Wii'll be back! Nintendo promises more Wii and Wii Fit soon

Why is this girl smiling?

The popularity of Wii Fit is making retail supplies of the Wii console as thin as a supermodel. So the little lady at the right may be psyched because she actually has one.

Demand for the new fitness game has spurred thousands to buy the Wii, Reggie Fils-Aime, president of Nintendo of America, told me today. "We are back to a significant out-of-stock situation on Wii hardware," he said.

But wait -- more are on the way. The Japanese game company recently began ramping up its output of Wii consoles, to 2.4 million units a month from 1.8 million. That's the fourth production increase since the console launched in November 2006. The increased supply is just now starting to trickle into retail pipelines, Fils-Aime said. But the factories won't hum at full capacity until later this summer, he said.

"Currently, demand is higher than supply, but we believe we'll soon get back to a more balanced situation," Fils-Aime said. Balanced. Ba dum bum.   

Having consumers clamoring for your product is a good problem to have in these uncertain economic times. Nintendo's fortunes in this regard extend to its other properties. It snagged two out of the top 3 best-selling games in May, according to NPD Group figures released this afternoon. After the No. 1 selling Grand Theft Auto IV, Nintendo's Mario Kart raced in at No. 2 and Wii Fit claimed the No. 3 spot, according to the research firm.

Nintendo also sold 452,600 Dual Screen hand-held consoles in May, bringing total U.S. sales of the device to 20 million, according to NPD.

The firm also revealed that the game industry generated $6.6 billion in U.S. sales this year through May, 32% more than it did last year during the same period, NPD analyst Anita Frazier said. "The industry is on pace to achieve revenue in the range of $21 billion to $23 billion in 2008," she said.

Also according to the NPD report mailed out this afternoon to reporters: Sony's PlayStation 3 outsold Microsoft's Xbox 360 in the U.S. in May -- 208,700 to 186,600, respectively. Despite its supply constraints, Nintendo still managed to sell 675,100 Wii's in May.

Are troubles getting the Wii making you fit to be tied? Tell us about it in the comment box below.

-- Alex Pham

Photo courtesy of Nintendo

Comments

Sorry after buying my wii console I have been try for a very long time for a wii fit formyself when and where can i get one

[macwebtiger]

we've been using the Wii for about 6+ months now and love Wii sports. Wii Fit is something we are looking into, but we like to play with at least 2 people - not sure if Wii Fit allows for that. So, holding off for now...

thanks,
pb

I've been trying to find a wii fit ever since it came out, but to no avail. It's so odd that it isn't available in stores, but can be purchased on ebay for about double the retail price. I think we are being ripped off.

[Mamad]

I was so lucky in getting a wii in the first place. I checked future shop, best buy, and other website's stock every day. I was lucky to find best buy having a new stock one day. I jumped out of the house and bought it. For wii fit, I was also really lucky to have it. On the second restocking in future shop, i saw different outlets restocking. I went all the way to one of the branches just to hear they were sold out in the first half an hour. I was 1 hour late. So I went to another branch on the other side of the city and they said all of the employees bought them in the first 15 minutes. So I was all sad and went to buy a wii remote to play boxing with a friend instead. The guy in the mean time checked the back and found only one left for me. I bought it and he even gave me $10 discount on the 2 year warrentee.

[Reed]

I have been trying to buy wii fit for over 2 months always same story SOLD OUT I have tried every store there is that sells the game I agree with other people can get on ebay but must pay very big premium I believe someone is getting a monopoly of them and taking advantage of shortage and selling for profit making it hard to get on the open market Nintendo needs to get busy and start putting more on the market right away
Thanks
Sincerely
Reed

[HF]

I bought a Wii Fit this past week at Costco, for about 75 bucks. They got in a big pallet of them. I happened to be there and bought one. So, the Fit's are out there, you just have to be lucky and do your homework. Call and find out when the shipments are arriving and be there. And expect a lot of no-show shipments. Same with the consoles. Ask when they are due. And check back often.

[tinkerbell]

It is the same in Engand - SOLD OUT!!! the reason they are being sold on ebay is because people have been luck enough to get on and are selling them on to gain a profit! nintendo really need to stop this - why should other people get money in other peoples misfortunes!

[Kim]

I am SICK and TIRED of all these greedy rotten oppertunits who go rush out to buy these things, only to turn around and sell them on CraigsList and eBay for a profit. SCREW you all!!!! My gosh WHY is our world so dang greedy!!!!

[Chris Laramie]

I've sold about ten of these on ebay, you have to look I have found them fair and square and paid for them at the store just like anyone else has. if you can find one for retail price then buy it if not spend more time looking like I do nearly every morning.

[Danita]

Fair and square is buying one, not buying a bunch and then doubling the price.

[General Zod]

When an item is that hard to find in store, it really does take effort to track one day. There are definitely entrepreneurs that are spending there time to track them down and flip them on ebay.

But they are so high in demand right now, that even if they weren't the stores would still be out of them. When theres a shortage you aren't just going to be able to walk into store and grab one, you kinda got ask around, read forums, figure out when your local stores take delivery and get there at the right time.

