Q&A: Wii shortages.

Wii consoles Here is an interview done by David Fife, about the Wii shortage problem.

Q: Having planned ahead and purchased my Wii in September, I have sympathy for those suffering at the hands of unscrupulous retailers. Does anyone know if there is a similar shortage of Wii games?

As far as we are aware there are currently no problems in purchasing Wii software titles. Some retailers may experience very minor shortages of in-demand titles, but overall there is a healthy supply of software in the market.

Q: We ordered a Wii from Next for home delivery in early September and were quoted three weeks’ delivery time. We are still waiting. Next have not been good at keeping us informed as to what the current situation is.
Kenny Millar, Kirkintilloch, Scotland

Unfortunately I can’t comment on your problems with Next directly, but it is an issue you should raise with their customer service team as soon as possible. Next do not deal directly with Nintendo, they purchase their stock via an independent distributor.

Q: I ordered a Wii mid-October for my son. The retailer now cannot guarantee delivery for Christmas. I’ve seen prices for Wii sports starting at £369. I am disgusted at those who are cashing in on the shortage and angry at Nintendo. I wonder if Nintendo have done this on purpose to push up prices.
Michelle, Cupar, Fife, Scotland

The video games market is a fiercely competitive one and it is not in our interest to withhold stock from anyone. It is illegal for manufacturers to set prices for their products or engage in activity that artificially raises prices.

Retailers ultimately set the price. Unlike traditional video game products, Nintendo Wii is selling well all year round and to an audience outside of the traditional gaming market. This has resulted in high demand all year for Wii.

Wii is the fastest ever console to reach one million units in the history of the UK games market – in just 38 weeks.

Q: I ordered a Wii from Woolworths online back in September. The Wii did not arrive. It took me over two months to get a refund. I registered with Wii-consoles.co.uk and was delighted when they sent me an e-mail saying John Lewis had them. But the John Lewis website showed none available. I am not happy at all.
Tracey, County Antrim, Northern Ireland

The best thing to do in order to make sure you get a console is to visit a tried-and-trusted High Street and online retailer and ask them to add you to any waiting lists they have. They will then ring you when stock arrives to ensure that you get hold of one.

Playing the WiiQ: Nintendo have also realized that they are able to maintain the price of the Wii if there is a “shortage”. I work for a High Street company and were taking names for the console, which we now only sell as a bundle. We took about 70 names in two to three weeks!
Chris Jones, St Albans, Hertfordshire

It is illegal for any manufacturer to both set a selling price and artificially inflate the price of their products. Retailers decide at what price to sell products. Nintendo do not create these bundles, these are created at store level by retailers.

Q: I advise people to use European web sites, pricerunner.de for example. If you are confused just give the shop a call and you will be amazed how many people can speak English when it comes to selling something. A simple two-pin adapter is all that is needed. Warranties are also available EU wide.
Guy, Helsinki, Finland

You are quite correct and within your rights to purchase any item within the European Economic Area for shipment to any other country in the EEA. Your warranty is still valid anywhere in the EEA if the product was bought from any EEA member country.

Recent newspaper articles have talked about buying products from the US and other non-EEA countries. There are several pitfalls to be aware of:

- You are no longer covered under warranty.
- Products from the US and Japan are not designed to run on the UK 240-volts mains supply and you risk damaging your product and hurting yourself.
- Home console games are region coded, like DVDs. This means you will not be able to play any UK-purchased software on a US machine.



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  • PaulT

    I’m getting tired of these idiots with their conspiracy theories about Nintendo withholding stock to raise demand or prices. How, exactly, can a console be the fastest selling console in history if the demand for the console is created by not selling the console to anyone?

    The advice for these people – not “the best” advice, but *the only* advice – is to do what I did to get my Wii back in March. Go to a retailer who you trust and get them to put you on their waiting list. Check back with them periodically until they have stock for you to collect. Enjoy your Wii. That’s it – if you’re buying from overseas, at the last minute or from a f*ing clothes shop (Next), then you’re going to run into problems.

  • http://www.xanga.com/relaxing_roth Roth

    Why don’t people look at the smaller stores rather than the obvious electronic stores. I was surprised when I found 3 Wii boxes at a nearby Hollywood video store. Tip: Try looking in stores where not a lot of people really go to. Don’t forget the little stores in the plazas. You’ll never know what treasures you’ll find at those places. Happy Wii hunting! \:D/

    // Roth

  • BG

    I ordered a Wii from Shopto.net yesterday and it arrived today.

  • kevbo

    It sounds like a lot of lazy people getting angry because their lazy. Its not that hard people, call the store and ask them what day of the week they get new shipments. Then get off your ass and go to the store on shipment day…. sheesh

  • Chrizer

    I was looking for my Wii for at least 5 months in Belgium. It was sold out in every store. Once a shipment arrived (max. 5 pieces a month for a hughe store…)it was sold out in just a few minutes…
    And suddenly at a giant store (Saturn) there was one Wii laying on the shelf… a consumer brought the device back because he could not get the internet connection running… and I bought it…and it is running fantastic. My kids love it. They are 6 and 8 and the Wii is the only game console I want them to play with because I don’t want hypnotized, addicted and paralized kids in front of the TV.