Wii shortage; is it all a ploy

C

Cabaiste

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maybe its just the cynic in me but I think that this wii shortage is all a ploy by the distributors to generate more hype about them.

It seems that everyshop seems to have gotten a few in here and there over the last couple of days. I was in Newbridge shooping centre yesterday and both Virgin megastore and Game had them available. I counted 20+ behind the counter in Virgin!

I know of 5 people here in my office and 2 in my badminton club who have gotten them in the last week. Its gotten to the stage that people who weren;t even looking for them are buying them just because they see them available in shops and know that they are sold out in most places. Hence why I think its just a ploy by the distributors to generate alot of hype to boost their sales!
 
I was thinking exactly the same thing myself. Glad to see that I'm not the only cynic round here.


Murt
 
I dont think so. The shops still sell them at something near a regular price. The only people who benefit ar the ebayers. 4 wii's of them were being sold every minute on ebay for the last month or so. If they're not in the shops only the die hards will shop elsewhere - I'm sure most people will say lets wait till next year. wheres the profit for Nintendo in that ???
 
I was up in HMV Swords this evening. They got in 15 Wii's this morning and all were sold in bundles of €430 (any 3 games, 1GB memory card). Similar with 20 DS Lites - all sold by noon. The shop assistant said that he could have sold five times the amount.

That's only one branch of HMV! If it is a ploy, then the Wii marketing guys are playing a blinder!
 
I would be doubtful that its a ploy - if they could get the money for selling these then now is the time to do it - not after the peak selling period.
 
Definitely not a ploy - Nintendo have lost thousands of customers who decided to buy a PS3 or Xbox360 instead. Nintendo make very little profit from their consoles anyway, virtually all the profit is made from the games which Nintendo make money from even when they're not the developer. Microsoft and Sony sell their consoles at a loss as well, again mainly so they can gain market share to make a profit on the games but also in the hope that they can win the battle of blu-ray v hdtv.
 
Just heard on the radio this morning that a load of wiis have arrived in the country this week and are available in stores.

My suspision just increases!
 
Cabaiste said:
Just heard on the radio this morning that a load of wiis have arrived in the country this week and are available in stores.

My suspision just increases!
Click to expand...

Yes but the DS consoles are still scarce. It makes no commercial sense for a company to have a shortage of products coming up to the Xmas. If it was just after launch or in the middle of the year, I would probably agree with you but they have nothing to gain by such a marketing gimmick at a time when sales are are going to be high anyway. As mentioned above, people might just go and buy another console instead.

I like your cynical attitude though!!
 
Am I right in saying that the Wii has been on the market since Nov 06? If so, nobody could have predicted that it would become the "in thing" for Xmas 07.
It appears the lack of availability of any item increases the wish to have that item ten-fold. (is there a mathematical formula out there to prove this?!)

I queued this morning to get the video camera offer in Aldi. A woman in front of me said she came in to do her grocery shopping, saw the queue and decided to buy two of them...for no reason other than they were in short supply (in her mind) and she suddenly decided she had to get them! Analyse that!
 
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My cynicism is based on the fact that everywhere seems to be getting them in now. Have a look at the thread where people are posting where they can be got. Create the shortage to drive the demand and then release the product. I'm not saying there is an advantage in people not being able to get one, Im saying there is an advantage in people thinking they can't have one then suddenly being available!
 
The Wii has been outselling the other consoles since it launched a year ago. That was a surprise in itself as it really wasn't expected. I just think they've been caught out by a surge in demand this Xmas for it. The Wii appeals to a much wider market than the other consoles.
 
I have had a strong suspicion for a while that it was just a ploy to drum up sales and interest - look at the amount of air time its getting on the radio. Everyone seems to need to get one and shops are selling out of them double quick. I've maintained for weeks now that they'd suddenly become available towards the end of this week and that already seems to be happening.
 

But you could also see that as the Manufacturers desperately ramping up production just in time to get them into shops for christmas - just managing it in time for Santy to get them down those chimneys. I hope you aren't going to criticise Nintendo for their heroic efforts....
 
I bought the wii in June. I had to order it from Argos - they were sold out then. They were sole out then in Smyths and Virgin. Demand has been matching supply demand all year. Its a great console and cheap at the rrp of €249 (wot I paid). Cant see any room for profit there.
Remember this device has spot on wireless technology - they same such technology I paid €160 for a wireless keyboard and mouse only a year ago.
 
I thought there'd be loads of wii consoles available after Christmas but I was wrong. I've been looking since Friday. Most places said they might have a shipment next week.
 
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