Nintendo Wii Hunting

[AHF]

I know this is borderline suicidal to try to find one of these weeks away from Xmas but here we are. I know some of the people on here are clued into the best way to find a Wii. Any recommendations for someone in Atlanta?

[Buzzsaw]

It should be a lot easier to find one than when I was in the market for one last year. Here's the best way to find one online: http://wiitracker.com/ ... There are a couple available right now.

[wolvetigers]

Good Luck finding them in the stores. Your best bet maybe to hit up Ebay and get one, thats where I found mine.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...:L:LCA:US:1123

[Eddielives]

wiitracker.com

slickdeals.net

dealnews.com

You're going to have to check wiitracker.com literally several times an hour to catch one. For instance, Toyrus might have it available for like 10 minutes at a time once or twice a day. So Good Luck!

[chillzatl]

Since I own one I can say this with more sincerity than most don't like it, but I just don't understand the hype. If I was in the market for a game console, I wouldn't consider anything other than an Xbox 360. The Wii is a gimmick in every respect. While it has sold tons of units, the attach rate is the lowest of this generation (meaning games sold per console) because...the games suck.

It's a console that got a lot of hype because of the game that comes with it, wiisports. That game, and Nintendo's own PR, built expectations for the Wii that have yet to be followed up on. They said "graphics don't matter" and billed the unique controllers as being the be all end all, then they start cranking out games that hardly even use them. For the most part even the games that do manage to use the Wiimote well are just gamecube ports (resident evil).

Unless you know of a bunch of games for it that you just want to play, I advise you to save your money. Because without that list of "must play games" you'll play wiisports for a month and that will be it for you. That's how it was for me and many of my friends who own one. We were all into it for a month or so. Once Wiisports got old we realised that nothing else out there matched it and most of the other games flat out sucked.

[chillzatl]

a word of advice. Check the weekend ads, the ones that kick in on sundays. If a store advertises Wii's (or anything) they are bound by law to actually have them in stock when the store opens that Sunday. So you can be pretty confident that if you see Walmart or ToysRus advertising the console itself in the ads that start this Sunday, They will have them if you get there when the doors open. You just have to get there early enough to not miss out.

[ecc423]

shoot one 4 me.

[ATLJA316]

I walked into my local walmart, proceeded to the electronics department, and asked for one.

for me, it was as simple as that....

I guess I'm one of the lucky ones, but my advice would be to ask the people at walmart/target when their shipments arrive -- then be there that day. I know when i worked @ target we got trucks in on monday, wednesday, and i believe friday. As things came in off the truck, we loaded them up and put the stock on the shelves. maybe you can be one of the first to get it OFF the shelf eh!?

(that's how I was able to get a copy of Guitar Hero III for the Wii)

good luck!

[AHF]

Just for myself, I would probably go for the Xbox360 if I was going to do something but this is more with the entire family in mind (two young kids and non-video-game-playing wife). I probably won't have time to play more than a few games a year so as long as they can come out with several good games a year that will be enough.

* * *

Thanks for the advice, everyone!

[cyman3]

AHF, I was in your position a one point and I even started a thread about it on hawksquawk (search for it if you have the time).

Anyhow, i bought a Wii using one of those Wii tracking websites. Luckily, I didnt have to buy one of those $500 bundle packages. I just bought the Wii itself for original price and 1 extra controller.

You can try one of those Wii tracking sites (sorry, but i dont remember which one i used) and you can also try http://atlanta.craigslist.org

As for my take on the Wii?

*its for kids. plain and simple. If you are a kid (or if you are buying one for a child), i think its a great system.

however for the high schoolers and the big boys, I say go w/ the Xbox360 (or PS3 if u have the money).

Sports games (the main genre that i like to play) are not fun on the wii. Its actually quite annoying.

But i dont regret my decision at all. Im not a big gamer (i play the Wii a few times a month, max!). I got the Wii modded (to play my BACKUP games, of course ) and im ok.