I'd imagine for the ebay flippers that they have to put some effort into tracking them down. And they're flipping them for what 120-150 bucks. So basically if you buy one on ebay you're paying for someone else to track it down for you because you're too lazy :)

I don't flip them on ebay, but these people are offering a service (slightly expensive) in that they spend they're time to track them down for people that are willing to pay extra.

[Arjun]

I bought the Wii last week from Virgin Megastore at the Kodak Theatre in LA.

They had about 12 Wii's in stock and when I bought mine. It is selling at $250, same as anywhere else but they make you buy an accessory and a game.

This isnt a bad deal since you need an extra remote anyways. I talked my way out to buy two accessories instead of buying a game. So I bought a Wii remote and a Wii nanchuck remote.

Not sure if they will still have any in stock, but worth a try to check there if you really need one!

I did not go there to buy the Wii, I am from Maryland and was on vacation in LA, saw the Wii in a store for the first time and made an impromptu decision to buy it!

They did not have the Wii Fit, else it would have been the cherry on top of the cake!

[Todd]

This is ridiculous! People say they go out "fair and square" to buy theirs then turn around and make a profit on them. There is not a shortage, there are a ton on ebay. The problem is, all of these DB's who go out and buy all they can to make a profit. I refuse to pay more then what they are in the store. I'll wait until they are back in stores. Screw all of these A**holes who have nothing better to do.

[Steve]

It seems that the wii fit board is NOWHERE to be found in the US stores. Seems you can only buy it online for twice the price from people buying up the boards and scalping them at 100%+ profit.

Who's to blame for this? For one....Nintendo. They need to balance the supply and demand, which this website "says" they will do later this summer. Meanwhile, consumers continue to be "gouged" by scalper-like sellers wanting to make beacoup bucks off of people desperate enough to pay twice the price.

All could be resolved if Nintendo would just keep demand and supply in balance.

Best Buy, Circuit City, Sears....any major retail chain....not available. Gaming store inside large mall here gets about 3 a week and people are lined up outside the door before opening to get one, so there is little chance unless you plan to hide away and camp out inside the mall for the night (illegal, btw).

I also think it's a shame that eBay is tolerating the gouging that's going on with people who have obviously stockpiled the wii boards and selling them on their online stores for twice the price. There should be regulations against it. Similar to what TicketMaster tried to do regarding people buying up entire rows of front seat concert tickets online and scalping them on the eBay site. It should not be permitted. But what's eBay to lose on this deal? Nothing. They have everything to gain. They get a cut of the final price, so it's in their best interest to let their "scalpers" keep doing their thing. Shameless, in my opinion.

I would like a wii board very much, but AM NOT going to pay $200.00 for one. I will patiently wait until supply hopefully meets up with demand and the scalpers move on to the next "hot" item, whatever that may be.

Meanwhile, it absolutely sucks that those of us who want a simple wii fitness board cannot obtain one ANYWHERE. Out of stock, out of stock, out of stock. If not that, then, hey....pay twice the price.

It shouldn't be tolerated by Nintendo nor other sites where they're allowed to be sold in this way. The only "fix" I see for this problem is the aforementioned "supply meeting up with demand", putting these low-life scalpers out of business. No more 100%+ profit for them!

[Sherry]

I agree will all that buying wii fit on ebay amazon etc. etc. are out of their mind. I need one for health issues and can't take the time to lay around all day just looking for it. the sellers must not have a life if all thay do is look around for a video game. Also someone else had commented that a store said that all the employees bought them. I don't think that is fair. I also think that is part of the problem, they are probably buying more than one or two and selling on ebay. I makes me sick to see picture on ebay of stocks of wii fit boxes by one seller. If people would stop being greedy and think about others, the country may become a better place and fair.

[kendallevelyn]

Wii Fit stays out of stock no matter what Nintendo does. So before it runs out of stock this time too, purchase one. http://wiifitinstock.weebly.com/ would help you locate one from some of the coolest and most trusted sites online.

[nikolahenry]

Wii Fit stays out of stock no matter what Nintendo does. So before it runs out of stock this time too, purchase one. Wii Fit Tracker would help you locate one from some of the coolest and most trusted sites online.

[bakerlee]

It is very tough to hear about wii fit stock , but Nintendo is accepting challenge to fulfill demand. Let's check
http://wiifitstock.weebly.com to know the truth.

[greg]

I decided I wanted a wii and wii fit yesterday. I spent most of today searching every store within 50 miles with no luck. Eventually I went on craigslist and was lucky enough to find someone 5 minutes away selling it for the same amount (retail) that they paid. I was very fortunate. Now I'm trying to find a wii fit. It's frustrating, but it just takes time.

As far as people selling it for a profit? Who cares! They purchased them fair and square. If you put as much effort into finding one as they did then you wouldn't be complaining. I personally won't pay anything above retail, but I'm not going to complain if someone else chooses to makes a profit off their purchases. It's all about supply and demand. If you want one so bad, either cough up the extra money to buy one on ebay or put more effort into finding one and stop complaining!