Gamestop expects at least six more months of Wii shortages

by Kyle Orland { Mar 19th 2008 at 12:15PM }

The Nintendo Wii will be nearing its second birthday before there's any chance you'll see it routinely clogging up retail shelves. At least that's the determination of mega-retailer Gamestop, which predicted in a recent investors conference call that the Wii "won't meet demand for the next two quarters."

While the Xbox 360 and DS have seen increased production to make up for temporary holiday shortages, Gamestop COO Dan DeMatteo said the seemingly endless lack of Wii supply looks likely to continue for at least another six months. DeMatteo also predicted shortages for the surging PSP, as well as price drops for the PS2 ($30), and PS3 and Xbox 360 ($50 each) sometime this year. For the Wii, though, it seems like a price increase is the only way they're going to be able to stay on the shelves. Not that Nintendo would ever do that. Would they? (Note: No, they wouldn't)

Tags: demand, nintendo, retail, supply, wii shortage, wii=shortage, WiiShortage

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Shagittarius @ Mar 19th 2008 12:19PM

Also expected, another 3 year shortage of quality software.

SoulBlade @ Mar 19th 2008 12:24PM

Clearly your definition of "quality software" differs from the masses' as they continue to eat up the Wii. Would you just like people to recognize that you are better than the masses?

Hate on it all you want, but there are some pretty good games for it that appeal to a lot of gamers. The core market isn't the only market anymore.

Shagittarius @ Mar 19th 2008 12:34PM

What once was, still is , and shall be again, once the tourists have gone for the season.

Dudeman08 @ Mar 19th 2008 1:38PM

It's been a long season...

ChooChooCharlie (Brawl: 1504-5357-9285) @ Mar 19th 2008 2:20PM

I must say, Shag, even though you're a troll, you do come up with some pretty good ones.

You have turned anti-Nintendo trolling into an art.

Joeshie @ Mar 19th 2008 4:41PM

@SoulBlade

Take a look at top Metacritic scores for the Wii in 2007 and then compare them to the 360 and PS3 for 2007. Hell, even PC outpreforms the Wii in 2007 for high quality software.

Wii has tons of shovelware and tons of crappy games, with a majority of these games targeting the casual gamer. This really isn't any sort of opinion. It's a well known topic that many, including several big gaming websites, have covered.

The only way you could possibly defend against this is with the arguement that there is no good and bad games as video games are a purely subjective experience, which is kind of the tone I got from your post. Then again, if you accept this premise, then games like Half-Life and Ocarina of Time are just as good/bad as Mario Party 8 and My Pretty Pony games.

vidGuy @ Mar 19th 2008 5:20PM

@Joeshie,

The fallacy in your argument is that "Large Supply of Crappy Games" isn't the same as a "Shortage of Quality Software."

SoulBlade @ Mar 19th 2008 6:29PM

Who defines what makes a game good? If it were reviewers, then there's a lot of gamers who like shitty games. If it's people buying games, then Mario Party 8 is one of the best games evar.

Statements like there is a lack of quality software on the Wii are pretty much only meant to annoy people who like games on the Wii. Any gamer can find something enjoyable on the Wii - in fact, they can probably find multiple things on it. Instead, what happens is most people decide to bash on the system for its shortcomings or for doing something out of the norm - which is usually what happens when something is so successful.

Are all of the games on the Wii great? Fuck no. Are all of the games on any console great? Repeat.

Joeshie @ Mar 19th 2008 10:52PM

@vidGuy

I suppose you are correct in that having tons of shitty games does not mean you don't have quality games.

However, I still maintain my point of looking up Wii's top games at Metacritic. I mean, there are 23 average 75+ rated games on Metacritic compared to PS3's 69 75+ rated games. Not to mention, when you consider only third-party games, the Wii's quality software list shrinks considerably.

@SoulBlade

Who defines what makes a game good? Well, that certainly is a difficult thing to do. However, a reasonable answer would be that someone who has had a decent amount of experience with the artistic medium would probably be in a better position to gauge the quality of something within their realm of expertise. I think you would probably agree that someone such as Roger Ebert, who is a professional critic of movies and has seen more than most, would be someone who can figure out what constitutes a good movie rather than an average joe on the streets.

Likewise, who would be in a better position to gauge the quality of a video game: A hardcore gamer, who dedicates a significant amount of time to playing video games, or a causal gamer, who has little experience with video games. My bet is that a hardcore gamer is more likely to spot a quality title than a casual gamer is. I've played FPS games pretty much since the genre's inception and I will admit that I think I'm in a better position to gauge the quality of an FPS than someone who has just started playing them within the past couple of years.

For the record, I don't hate the Wii. However, it troubles me that the Wii's quality library really only consists of first party titles. Quality third-party titles are slim pickins on the Wii. For me personally, I've never been a big fan of Nintendo's franchises, so they aren't something I usually pursue.

Reuben @ Mar 19th 2008 12:20PM

This has been going on for so long that not only do I not want a Wii anymore, but I now call foul on anything Nintendo says about this that equates it to not being their fault. This actually angers me.

