STORM2K

GameStop to sell Wii rain checks

By PETER SVENSSON, AP Technology Writer Fri Dec 14, 12:41 PM ET

NEW YORK - To deal with frustration among holiday shoppers hunting for its Wii game console, Nintendo Co. and retailer GameStop Corp. are launching a rain check program.

"We expect this to be a great way for consumers who desperately want a Wii to have something to put under the tree," Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime said Friday.

The rain checks will be available at the regular Wii system price, $249.99, on Dec. 20 and 21, and will entitle buyers to get the Nintendo console before Jan. 29. Fils-Aime said "many tens of thousands of rain checks" would be available.

GameStop regularly takes deposits on hot software titles before they launch, which means it has the infrastructure to deal with rain check program, Fils-Aime said. The company is working with other retailers, like Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Best Buy Co., to push out inventory from the supply chain to shelves as quickly as possible before Christmas, he added.

The Wii has been a startling success for the Japanese company, selling more than 6 million units in the U.S. since it was launched a little over a year ago. In November alone, 981,000 were sold in the U.S., according to NPD Group. That compares to 770,000 Microsoft Xbox 360s sold, and 466,000 Sony PlayStation 3s.

However, Wii sales have been constrained by supply, with units selling out minutes after going on store shelves. Nintendo has repeatedly denied rumors that it's creating an artificial shortage by not increasing production to match demand.

"I get personal calls from people wanting to know why we don't just manufacture more. Believe me, if it were that easy, we would," Fils-Aime told reporters and analysts on a conference call Friday.

"Production depends on components from a wide array of suppliers. If only one can't increase their capacity, then we can't increase ours," the executive said.

After Nintendo raised production twice since April, production for the worldwide market is now at 1.8 million Wiis a month. Fils-Aime held out no hope of an imminent increase.

"We'll keep producing at that level for quite a while," he said. "When will we finally meet demand? There is no way to answer that question until we finally meet it."

TexasStooge wrote:Seems the Wii consoles are flying off the shelves like "Wheeeeeeeee!"

Opal storm wrote:

TexasStooge wrote:Seems the Wii consoles are flying off the shelves like "Wheeeeeeeee!"

And I have yet to figure out why. My friend has one and I've played it and was not impressed at all. I guess the Wii is aimed for the more casual gamers. Xbox/PS has a much better selection of greater games.

Opal storm wrote:

TexasStooge wrote:Seems the Wii consoles are flying off the shelves like "Wheeeeeeeee!"

And I have yet to figure out why. My friend has one and I've played it and was not impressed at all. I guess the Wii is aimed for the more casual gamers. Xbox/PS has a much better selection of greater games.

Wii Dominates as PS3 Numbers Rise
Jennifer LeClaire, newsfactor.com

With the holiday shopping season in full swing, the battle between Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft over which company will win the end-of-year sales crown is heating up.

Sony's PlayStation 3 sales nearly quadrupled in November at the expense of Nintendo's Wii and Microsoft's Xbox 360. The launch of a new 40-GB model along with price reductions buoyed the PS3, shuttling it beyond the Wii to earn top consoles sales in Japan for the first time.

"The Wii will be the big winner in 2007, but does anybody think Sony is going to be an also-ran player in this market?" asked Mike Goodman, a video game analyst at Yankee Group. "When all is said and done, it's going to be a very close race and different products that are going to dominate in different marketplaces."

Games by the Numbers
Nintendo, however, is still king of the next-generation consoles in the U.S. Nintendo sold 981,000 Wii consoles in November, according to the NPD Group. That marks the Wii's highest tally since the console first launched in November 2006. Nintendo could have sold more, if there weren't Wii shortages across the nation. Microsoft's Xbox 360, meanwhile, sold 770,000 units.

For its part, Sony sold 466,000 PS3 units, NPD reported. That's nearly four times the number it sold just a month earlier. Sony slashed the price of its PS3 by $100 in October, peddling the units for $499. The company also launched a new $399 40-GB model last month.

"In the end, it will be a race of percentage points. We won't have a market completely dominated by Sony like we saw in the last generation where the PS2 had 60-plus percent market share," Goodman said. "But in the long run, it's still Sony's market to lose and there's an installed base of 140 million units that says why."

Long Battle Ahead
Sony figures it will sell more than 11 million PS3 units globally by the end of 2007. Analysts said those who are dooming the PS3 are failing to look at the product lifecycle for Sony consoles. Sony's consoles tend to have a 10-year lifespan. In fact, Sony sold 10 million units of the PlayStation 2 in 2007 and projects it will sell another 10 million next year.

"When the Wii and Xbox 360 are gone, Sony is still going to be selling 10 million PS3s a year," Goodman predicted. "For now, they are still making a killing on the PS2." Indeed, the profit margins on the PS2 are healthy, the game royalties are strong, and new software is still being introduced for the platform, Goodman said.

"Sony wanted to sell 20 million units like it did with the PS3 launch. Sony didn't intend to be in third place, but when you look at it in the long run, it's not a bad story for Sony. In some ways, the PS3 is a console that's built for 2010, not necessarily for 2007," Goodman concluded.

TexasStooge wrote:Seems the Wii consoles are flying off the shelves like "Wheeeeeeeee!"

vbhoutex wrote:I think I am going to have to break down and buy guitar Hero 3!!!

Category 5 wrote:It's awesome.

Super Smash Brothers Brawl FTW!

BTW SG, what kind of wireless router do you use for yours?

Cyclone1 wrote:I got my Wii the Friday before Brawl came out.

We went to 6 stores before trying (the second) GameStop. They initially said they didn't have one, then one guy said that they actually had one, that someone had reserved, but cancelled.

I was LUCKY. I got Brawl that Sunday (opening day) and It's the best multiplayer game I've ever played.

The Wii is awesome.