Is Pre-ordering the Nintendo Wii Still Possible?
Release dates have finally been confirmed by Nintendo for its much anticipated Wii console and with that piece of information out of the way, attention promptly turns to just where someone can go ahead and start pre-ordering the Wii console. Perhaps because of lessons learned by the Xbox 360 launch and its rampant supply problems, gamers are much more attuned to pre-ordering as a way to satisfy their console sweet tooth.
Conversely, that has given retailers all the more opportunity to secure preorders with consumers eager for the Nintendo Wii. However, with two million Nintendo Wii consoles claimed by Nintendo to be available in the U.S. and Canada by the end of 2006, the question arises as to whether pre-ordering is really necessary. If early actions are any indication, consumers certainly seem to think that pre-ordering is the only sure-fire way to land a Wii this holiday season.
Amazon.com had to take down pre-orders for the Wii within hours of posting their availability. Slews of people hoping to land their Wii through a convenient online source like Amazon were turned away amid fears by Amazon that their Wii shipment wouldn’t be enough to handle even another minute of preorders. Preorders simply came in at a quicker pace than Amazon had anticipated and the retailer was left scrambling without confirmation through Nintendo as to the size of their Wii shipment.
Brick-and-mortar stores were no different and EB Games/Gamestop ran Nintendo Wii preorders on October 13 and quickly closed down preorders as allocations disappeared within a few hours. In a bit of a savvy move by the retailer, various stores were checking name and address information to ensure that consumers were only able to preorder one Wii throughout the chain. Deposits ranged from $25 to $50 to reserve a Nintendo Wii, a first for GameStop as no hardware preorders had ever been available before through the company.
On October 29, Toys R Us followed suit and as news of previous preorders had been posted on the Internet and reported in local news, lines formed early and just as before, preorder allocations sold out in a matter of minutes. Many stores had lines of people for Playstation 3 and Nintendo Wii preorders well into the early morning hours and some started forming the day before.
The Internet could be the last, best hope for consumers looking to reserve their spot in next generation gaming with a Nintendo Wii. EB Games, for one, has announced that online preorders will be available at some time in the future and will include a special discount card that can be used on select future Wii software purchases.
Wal-Mart also got in on the preorder bonanza, requiring a newsletter signup for the trouble. As of November 12, 2006, the link to the notification page was taken down, so it remains to be seen whether this retailing giant will be able to deliver the goods on launch day.
Under-utilized Asian outlet, Lik-sang.com, will also offer preorders online without necessitating any money up front, unlike most retailers. Lik-sang has a history of exporting reliably to the United States and could present an opportunity other consumers are apt to overlook. Various bundles will be available and GamePlanet.com will provide one of those preorder perk packages by offering a Nintendo Wii baseball hat and t-shirt upon preorder, as well as a guarantee that consumers will indeed get their console when they expect it on release day.
Internationally, a wide variety of retailers in Great Britain will offer preorders, among them Gamestation, Argos, PC World and HMC. The online sites for those companies will be where most of the preorder action takes place, so consumers in that region should keep an eye on those web sites for the availability of Nintendo Wii preordering when it releases in that region. If Nintendo is right in its claim that there will plenty of Nintendo Wii consoles to go around, preorders might be seen as a lot of hoopla for no reason, but certainly there is much value in ensuring a console for one of the most exciting product launches in some time.
Keep your eyes peeled for more news in the countdown to launch!
© 2006 CoolGamesZone.com
