Amazon Selling Wii, Tomorrow (12/29) Am

[aidanpendragon]

Figured this would warrant its own thread, for attention purposes:

"Wii Available for Purchase 12/29: The Nintendo Wii will again be available for purchase on Amazon.com on 12/29, Friday morning, at some point between 7am and 11am PST. We will be limiting purchases to one per household. We anticipate that we will sell through our inventory very quickly as demand for this product continues to be very high. At this time, we do not have any information on future Nintendo Wii offers, but we will post updates on future availability on this page."

[amacgenius]

Thanks.

[buffalo]

If I wasn't saving for a MacBook I'd try to snatch one up.

[Chone]

I'll try though I don't expect to get one, apparently these things go out in like a minute... :(

Damn I hate console shortages, by January I had my PS2 and that launched with 1 million units and massive hype and demand (more than the Wii I assure you) and Nintendo "supposedly" send 4 million units and these buggers are nowhere to be found.

[savanahrose]

I told my husband to get me a wii. I needed the exercise. lol
also told my son to get me one. He said he had to get his own first, then he will get mom one.

too bad I can't get it now. :mad: ;)

[aidanpendragon]

You've all got five minutes before the refresh-fest begins.

[Haoshiro]

I guess I missed it!

[mkrishnan]

I told my husband to get me a wii. I needed the exercise. lol
also told my son to get me one. He said he had to get his own first, then he will get mom one.

too bad I can't get it now. :mad: ;)

I like your style! :) Of course at this rate, those two are going to get all the exercise running around trying to snag Wiis! :D

[devilot]

I guess I missed it!How do you figure that? :confused:

[mkrishnan]

How do you figure that? :confused:

Yeah, it's 7-11 AM *PST*... it's only 7:30 there now. And the website still lists it as if it's a future event. So I'm not sure they're all gone yet.

[aidanpendragon]

11 AM EST/8 AM PST, they just added a blurb about when it'll ship, so maybe about to release them soon?

[devilot]

Argh. Go 'way you people on Amazon. Lemme at it. :p (Seriously though, it's totally gotten slower just in the last few mins.)

[pdpfilms]

Have they gone yet?

And where do you find them, exactly?

[devilot]

Have they gone yet?

And where do you find them, exactly?I don't think they're gone yet... haven't yet seen them available to add to the cart and check out.

Do a simple search for Nintendo Wii on Amazon.

[pdpfilms]

Strange... one of my refreshes along the way told me this:

We are currently out of stock: We sold out of our initial supply of the Wii on Sunday morning, November 19, in less than one minute. We expect to receive periodic shipments of the Wii from Nintendo throughout the holidays and we will post availability updates in this section of the product detail page as well as in the customer discussions below.

Without the 12/29 message. I thought they'd sold out in 30 seconds.


stiiillll refreshing...

[firefoxnx]

is this how amazon does load testing? :confused:

[aidanpendragon]

Strange... one of my refreshes along the way told me this:

We are currently out of stock: We sold out of our initial supply of the Wii on Sunday morning, November 19, in less than one minute. We expect to receive periodic shipments of the Wii from Nintendo throughout the holidays and we will post availability updates in this section of the product detail page as well as in the customer discussions below.

Without the 12/29 message. I thought they'd sold out in 30 seconds.


stiiillll refreshing...

I got that message, thought they were gone, but now the "between 7-11 PST" is back up. Keep checking.

[pdpfilms]

I expect that the first person to see them available will post here.:)

[MattyMac]

Sweeet...I just gave my friend a call...he's been looking for one vigorously the past 2 weeks. Hope he can nab one!

[devilot]

It's sold out already. :( Never even saw the chance to add to cart.

[jsw]

Already out of stock... I never even saw the sale. Must've lasted a minute or so.

[devilot]

Must've lasted a minute or so.Less. I have a thingie that refreshes every 60 seconds and a separate tab to manually refresh. :(

[MrFirework]

Already out of stock... I never even saw the sale. Must've lasted a minute or so.

