/children buy something else, even a DS!!!

I'm not backing down on this, I think it's ludicrous people are paying/charging costs such as $600 or there abouts for a Wii.

It is simply NOT WORTH that sort of money. Ultimately though if you want to blow $600 thats up to you (N)

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Joel

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Bit of a daft comparison :/

You DON'T HAVE to pay twice for a PS3/360.

You have to pay UP TO around twice the cost of the Wii in some cases.

I know you pay what you're prepared to, but it's down right stupidity to pay like $600 instead of holding fire for a few months.... and as I suggested if you really want a games console for xmas for yourself/children buy something else, even a DS!!!

I'm not backing down on this, I think it's ludicrous people are paying/charging costs such as $600 or there abouts for a Wii.

It is simply NOT WORTH that sort of money. Ultimately though if you want to blow $600 thats up to you (N)

The PS3 wasn't worth the suggested retail at launch. People argued it was a more than fair price.

You don't HAVE to pay $600 for a Wii, either. ;)

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Grand Master

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The PS3 wasn't worth the suggested retail at launch. People argued it was a more than fair price.

You don't HAVE to pay $600 for a Wii, either. ;)

Yup, I totally agree. My comments go out to those who DO end up spending waaaay over the odds.

The PS3 for myself was too expensive at launch, but ultimately its up to yourself what you want to spend on a console, and as long as you're buying it at the RRP or cheaper I won't kick up a fuss.

It's when people start spending more than needed I snap into "value" mode :laugh:

As I said I appreciate at Christmas certain things can be hard to get and you might spend 5-10% over the RRP to get your console (or more in a value games bundle), but spending more than 100% more on your product is downright silly.

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PiracyX

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The Wii isn't even worth its ?180/$249 pricetag. Anyone who is playing over the odds to get one is really sad. I feel i have been ripped off just buy paying the RRP!!!

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ctebah

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The Wii isn't even worth its ?180/$249 pricetag.> Anyone who is playing over the odds to get one is really sad. I feel i have been ripped off just buy paying the RRP!!!

I disagree. Wii is really fun to play, it's different than anything else out there. Is it better, or worse? That's up to people owning one to decide. Sitting around a buddy's house, playing Mario Party and drinking, well not many things beat that.

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PermaSt0ne

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I disagree. Wii is really fun to play, it's different than anything else out there. Is it better, or worse? That's up to people owning one to decide. Sitting around a buddy's house, playing Mario Party and drinking, well not many things beat that.

drinking w/ friends + wii = a halluva fun night :D

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Julius Caro

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Those of you that disregard the Wii as a "casual" "novelty" thing are no different than those elitist apple fanboys that think that the vast majority of people are not cool enough to own macs, or those die hard linux people that think that linux is the real deal but should never be "mainstream".

Video games are there to entertain. The reason why Nintendo is totally kicking ass with both DS and Wii is because they are different. The 360 and the PS3 are nothing but beefed up versions of the original super successful playstation.

It's a matter of choice. And the people right now choose the Wii.

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The Laughing Man

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Wow, $600 thats insane Last year when I worked at Circuit City I won a WII during one of those in store meeting things I had a winning raffle ticket and I won, 2 weeks before it came out, I had it less than 30 min.. and sold it.

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Pharos

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Since November of last year I have NEVER seen a Wii in stock during my visits to the electronics stores, malls, game stores, etc. This is truly UNBELIEAVABLE, I believe I have never seen anything quite like that! Good job Nintendo :)

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Joel

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$600?

Who the **** would be that crazy to waste their money like that?

Any video game system is a 'waste' of money. Some are just more of a waste than others, and for the large majority of buyers it doesn't seem that the Wii is the waste. Casual gamers don't spend 20 hours a day on their system, so it suits them perfectly.

Since November of last year I have NEVER seen a Wii in stock during my visits to the electronics stores, malls, game stores, etc. This is truly UNBELIEAVABLE, I believe I have never seen anything quite like that! Good job Nintendo :)

I've seen them occasionally, but in outlying regions.

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