Rumor: Wal-Mart wii-ly concerned for the children

by Alexander Sliwinski on Sep 24th 2006 1:00PM

Wal-Mart's electronics department layout does not have an allotment of space to demo the Nintendo Wii for the fourth quarter. Our tipster says that after asking for greater details as to why they wouldn't be installing any Wii demo units, he was told by his manager that they had "fear of some kid getting hurt or injuring others in the process of flailing his arms around."

Although "Nintendo doesn't comment on rumors" and Wal-Mart corporate hasn't answered our query, after calling numerous Wal-Marts across the country, we have confirmed that it is true that the Wii is not part of the Q4 layout.

Did Wal-Mart executives decide that the Wii was just too dangerous to demo in its stores? Is Sony paying off the world's largest retailer in an attempt to sway consumer mind-share when shopping?

Doesn't look that way. Although Nintendo and Wal-Mart won't talk, employees from various Wal-Marts have stated that they expect to get their Wii demo units in for Q1 2007 and believe it was a timing issue. They did stress that although they will not be demoing the unit, they will certainly have the Wii for sale at launch in November.

[Thanks Ben]

Tags: nintendo, wal-mart, walmart, wii

Reader Comments (69)

At the launch of the 360, many Wal*Mart stores were TURNING OFF the 360 and blaming it on their scanner system interfering. MS reps fixed the "problem" and STILL many Wal*Mart stores were turning off the demo unit.

I was working at the competition (Best Buy) and I found out from a few people that this was a conscious decision by Wal*Mart electronics employees. They were sick of people crowding around to play games in their department, and they didn't know how to answer any questions about the console (they were mostly middle-aged ladies who were clueless about the stuff they sold) and so their solution was to turn it off and keep people out of their department, while blaming it on the console being "defective" when it wasn't.

Wal*Mart sucks.

They worry about kids hurting themselves by moving theier arms? What about neck injuries from their current demos? My Walmart has their TVs WAAAAY up high above the controller, so you end up having aches in your neck after playin a demo for a few minutes.

This Walmart also used to have an EyeToy demo, I think. That involved some movement while playing.

Target, K-Mart, Super K-Mart, they never said "no demo units".

Zero - there's a reason why MSReps were all issued a wireless controller - so they can PROVE to the store that the new demo disk shuts off the remote capability of the 360 console.

And there have been 5 new demo disks sent out since launch, and a new one should be coming out next month. (They're normally on a 2 - 3 month cycle.) If your store still has the first one, it's only because they haven't changed it (stores that aren't serviced by an MSRep get the disks mailed directly to them).

Wow, I know here in America we insult and condescend to our children every single minute of every single day, trying to convince ourselves and them that they're incompetent bags of flesh with no human feelings or capacity for learning, but COME ON! There are people who believe children are so astonishingly inept that they can't even control the movement of their own body parts?

Yes, some kid might get excited and bump another kid. Big deal. They do the same thing if you wave a lollipop around, and nobody gets hurt. To believe children are incapable of conscientiously playing with a Wii demo unit is astonishingly arrogant and insulting to children everywhere.

Let's not forget that Wal-Mart doesn't have PSP's set up either and I don't see people complaining. I think that Wal-Mart will try something different until they can figure out how to display the Wii, possibly use the old GameCube's to show a video of how to play and what to expect when playing the Wii. Just becuase they are not going to display the Wii doesn't mean they aren't going to sell it, in fact if you look at the modulars for the game case's there is already spots labeled for Wii and PS3 software. Let's not forget either that Wal-Mart was one of the first retailers in the US to get XBOX 360 displays. To the poster complaining that they just shut off the 360 because they didn't know anything about them, that is false. It really did mess up the wirless signal that the Telexon sends, which is used for pricing, printing, and such.

One, what's with Best Buy online being gimped? I can preorder Wii games but not a Wii system? uhhh...?

Two, Nintendo has always made all of their stuff pretty kid-proof, excepting the Game Boy Pocket, which we can probably all agree was a mistake. It would not surprise me if you can drop a Wiimote from 20 feet onto a concrete floor and have it work, mostly, good as new.