Keep trying, I got that message too, kept refreshing and got the 12/29 message again. I think some of the mirror servers might not be updated or something, so when volume gets particulary high, the old message apprears.

[pdpfilms]

It's sold out already. :( Never even saw the chance to add to cart.

Wow. It happened between my refreshes.. in about 30 seconds then. They must've only had a couple.

Grrr you frustrate me, Wii... yet I must have you.:mad:

EDIT: MrFirework, still seeing the sold out message... you having luck?

EDIT2: Just got the 12/29 message again.. I'm confused

[devilot]

No, I'm pretty sure they're out... Check the Amazon forums, some lucky few have purchased them.

64996

[firefoxnx]

Attention: We are currently out of stock. Allocations of the Wii have been limited but we are working with Nintendo to secure future allocations. We will provide updates on the product detail page as well as in the customer discussions on this page when we have availability.

4 hour window for something which sells out in under a minute?

[MrFirework]

No, I'm pretty sure they're out... Check the Amazon forums, some lucky few have purchased them.

64996

I know - I got that message too... but I JUST refreshed and got the 12/29 message again.

[devilot]

That's why I said go read the Amazon forums... people have already purchased whatever units Amazon had for sale.

[aidanpendragon]

As usual, Amazon seems to have pissed lots of people off with its "is it there or isn't it?" different-refreshing pages. The vague timeframe is obviously to prevent a server crash, but just results in frustration and wasted time. Why they simply don't continue to lottery them off is a mystery - less irritation, less server pressure.

[pdpfilms]

I'm (maybe too optimistically) unconvinced... i'm still getting the 12/29 message every 1 out of 5 refreshes or so...

[sketchy]

it seems they had around 12 wii's and they sold out in 4 seconds

[count chocula]

I'm (maybe too optimistically) unconvinced... i'm still getting the 12/29 message every 1 out of 5 refreshes or so...

same here, i'm not giving up yet. :o

[pdpfilms]

it seems they had around 12 wii's and they sold out in 4 seconds

Hahaha. Dang.

though i'm pretty disappointed that amazon made it seem like they had more... 12? That's no more than any single retailer.

EDIT: Seems like everyone's right... I'm not getting the 12/29 message anymore.

[aidanpendragon]

Curious where this "they had 12" thing is coming from. How can anyone know?

[atszyman]

I'm starting to believe that the whole Wii phenomenon is an elaborate hoax being played on me. I've never actually seen anyone actually play one and have only seen the display models. I've bought two games already and have been on the hunt since release. Friends claim to have them but it only enhances the hoax...

Oh well, rumor has Sunday Best Buys with 10+ where I'm currently at and I'm in a less populous area than where I live. Maybe I'll have some luck then.

[barr08]

That would be a pretty good marketing ploy by Nintendo, because the lack of the system is creating a huge buzz. I don't think this is intentional, however.

[atszyman]

That would be a pretty good marketing ploy by Nintendo, because the lack of the system is creating a huge buzz. I don't think this is intentional, however.

It would have been fine for a couple of weeks, but after that they just miss out on profits as eBay'ers sell the systems at inflated prices.

The press also would have been better had supply been sufficient since they already beat the PS3 sales but the bigger the difference the better it looks for Nintendo.

[barr08]

This has the potential to be an interesting debate.

It would have been fine for a couple of weeks, but after that they just miss out on profits as eBay'ers sell the systems at inflated prices.

Well, if you think about it, Nintendo doesn't really lose any money, as the people who buy and sell on ebay only bought the system to sell it on ebay. If they hadn't bought it, it would have remained on the shelf for one of the legit customers, who instead bought it at an inflated price on ebay.


The press also would have been better had supply been sufficient since they already beat the PS3 sales but the bigger the difference the better it looks for Nintendo.

Right, the bigger the difference between PS3 and Wii sales, the better it makes the Wii look. That would be a good reason to match the supply of the PS3 during the holiday season. The assumoption was it would already sell better because of the much lower price, as it appeals to more demographics. Nintendo probably could have predicted it would outsell the PS3, and could produce equal numbers, making it even more rare than the PS3, but reaching the same number of people. PS3's are appearing more and more on the shelf today, but people are still lining up for Wii's.

