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Wii demand still outpaces supply
Wii demand still outpaces supply
CNN - July 2, 2007
Submitted by Butterball (1049) at 7:43AM PST on July 3, 2007
By 9 a.m., the line outside Manhattan's Nintendo World store was snaking down the block.
The Nintendo World store in New York's Rockefeller Center usually sells out of Wiis as soon as they get them.
More than 100 hopeful Wii owners came from as far as New Jersey -- some as early as 6 a.m. with kids and grandparents in tow -- to get their hands on the gaming console best known for its wireless, motion-sensitive controller.
It's been more than seven months since Nintendo launched the Wii, but the consoles are selling so well that supply still hasn't caught up with demand. You can get one, sure, but be prepared to call around and arrive promptly when the shipments do.
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5pilias_simber posted on Wii (Wii) at 9:18AM PST on July 3, 2007. RE: Wii demand still outpaces supply@charron,
Honestly I don't think it's serving as a backlash beyond a couple little snipes PS3 and 360 fanboys send at the Wii.
From what I hear from the general public, the impression of the Wii continues to be very positive and the lack of supply still seems to build on the hype for the system. Everyone still seems to want one and Word of Mouth advertising still continues to spread, increasing demand.
As far as this being unprecedented, YES it is. The PS2 and the 360 both had supply problems, but neither lasted for this long, by the time the summer after launch came along, sales slowed as demand was finally satisfied, and then it settled into the typical buying patterns for consoles, high in 3rd, 4th quarter, then slows from 1st to 2nd quarter.
To continue to sell out completely 9-10 months after launch has never happened before, and part of the problem was Nintendo failing to anticipate just how popular the Wii would be, they are working to correct it but so far I don't think their production is high enough to satisfy demand this year.
I expect the Wii to be the hot item this Christmas season, AKA the "Tickle Me Elmo" of Christmas 07.[ Oracle ] [ Level 22 ] [ Rank: 122 ]bids
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2This is the article I referred to earlier. Thanks for finding it.
My memory is shaky, but is it fair to call this "unprecedented"? I know the PS2 and 360 had supply issues in their early months, but did it go on this long?
And does anyone suspect a potential backlash of customer opinion? I'm sure there's still those who see this as an intentional, hype-building scheme on Nintendo's part, even though I greatly doubt that's the case. People are generally slow to change initial impressions, so perhaps this will all work against Nintendo in the long run.[ Oracle ] [ Level 21 ] [ Rank: 290 ]bids
1By 9 a.m., the line outside Manhattan's Nintendo World store was snaking down the block. The Nintendo World store in New York's Rockefeller Center usually sells out of Wiis as soon as they get them. More than 100 hopeful Wii owners came from as far as New Jersey -- some as early as 6 a.m. with kids and grandparents in tow -- to get their hands on the gaming console best known for its wireless, motion-sensitive controller. It's been more than seven months since Nintendo launched the Wii, but the consoles are selling so well that supply still hasn't caught up with demand. You can get one, sure, but be prepared to call around and arrive promptly when the shipments do.[ Elite ] [ Level 11 ] [ Rank: 1049 ]
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True. I should probably start getting opinions on the industry from non-gamers. Stuck in a bit of an echo chamber here. :)
The whole consistent sales is very notable, since I don't think that's happened to any console in any capacity- either supply picks up quick enough to settle things down, or the natural buying sweep at Christmas picks up a lagging console.
On that note, I'd laugh if the Wii winds up being the must-have toy of Christmas '07. Only because it would have been out for over a year by that point.