[Diesel]

There's nothing about the Wii that is "high tech". It just gets you a different way to play games. Graphically, I would say it's below standard. Most games I would say are standard to below standard.

Then on top of everything else... they only produce so many.. that the demand far exceeds the supplies creating market drought. It gives the illusion that this is the thing to have when in all actuallity, it's just the thing in lowest supply. What do you call that... False Demand. Pseudo Demand.

I love it. It's great marketing!! Because now, every kid wants a Wii.. (not because of it's games or how its played but because of it's shortage).

[AHF]

Hasn't the Wii outsold the Xbox360 in significantly less time and haven't they dramatically outsold the PS3? Don't they sell like twice as many Wiis per month as compared to the other consoles?

I am not a console expert but I do assume that the graphics and game selection is the worst for Wii among all the platforms. However, I don't buy that they are keeping the #s down to generate artificial interest. PS3s were supposed to be very limited in number and that hasn't exactly brought them a lot of success.

I think the Wii's success is more attributable to a cheaper price and a broader appeal for their limited games. You aren't going to get a family sitting around playing Gears of War together. Families do sit around and play Wii sports together.

[chillzatl]

worldwide the 360 is still slightly ahead, but yah, for the most part the Wii has outsold it in half the time. Everything is killing the PS3, it is the lame duck out there now.

With the exception of the controllers, the Wii is basically a gamecube. So there's no logical reason for shortages other than Nintendo purposefully keeping supplies low. It DOES generate hype because people who aren't gamers read how neat wiisports is and see that it's hard to get and cheaper than most "next gen" consoles, so it makes it something they seek out. The primary reason for the Wii's success is the initial experience and hype that Wiisports generates. The low price simply makes it something most anyone can own.

As I've stated before, I have my concerns that the system will be a long term (2-3 years) success. Looking at software sales to hardware sales, I would estimate that a good 2/3rds of the Wii's sold were hype/impluse buys and haven't been used beyond Wiisports. That's not a recipe for success in the video game market. It's all about game sales and the Wii is nearly tied with the ps3 for lowest attach rate. There are just too many shoddy games and Nintendo is well known for doing nothing to help support 3rd party developers. It's made worse when even Nintendo's own first party games come out and fail to take advantage of the controls, which were supposed to be teh lure of the machine in the first place.

[AHF]

Game development is clearly the issue with the Wii for me. That said, it is basically that or nothing so I will take the risk. I still don't know, however, why Nintendo wouldn't crank up production more than they have unless it would require them acquiring or building new production facilities. Given the prices on Ebay, it is obvious they would still have shortages even if they gave a significant bump to the production.

[drzachary]

Quote:

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Game development is clearly the issue with the Wii for me. That said, it is basically that or nothing so I will take the risk. I still don't know, however, why Nintendo wouldn't crank up production more than they have unless it would require them acquiring or building new production facilities. Given the prices on Ebay, it is obvious they would still have shortages even if they gave a significant bump to the production.

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Hm, Zack & Wiki and Mario Galaxy both are incredibly great. They make me feel like I'm not just playing a Gamecube. So, try those!

[chillzatl]

I'll second mario galaxy. It's the first game since Wiisports that I feel actually needs the wiimote/chuck to make it what it is. 10/10

[drzachary]

Quote:

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I'll second mario galaxy. It's the first game since Wiisports that I feel actually needs the wiimote/chuck to make it what it is. 10/10

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I'm crossing my fingers that the dearth of awesome games was just a long lag time, and all kinds of good stuff will be coming out now!

[BeeSwatter]

I looked everywhere for one and finally had to give in and buy one on Ebay for my daughter. I definately believe Nintendo purposely limited production. I haven't seen one in a store this whole month

[chillzatl]

I dunno man, nintendo has gotten a rep over the years as not being very supportive of 3rd party developers and everything I've heard so far with the Wii seems to support that. I've heard of quite a few developers say they are holding off on the Wii because "non-nintendo games don't sell on nintendo platforms".

[AHF]

How is the Zelda game? I saw it got very high ratings.