It makes some sense when you think about it, but I doubt it'd be the primary driving force behind such a decision. Have you ever been through a typical game section in a walmart electronics department under normal circumstances? There are always some screaming brats fighting over the controllers of the demo units of current gen games... and it's only being used because the kiddies are bored, not for any actual evaluation of the console/game itself.

Aside from that, the controllers always stick out from the wall just far enough to get caught in the side of your cart as you try to squeeze through the chaos.

Personally, I'd strip out all playable demo units in every store, and simply replace them with movie-playing kiosks that let you see videos of games and consoles in action, as well as features... basically info that tells me why one of these overpriced "toys" is any more deserving of my hard earned money than the others.

Isn't EyeToy available at Wal-Mart? I remember it in at least one. Is flailing with the Wii - something you don't need to do, but granted, kids will - any worse than EyeToy's?

Bones, like the worthless videos that play in Gamestop stores?

"We're worried that people will get injured in our stores by the people using the Wii demo unit. However, we are not beyond locking people out before Black Friday and then letting them in only after a stampede is starting, leading to people getting trampled and injured. That form of injury is okay." -- Wal-Mart

Note: Not a real quote

I know the kids are going to get fired up at this comment, but this is actually Nintendo's fault for waiting for so long to announce the price and date for their console. This is because Wal*Mart generally plans their modular layout for the electronics department at least three months in advance.

It is rare that they will make space for even a major product if the store doesn't know when it will carry it in advance. To cite an already mentioned product: the iPod. Wal*Mart wasn't able to carry the iPod in most stores until about November of 2004, long after the modular had been planned out and just as the "iPod boom" began. As a result, iPods and other MP3 players were reduced to sitting in the bottom of glass cases with the Walkmans and portable CD players.

With that being said, again: Nintendo's tardiness in releasing the date and price for their console is the only reason that a display wouldn't be ready for the Wii.

@#47...rcholbert

It's just what my manager told me, which in a way makes sense. I just thought others should know, and it seems joystiq agreed. Our electronics department is quite crowded, and adding in a Wii would only make things worse. While I am sure that the Wii will indeed get it's space, it seems that the "space" will only be a TV, sans demo unit. This could be bad for Nintendo, or it might have no effect whatesoever. And technically, yes the mods drop on no certain date...but back off a bit. He was just referrencing the mod set for the Wii.

Judging by the behavior of the children I've seen during my infrequent trips to Wal Mart, I'd have to say that, from a safety/loss prevention angle, this is probably the wisest decision Wal Mart has made in years.
I just wonder if all that swinging around by children will eventually lead to lawsuits against Nintendo by parents who use video games as babysitters. Once some dipshit kids start breaking noses/orbitals during heated Wii Sports Tennis matches, I think that's a very likely outcome.

Why demo something that is going to sell out anyway? DUHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think to be truly effective the wii demo kiosks would have to have an attendant like you see during the trade shows, wii events to show how the wii controller is used for that particular game.

If you watch the Japanese wii event where they were showing games and people playing them the attendant would mimic what you were supposed to do. The player immediatly picked up on it.

For those complaining that Americans think children are so astonishingly inept that they can't even control the movement of their own body parts bother to watch American kids play the demo units or in arcades.

It doesn't matter if the game is actually working they will hit all the buttons etc. They could be stuck in a paper bag and not find their way out.

There are children who are self controlled and who do look at the game instructions as they are displayed then apply said instructions. They know to wait a few seconds, they know how to play. But guess what parents don't often leave those kids in the walmarts electronics center they leave the kids who are borderline retarded or spastic.

I'll bet they're trying to kill the video games industry with this one act. Isn't that just like WalMart?

I'll never shop there again! (except to buy games, electronics, food and stuff)

Wal-Mart needs to put pinball games back in the front of the store

It's not great for Nintendo but it's not a dealbreaker by any means. Walmart is still selling the system. They will help sell out the millions of units the U.S. is getting this year.

For the future though, demo units will be vital to its long term success for the simple reason that the interface is its #1 selling point.

I do enjoy demo units in stores, however I do feel like I need to give my hands an alcohol bath afterwards. Can't they start putting wipes by the controllers?

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Rumor: Wal-Mart wii-ly concerned for the children

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