December 7, 2007
Etan Horowitz, Sentinel Staff Writer
A SECTION; FLORIDA; Pg. A1
By 10:30 a.m., Louise Walsh had already been to two stores when she spotted the telltale brown UPS truck pulling up to the Gamestop on East Colonial Drive.
Walsh held the door for the driver as he wheeled a dolly full of cardboard boxes inside. She and another hopeful customer waited anxiously to see whether the shipment carried the elusive Nintendo Wii video-game system.
It was bad news.
“No Wiis,” the manager said Monday after examining the shipment. “Sorry, folks.”
More than a year after Nintendo unleashed its revolutionary game system, the Wii is still almost impossible to find in Central Florida and throughout the country.
Local electronics-store managers say they get more calls each day asking for the Wii than anything else. When they do have some in stock, the game systems are gone in an instant — often before they’re even put on the shelf.
On Sunday mornings, lines outside big-boxes stores rival those on Black Friday, with dozens of people lining up before dawn to see whether they can snag one of the systems advertised in the weekly circulars.
The most persistent shoppers have figured out when stores get their shipments and are stalking the United Parcel Service drivers.
“They can be had, but they are not easy to find,” said Van Baker, an analyst with the technology-research firm Gartner. “You are not going to find them in the first retail outlet you go to, but if you are determined and you continue to look, then you are going to find one.”
Many resellers are offering the $250 game system online for three or four times the retail price, and one user, who claims to be a mother who needs to pay medical bills, has listed the system for $100,000.
Despite conspiracy theories, Nintendo insists it is producing the systems as fast as possible and isn’t holding back to artificially manufacture hype and demand. The company planned to stockpile Wiis for the holiday season when demand slowed, possibly during the summer. But that didn’t happen, and despite bumping up production from 1 million to 1.8 million units a month worldwide, Nintendo can’t keep up.
“The demand continues to exceed our expectations, and it hasn’t slowed down at all,” said Kelli Koenig Horner, a spokeswoman for Nintendo of America. “We are at capacity in terms of production.”
Over Thanksgiving, the Wii had its best week since launch, with 350,000 units sold in the United States.
Walsh wasn’t deterred after leaving Gamestop empty-handed Monday. She loves the thrill of the hunt.
It’s the second year in a row that Walsh, 49, a stay-at-home mom from Orlando, has trolled Central Florida looking for a Wii. She snagged one last year for her kids — who didn’t even ask for the Wii — because she happened to be at a video-game store in Fashion Square Mall about an hour and a half before a shipment arrived. This year, she is helping a friend who wants a Wii for her child.
“It’s kind of fun to try and find one,” Walsh said. “The people in the stores have all been nice, and you kind of see the same people trolling the same places.”
Guy Roman, 53, of Orlando was waiting with Walsh at the Gamestop on East Colonial on Monday and said he plans to continue visiting and calling local stores every day until he finds one.
“I thought I’d come down here instead of calling because in the time it takes to make a phone call, they could be all gone,” said Roman, a stay-at-home dad. “Now that Christmas is getting closer, if we get one, that would be great, but if we don’t, Santa might have to write a letter telling you that we’re out of Wiis, but we’ll get you one as soon as they come in.”
One reason demand is still so high this holiday season is that many people have tried the system at a friend’s house or seen positive reviews. What makes the Wii unique is that players don’t sit on the couch when they play. They use a motion-sensing device that is controlled with lifelike motion, such as swinging a tennis racket or throwing a bowling ball.
“It was like going on a treasure hunt where you really get a treasure at the end. We went to 12 different places before we finally found one,” said Karen Flood, 26, of Orlando.
Flood and her husband, Matt, 25, bought themselves a Wii for Christmas in October.
Store officials say there’s no rhyme or reason to when they get shipments of the console.
Brandy Turner, general manager of Best Buy on East Colonial Drive, said although her store will sometimes hold some units until Sunday to make sure it has the guaranteed amount listed in the weekly ad, a shipment can arrive at any time.
Walsh hit payday Tuesday at Gamestop on East Michigan Street. Roman went to the dentist and missed out.
“I had a 10 a.m. appointment, so I just missed it,” he said. “But I still got a couple more weeks. I’m going to keep trying.”
CONTACT: Etan Horowitz can be reached at 407-420- 5447 or ehorowitz@orlandosentinel.com