Yeah, no way it remains scarce for 2 years. And if it does Nintendo should get out of the hardware business as they clearly have no clue and crap ass production abilities.

They're already screwing the pooch a bit with it still being scarce while demand is so high.

Demand will probably drop some once the non-gamers who we're attracted by Wiisports get theres and more mainstream gamers are infatuated with stuff like Halo 3 and Final Fantasy 13.

During Xmas of 1988 the NES was tough to get if I recall.

It sure sounds like he is out of his mind... but then again, who honestly thought that the Wii would still be this hard to buy over 5 months after launch? After all, it is only a GameCube 1.5.

People say that Nintendo is artificially limiting inventory to keep demand up. If the sales numbers were similar or slightly better than PS3 and 360 sales, I might agree. But Wii sales are significantly higher.

Is the Wii the fastest selling console ever? If it is, then it is unreasonable for anyone to be claiming that Nintendo somehow could've done a better job with manufacturing throughput.

Some of these people who are ragging on Nintendo for not providing enough supply to meet the demand are the same mensa midgets who proclaimed that Nintendo would run 3rd this gen. Why should an also-ran entry (Wii) be concerned with supply?

I don't think that Nintendo is holding back on supply of the console, but I do wonder if Nintendo is pacing their release of channels, games, and peripherals to make waiting out the shortage bearable and not overly frustrating.

That's a huge risk. I'm a diehard Nintendo fan, but Zelda remains the only Wii game I've bought to date, and I've came close to selling the Wii and picking up a 360 a few times the past couple of months. They don't want to piss of the early adopters either.

It had better be Sam and Max, for christ's sake.

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/busin...5654/index.htm

How the Wii is creaming the competition

I wouldn't doubt that Nintendo is holding on to at least a couple big titles until supply/demand steadies. Why put out Metroid 3 (assuming it's ready) now when they don't need it to drive console sales? Instead, put it out when sales start to dip to help increase console sales.

I think you're right that there's a risk that some early adopters may abandon the Wii... but I doubt it's a huge risk. Most people who were disappointed with releases would wait it out knowing that those releases are coming (they biggies have been announced).

I've always been amazed that people think the supply issue is completely Nintendo's fault.

Every. Single. Console that hits a shelf is bought in seconds. The thing has almost sold as many units as the 360 did in a year. It seems to me they are cranking them out as fast as possible but people are still snagging them up as soon as they can. Sony was touting the success of their European launch and not every console was sold on opening day. I already have a 360 and would have no problems getting a PS3. I am probably going to be standing out front of Target this Sunday for a Wii.

Outside of building another plant (which may be redundant as demand cools) I don't know what else Nintendo can do.

It's like people are pissed that the thing is so popular.

EDIT: After reading that CNN article, it sounds like Nintendo makes $50 on every Wii sold. Even if people never buy another game for the system, Nintendo makes money.

Yeah, and this is why it isn't as important to Nintendo to make sure everyone who gets a Wii buys 20 games over the life. If they're happy with Wii Sports, so be it.

Sure, they'd like the extra income from licensing and software sales, but their whole business unit won't collapse if they don't.

Yeah, not shit.
Just like all other anal-ysts, he talks out of his ass...
Seriously though, has any analyst ever been correct as to predictions on gaming consoles?

That's exactly how I got my Wii, just one week after launch day. Though in hindsight, I do admit that I was very, very lucky.

I think people are wondering (business analysts) why Nintendo hasn't seized upon the opportunity and ramped up production. Its not an overly complicated box. Apple (and I'm sure others) just goes out and contract additional manufacturers when they need production.

Nintendo rides the wave and by the time demand levels off, they are ready for their big price drop. Just in time for a wave of new games.

I stood in line two weeks after launch for two hours. Glad I did.

Plus, they're selling more consoles than the competition which will attract the 3rd party devs who will start making more games for it which will, in turn, attract more buyers.

Yeah, I think the 3rd party developers are working feverishly to get games out. A bunch of moronic bean counters are probably getting their asses handed to them for discounting Nintendo's console.

Hell, I should be an analyst. Once they announced the $600 price point for the PS3, I knew Nintendo would have a strong showing this generation.

I actually thought that price point was wild speculation. Although, for $600 you get a BlueRay player - if you actually wanted one.

I made a similar prediction. Mine was more that PS3 was going to fail (probably too harsh, in hindsight) due to it's high cost. I knew it would have a decent initial launch (first week) because the hardcore PS fans would be buying it no matter the cost, but it wasn't going to be a family system or Christmas present due to it's high cost. Many parents would consider spending $300 on a console as a "special gift" for Christmas, but $600 is a different story.

I thought the Wii would do well after the hype at E3, but I wasn't sure how well it would do. I bought mine based on the hype, because I had not touched one before I bought it. So far, I'm happy with the purchase, despite the lackluster launch titles. But.. I'd probably buy no more than 5-6 titles a year and I already own Zelda, Excite Truck, and SPM (I won't count Wii Play). There are more than 3 titles I'm looking forward to this year, so I'm happy with the 2007 line-up.

Yeah, that was my point. The demand is here, and can honestly only go down so they may lose out on some sales by not having more units while demand is sky high.

For example, I was hyped as hell for it, pre ordered one and got mine without a problem. However, if I hadn't, I would have played Zelda on the GC and would have 0 interest in the Wii right now as there's still no other games that are "must plays" for me on it, and very few on the horizon (Mario Galaxy the only true system seller, with Metroid and Smash Bros as enticing games but not must haves for me are pretty much it out of announced games).

So I could see people who haven't been able to get one passing this fall when the game line up is still thin and opting for 360's with Halo 3, or PS3s with FF13, MGS4 and whatever else comes out.

Fair enough. That's only my speculation though, I don't have a clue as to what is really going on.

As was mentioned previously, early adopters generally are patient knowing that it takes time for titles to be released. And for those early adopters who don't want to wait any longer, they should have no problem selling their used system for nearly (if not exactly) as much as systems sell for new.

For your situation it may very well make sense to sell the Wii now and get a 360. By the time there are a selection of games that you would be interested in, Wii consoles should be plentiful. (unless the prediction of year end 2008 is true)

It could be that one (or more) of the third-party components (such as the CPU or the GPU) are short in supply, and is causing a bottleneck.

I don't see anyone who cannot find a Wii turning around and buying a 360 or PS3. A Wii360 combo yes, switching from wanting a Wii to a 360, no.

Casual or non-gamers? You're probably right.

A more mainstream gamer who would have bought a Wii on hype and who hasn't got a 360 or PS3 yet for whatever reason may well change their mind when Halo3 etc. come out.

Now whether it is enough to make a difference is any one's guess.

But personally, I wanted a Wii and nothing to do with a 360 last fall and I've been severely second guessing that decision lately, so people can certainly change their minds on the issue.

Still waiting for a second game to play after finishing Zelda.

I game 5 hours or less (usually less) a week these days, so I'm sticking to 1 console only this gen (not counting the PS2 I plan on keeping around, and my DS that I pretty much only play in bed when I can't sleep).

So selling the Wii for the 360 would be a permanent change for me, which makes it tough as Nintendo's first party games are my absolute favorites. That's the rub for me, as the Wii doesn't have much I want to play and if it's like the Gamecube it won't ever have all that much that's purchase worthy for me. But with my limited time and tight budget I just can't justify owning multiple consoles this gen.