Hala Madrid!!! SSBB Code:3866-7729-0830 @ Mar 19th 2008 12:48PM

Here in Spain there is like 5 or 10 Wii's in every electronics store where I live but not alot of 360's or PS3's. I guess the Wii isn't so hot over here but they give you 30% off any game when you buy one

343 Guilty Fart @ Mar 19th 2008 12:51PM

I agree. I've waited so long I'm not really interested anymore. Think I might just pick up Twilight Princess for the GC instead of waiting another year to find a Wii.

Cyro @ Mar 19th 2008 1:23PM

Where I live there are Wii's everwhere in stock. Every store at least has 10 or 15 Wii's. PS3 are kind of hard to get and the 360 are also hard to get.

I dont know, but I dont see anyone here running mad for a Wii. Maybe they don't like the Wii that much.

The funny thing is, when I go to a Video game store what I see are little kids wanting a PS3 or a 360, but they dont even look at the Wii. Which is strange in my opinion. I guess kids also want more mature games now.

I might be wrong about all this, but this is from what I have seen.

deaftly (Brawl - 1075-0467-4222) @ Mar 19th 2008 2:22PM

So hows the weather on the moon Cyro?

Cyro @ Mar 19th 2008 3:00PM

I am not in the US, deaftly. I live in the DR, you know, right next to Puerto Rico. So I dont live in the moon and people here are not crazy about the Wii.

Max Headroom @ Mar 19th 2008 5:28PM

Cyro, it could be that those PS3 and 360 games aren't really that mature.

Snipermike @ Mar 19th 2008 12:21PM

How hard is it to gut a gamecube of its parts?

deaftly (Brawl - 1075-0467-4222) @ Mar 19th 2008 12:50PM

Duct tape shortage.

BPM is Ready to Brawl! 5026 4120 1186 @ Mar 19th 2008 2:55PM

How hard is it to think of an original troll message?

Snipermike @ Mar 19th 2008 3:43PM

Harder then naming 3 great 3rd party games for the system let me tell ya

Crono (NDF - Knight of the Old School) @ Mar 19th 2008 5:38PM

OH SNAP!

Catprog @ Mar 19th 2008 7:40PM

Gamecube shortage.

They have sold more wii LTD then the gamecube LTD

tiremfej @ Mar 19th 2008 12:23PM

It's a joke really. Is it that hard to reproduce a Gamecube these days? I can understand having a difficult time reproducing nutrinos, but a Gamecube 1.5?!?!

I call: "Nintendo is holding back on purpose, they know there isn't quality software, so let's keep the demand up, by holding back hardware production."

Fernando Rocker @ Mar 19th 2008 12:51PM

Is not hard.... but they make 1.8 million every month...

That's a lot.

bigd7387 @ Mar 19th 2008 12:24PM

I was a teenager back when Nintendo was really going at it with the NES. Nintendo is manufacturing the shortage, one thing they do is operate to make money on everything. They could have easily opened up a new factory or two to handle the situation but instead they leave it go as is. I was always a Sega Master System guy and I'll die that way and skip the joy of shaking my Wii for a game, thanks.

Mr Khan @ Mar 19th 2008 12:33PM

Nobody here seems to realize the kind of work it takes to actually set up a new production line at another factory. You're talking a six month process right there, easily

WiNG @ Mar 19th 2008 1:31PM

Khan,

It's true it's a 6 month process.

But Nintendo has had much more than 6 months to fix this problem.

-WiNG

Crono (NDF - Knight of the Old School) @ Mar 19th 2008 1:41PM

The Wii has been out 15 months. They've already opened up new lines twice. They clearly wanted to see if demand would die down after the second Christmas season before making the decision to open another one. Hence, why GS expects shortages for another 6 months.

Gun Barrier @ Mar 19th 2008 2:56PM

true, but i think nintendo doesnt want to take the risk of opening up a new plant and then have more wiis than demand wants, by the time its opened. I think nintendo is still unsure about how the wii would do.(thanks to a loss by gamecube.)

Burnt Meatloaf @ Mar 20th 2008 4:01AM

Risk of opening a new plant? You guys make it sound like they are building these factories from scratch instead of simply retooling some injection molding machines. Not all parts are made in the same factory, either.

Manufacturing is complex, but it doesn't take a year to increase volume. It takes a year of contract negotiations to haggle pennies off the cost of each unit at a specific volume, along with "what-if" stipulations, should they need to change volume.

If Nintendo was completely unprepared for the need for a volume increase in the future, then they simply did not have a proper plan. My guess is they signed contracts for the lowest price, not volume flexibility. Given their profit margin and hardware design, it's pretty clear that green wins out, here. I'm sure Nintendo seriously believes that people will wait for the Wii. Don't laugh -- I've seen worse decisions made by managers.

Besides, Nintendo has no trouble pumping out millions of WiiFit games every month. Everyone knows manufacturing shortages only apply to consoles, and not accessories!

