How to find Wii Fit without working up a sweat

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Finding a copy of Wii Fit, Nintendo‘s innovative fitness video game, offers quite the workout -- for those who trek from store to store in search of the hard-to-find title. Like the Wii console itself, Wii Fit is in high demand and low supply, thanks to conservative planning by Nintendo and a weak dollar that has made sales of the game outside the U.S. more profitable for the Japanese company.

Fret not. Helpful readers of our weekend story about the shortage have written in with some advice. Here are their suggestions, along with some more of our own:

• Visit WiiAlerts, a site that notifies people via cellphone or e-mail when the game is in stock at a number of online merchants.
• Buddy up to store clerks. They sometimes know when a shipment is scheduled to arrive. Some might even call you when the game is in stock.
• Hit out-of-the way stores. You could get lucky.
• If you’re desperate, check Craigslist or bid on EBay. The markups can be steep, however. We found the $90 game selling for $150 on EBay.
• Exercise patience. Instead of paying a premium, wait until the game is back in stores and snag a copy at retail price. You’ll want to give your body a workout, not your bank account.

-- Alex Pham