The Wii Shortage

[Bond]

What do you guys think about the Wii shortage? Is it real or is it being manufactured by Nintendo to keep consumers talking about the shortage as opposed to the Wii's less than stellar game lineup?

I have to believe that any competent company would be able to increase the production of an electronic in a year.

[BreakABone]

I've always been a fan of this argument that Nintendo is purposely creating a shortage so that people will continue to buy it.

No one ever looks at the fact that Nintendo for the most part is outselling the competition atleast two to one on a global scale, and have increased production I believe at least twice this year.

Just look at the US monthly totals, started off at around 300k then 400k and now sits around 500k.

One is to assume they are holding back consoles for Oct, Nov, Dec and I would also figure Feb at this point with Smash, but other than that I don't believe it's an artifical shortage. I think people just want to find a reason why it continues to sell at a rocketing pace. I believe, it's tracking just behind the Ps2 as fastest selling console on a global sense, but ahead of it in the same time frame.

And I never get the issue with the Wii's game line up. Other than the fact that it has a lot of crap on it, there are some really good games in that lineup.

I believe 4 system sellers in Zelda, Prime 3, Wii Sports and RE 4.

And more to come in the months including the game to get Mario Galaxy.

There are really good games like Super Paper Mario, Sonic and the Secret Rings, Rayman Ravinf Rabbids, Wario Ware, Tony Hawk Downhill Jam, Super Mario Strikers Charged, Zack and Wiki, Battalion Wars 2 and think that's it.

Then there are improved or different ports such as Godfather Wii (which I feel is the best version), Tiger woods, Madden 08 and Scarface.

[Dylflon]

I bought my Wii last summer in preparation for Smash Bros.


Oh yes. My day will come.

[Jason1]

At first I defended them, you know, few people expected it to sell as well as it did. But now, theres no excuse really. They shouldve ramped up production a long time ago.

[bobcat]

it's a marketing strategy.........and it's not fair on the people who don't have one.....but I have one so i don't care

[manasecret]

I keep hearing about Wii shortages, but always from people who already own the console or from people who don't want it. I have yet to hear that from someone who is actually looking for one. I'm not saying it's not true, just suggesting the "shortage" may be overblown, and that it's probably pretty easy to buy one if you look around a bit.

And apparently they HAVE ramped up production, to 1.8 million units a month.

Nintendo Raises Wii Output, Will Boost Revenue With China Sales
By Hiroshi Suzuki

Oct. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Nintendo Co. said it raised production of the Wii player by 80 percent during the fiscal second quarter to bolster revenue in Europe, and will further expand sales by selling the console in China next year.

Nintendo, the world's largest maker of handheld game players, plans to keep monthly production at 1.8 million Wii consoles, after boosting the output during the three months ended June 30, President Satoru Iwata said at a briefing in Tokyo today. The console will also be sold in Korea from next year, Iwata said.

The Wii lured buyers with a controller that replicates users' movements on screen, helping the player outsell Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 3 console by about three to one, according to researcher Enterbrain Inc. The company today said it plans to introduce more features such as an online television guide on the Wii to attract more customers.

``We are trying to create an environment that every household has a Wii,'' Iwata said. ``We are not done yet.''

Iwata ruled out any immediate cut to the Wii's $250 price tag, following reductions by Sony.

The production increase, from 1 million units in the three months ended March 31, allowed Nintendo to ship more Wiis in the U.K. and European regions, Iwata said.

Sales of the Wii, which began selling in Europe in December 2006, rose about 50 percent in the three months ended Sept. 30 to 1.54 million, Nintendo said in a statement today.

Nintendo yesterday raised its sales target for the Wii by 6.1 percent to 17.5 million units in the year ending March 31, and the goal for game titles by 35 percent to 97 million copies.

Shares of Nintendo rose 2 percent to 67,700 yen at the close on the Osaka Securities Exchange, while the benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average climbed 1.4 percent.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...d=a3FKYMLPMdoE

[Storm Eagle]

It's probably just me, but there doesn't seem to be much of a shortage anymore. Sometimes I go to the Best Buy near my job on my lunch break and see a few Wii units in a glass case. A couple of weeks ago, I went to Target and even saw someone buy a Wii. I knew my cousin wanted a Wii, and thought he'd be quite hard pressed to find one near the holidays, so I went to Best Buy one Sunday morning in late August and there were a couple in a glass case. I snagged one for him. Now I'm even starting to regret it. I wanted to do a good deed, but it bit a huge chunk out of my cash flow. Though if there ends up being another shortage closer to Christmas, I might feel better about my good deed. Anyway, for you guys thinking that Nintendo could be doing this deliberately to make the Wii seem very desired, I hear you. I was wondering the same thing myself once.

[gekko]

I have a hard time believing anyone would want this thing. Then I go back to my Wii site and find thousands of screaming fans. It's quite ironic, don't you think?

I just don't see the appeal.

[manasecret]

It's like raiiiiyaaaiiiinnn...

[BreakABone]

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/to...cle3062612.ece

I know this is an old thread, but I think this evidence would just show Nintendo would be dumb if really are forcing this shortage.

Nintendo is set to miss out on an estimated $1.3 billion (£650 million) in sales this Christmas by failing to meet soaring global demand for its Wii video games console.

James Lin, a senior analyst at MDB Capital Group, which monitors retail activity, said Nintendo could sell twice the 1.8 million Wii consoles it is manufacturing each month. “There are as many people who want a Wii but end up walking away empty handed as there are get one,” he said.

Production has been constrained by shortages of components from suppliers and Nintendo insists it is doing all it can to meet demand. But analysts believe the company privately welcomes tight Wii supplies as it wants to delay the moment of market saturation to prolong interest in the console.

Consumers also have their suspicions. A proliferation of online conspiracy theories recently forced Reggie Fils-Aime, the president of Nintendo’s US operation, to deny suggestions that there was a “secret plan to store Wiis in a warehouse to spur demand”.

Mr Lin said: “It's a difficult balance, but at this stage, shortages are not the worse thing”. The Wii is one year into a lifespan expected to last between four and six years.

Nintendo has raised production targets several times in recent months and now plans to ship 17.5 million units globally this year, up from 14 million. It says that demand for the Wii "has been higher than we could ever have anticipated".

Piers Harding-Rolls, an analyst for the market researcher Screen Digest, said: “There has probably been a certain amount of supply-chain mismanagement. But Nintendo could not have predicted the level of demand.

He added that the shortages are also “a function of Nintendo’s 'just-in-time' supply chain,” which keeps inventories down to a minimum and is proving hugely profitable.”

Built to appeal to "non-core gamers" -- women and older people hitherto ignored by the games industry -- the Wii has outsold Sony's PlayStation 3 and Microsoft's Xbox 360 each by more than 2-1 this year.

Stock market investors appear to believe that Nintendo can maintain its success. Over the last two years the group’s shares have risen five-fold, to make the company Japan’s third most valuable quoted business.

[KillerGremlin]

I'm off and on. One day I kind of want a Wii the next day I kind of don't. My brother bought Zelda: TP for the Cube, so I think I'm going to try to beat that this break. The Wii can do some cool tricks, but it's not blowing my PC out of the water. And I don't want to go through the hassle of buying one either.

This shortage, I think, was at some point real and then became all hype. I think Nintendo is enjoying (with relief) that their console is selling. A few years ago people were talking about the demise of Nintendo.