Burnt Meatloaf @ Mar 20th 2008 4:03AM

Greed wins, spelling doesn't.

Markez @ Mar 19th 2008 12:24PM

Doing a great job trolling on the last few articles, Shag, way to go. "Another" 3 year shortage on quality software for the Wii? Way to think that one through, moron.

This just makes me think even more so how idiotic software pre-ordering is when the title is bound to show up in abundance anyway. Although I find it unlikely console pre-ordering through stores would work out well being that people would line up to flip them on craigslist. Which is, incidentally where I got mine. I've only seen Wiis on shelves once since launch.

Shagittarius @ Mar 19th 2008 12:52PM

Internet Rule for debating #1:

If you can't make a good counterpoint, attack the grammar of the original poster.

Markez @ Mar 19th 2008 1:06PM

Had nothing to do with your grammar, moron. Gosh I guess I just didn't know the Wii had been out for 3 years. There's also plenty of good games out for the system.

And oh yes, Joystiq is certainly the bastion of 'internet debating' and a great forum for reasoned discourse, must be why I keep using the word 'moron'.

Styki @ Mar 19th 2008 9:18PM

@ Markez

Go back to his original post. He neither said nor implied that the wii had been out for three years. Moron.

elpmis @ Mar 19th 2008 12:25PM

The Wii is awesome, it sells a lot.

I rest my "cast".

Nigeria: Cody ChesnuTT Defense Force @ Mar 19th 2008 12:32PM

Beautiful.

Zertoss @ Mar 19th 2008 1:35PM

I thought that was just a figure of speech!

Cast closed.

zelderman @ Mar 19th 2008 2:07PM

You guys make me laugh, in a good way! I did read the original post where that was mentioned.

ThornedVenom (Harley Quinn Defense Force) @ Mar 20th 2008 2:45AM

I love it when Joystiq brews its own memes.

First Fernando being the ultimate Nintendo fanboy, now this. XD

SoulBlade @ Mar 19th 2008 12:26PM

Nintendo's still dominating the NPD even with these shortages - so maybe it's legit. What I think would be funny is a price drop once the shortages actually go away.

It makes no sense to think Nintendo's holding back - they're #1 in hardware sales consistently barring any major release like Halo 3. How can they be holding back when they're dominating the competition already?

vectorelement @ Mar 19th 2008 12:27PM

How am I supposed to Smash my Bros. in a Brawl if I can't find a Wii?! >.

vidGuy @ Mar 19th 2008 12:29PM

Must we explain this again? Nintendo is not creating a shortage but rather refusing to invest in new production lines to increase their capacity. This is the smart business move considering the cost of investment and the fact that demand will eventually subside. If Nintendo gets more production lines to produce more consoles, they will likely end up losing money on the deal.

Similarly, Nintendo is making a profit on each console sold. Restricting supply only loses them potential revenue because Nintendo does not see any of the money made in the secondary market (Ebay, Craigslist, etc). If Nintendo were restricting supply, their shareholders would have to be mighty pissed. Considering the fact that Nintendo is producing and selling more consoles each month than its competitors, they are very unlikely to be voluntarily restricting supply.

Lastly, consider the possible business move that would be the most profitable for Nintendo: raise the Wii's MSRP until demand is balanced with supply. In this case, Nintendo would be maximizing profit while satisfying demand. Of course, raising the MSRP of a $250 console to, say, $450 isn't exactly consumer-friendly and Nintendo refuses to do this because of the value of consumer loyalty and future purchases.

Face it, the only reason there is a Wii shortage is because at USD$249.99 the Wii is a very attractive product for a large number of consumers. Supply is not excessively low; demand is just extraordinarily high.

qbix @ Mar 19th 2008 12:47PM

No company in its right mind would allow shortages to last this long. If you can't keep up with demand, build another manufacturing plant, period. Economics 101, it's really that easy, and Nintendo would already have new assembly lines if they wanted to. Nintendo is aware of shortages, they in fact use that as a selling point but hasn't done a damn thing about it. Seems to me like they are deliberately creating shortages.

LongshotX @ Mar 19th 2008 12:48PM

I'm making a profit off each console sold...on ebay.

Fernando Rocker @ Mar 19th 2008 12:52PM

qbix

They are creating new plants.... they start operating in April.

http://www.gamer.tm/news.php?id=2010&filtr=wii

vidGuy @ Mar 19th 2008 12:54PM

Your "Economic 101" should also include the time delay for new facilities, the cost of starting and shutting down new product lines, and the importance of maintaining profitability across the life of a product.

What people here seem to want is for Nintendo to produce and sell enough consoles to meet current demand. While that's a rational desire, it would be a seriously stupid business move. Nintendo can maintain the $250 price point longer if they don't meet current demand. They can maintain their current cost structure by refusing to start new production lines. They can continue to make a profit on each console sold. They can limit the magnitude of increases in bandwidth to their servers. They can project consistent earnings rather than riding a massive influx of cash in the next few months, for the next four years.

If a business followed your "Economics 101", they would quickly be bankrupt.