The more desireable a system is portrayed as through the media, the more desireable it becomes, even to people who did not intend to buy the system in the first place. People figure "Wow, this is wildly popular, I want one of these, I'm missing out", and run out to wait in line for a system.

I think this would be a very smart ploy for a company to do at a major launch of a gaming system. Maybe Nintendo did this, who knows?

[danny_w]

I'm starting to believe that the whole Wii phenomenon is an elaborate hoax being played on me. I've never actually seen anyone actually play one and have only seen the display models.
I've never even seen a display model. Nobody around here seems to have one.

[atszyman]

...Well, if you think about it, Nintendo doesn't really lose any money, as the people who buy and sell on ebay only bought the system to sell it on ebay. If they hadn't bought it, it would have remained on the shelf for one of the legit customers, who instead bought it at an inflated price on ebay.

Well in a way it is a loss for Nintendo, how many people bought one with the intention to play but then sold it when they saw the high eBay prices. If Nintendo had enough systems to satisfy demand then more would have been sold and thus more profits earned in this time period because more units would have been available/sold. Ideally you want a week or two of shortages after launch for the publicity and then supply enough to satisfy the demand to maximize units sold. Of course supply is dictated by many factors and cannot easily be legislated by the executives.


Right, the bigger the difference between PS3 and Wii sales, the better it makes the Wii look. That would be a good reason to match the supply of the PS3 during the holiday season. The assumoption was it would already sell better because of the much lower price, as it appeals to more demographics. Nintendo probably could have predicted it would outsell the PS3, and could produce equal numbers, making it even more rare than the PS3, but reaching the same number of people. PS3's are appearing more and more on the shelf today, but people are still lining up for Wii's.

The more desireable a system is portrayed as through the media, the more desireable it becomes, even to people who did not intend to buy the system in the first place. People figure "Wow, this is wildly popular, I want one of these, I'm missing out", and run out to wait in line for a system.

I think this would be a very smart ploy for a company to do at a major launch of a gaming system. Maybe Nintendo did this, who knows?

I always thought that Nintendo supplied more Wiis than PS3s so far which makes things even more amazing. Still can't find a Wii but PS3s are sitting on the shelves everywhere. eBay'ers are returning them to the stores increasing shelf supply, things do not look good for the PS3.

I'm actually surprised that the console suppliers don't just start the initial release on eBay (maybe even through their retail outlets) where the supply is set up and people pay what they are willing to pay. Highest bidders get their systems first and the consoles don't show up in stores until the auction prices are at/below MSRP.

[aidanpendragon]

Well in a way it is a loss for Nintendo, how many people bought one with the intention to play but then sold it when they saw the high eBay prices.

But they'll buy one later.

It now seems very smart of Nintendo to launch after PS3 - Sony gets all the bad no-supply press, while Nintendo looks hot & fashionable for its shortages.

But, nobody in any of these threads has mentioned the following: Nintendo has said it sold 3 million+ consoles worldwide by year's end (Kotaku had the bit, I think). That's 75% of the target, which is pretty damn good, and a far sight better than Sony. It's also about half of 360 sales TO DATE (since fall '05), and maybe a sixth or seventh of the GC install base (20 million or so?). I don't think shortages have anything to do with Nintendo manipulating supply; I think they are seeing far greater demand and buzz than they could have hoped.

And, amid all those "PS3 will ultimately triumph, Wii's launch can't hold up" stories, consider that the buzz & sales feed back into developer interest. Big launch means more & better games to come, which in turn boost sales, which attracts more devs, etc. This launch is great for anyone who has a Wii, because it'll help stave off the withering of GC's later years.

[MattyMac]

Sweeet...I just gave my friend a call...he's been looking for one vigorously the past 2 weeks. Hope he can nab one!

He actually was able to pick one up in Best Buy today!