Wii U Deluxe Easy to Find on Christmas Eve

Out of 19 stores we visited in total, 16 had Wii U Deluxes in stock and every store had Wii U Basics. Many thought that the new console would receive a similar "must-have" Christmas gift status like the Wii, which finding on Christmas Eve, or any day in December in 2006, was nearly impossible.

[YoungPlex]

Yea I'm sure they just got a shipment in and just stocked it too. Both Fed-ex and UPS dropped off a shipment of Wii U's while I was at GameStop and I seen them heading across the plaza towards target, Best buy, etc... Nintendo said that they would keep em stocked throughout the holiday and they weren't playing!

[Thatguy-310]

They were always in stock where I lived. Its just a matter of looking. Wii u isn't the runaway success many wanted to be.

[dirthurts]

The same here.
They aren't even selling for a profit on ebay (unheard of for a new system).
It's a great little system, but it's just not that next gen system people were wanting.

[hduce]

I can find xbox360 and ps3 in stores with no problem. I could even find them during black friday when they were $200 or lower. But I guess because I can find them in stores that means they aren't selling. I'm glad the supply chain is so good that the system is selling at retail on ebay. I hate those people who take advantage of gamers because they have the inside track on getting preorders. I suspect that the supply chain for Microsoft and Sony's next consoles will be good. Nobody benefits from a shortage.

[zgoldenlionz]

Same here in northern California I've never seen the wiiu out of stock. While I might not call the wiiu a runaway success it's doing pretty damn well for itself. I've been on the fence about purchasing one for lack of games I'm really excited to play I'm sure I'd have fun with Mario and zombieu but I hate letting a new console sit and collect dust for the first year waiting for new games I did that with all 3 consoles last gen and I'm trying my best not to give in to temptation. I hope I don't get too much cash for Christmas if I'm close to getting a wiiu I might bite.

[Root]

All this talk of the console selling out was just to get people to rush out and buy it....it was a massive marketing stunt

They'll do the same with the 720 and the PS4

[AJBACK2FRAG]

Why would any Nintendo fan give two s**** what a Sony fan has to comment about the WiiU? Get back to your area! Duh, the WiiU sucks... got it. Now go away.

[ChickeyCantor]

Who is to say that your place didn't buy it online?
It's a matter of factors, and not to mention some people are waiting for the holidays as well.

[hduce]

I know some stores are actually hold them back too. 4 Best Buys in my area said they were unavailable around 7pm last night but they were back in stock this morning. I just did another check and 3 out of the 4 stores are unavailable again for the delux model. My friend at Best Buy told me the supply chain is the best he's seen of any new console. I don't know why people are suggesting that because you can find them, they are not selling. I can find 3ds, xbox360, and ps3 without a problem. I know they are selling.

[wiiumad]

everyone who complains because they CAN find a wii u in stores is an idiot. Thats the whole point. Nintendo did a good job of keeping up with stock. Get some sense into you dummies

[nevin1]

It actually can go 2 ways.

1. Its indeed not selling

2. Nintendo are actually keeping stock.

[YoungPlex]

Based on the numbers I'm leaning towards option 2. The Wii U has nearly sold 2 million consoles in 4 weeks, that's pretty damn good despite all the negative articles and people saying it isn't selling. It's also good because most people said that nobody (including the casual gamer), wanted the Wii U. I guess that isn't true at this point, but then again things can change for better or worse after the holidays... I guess we'll see!

[Phil32]

"I'm going to go with option #1 because it is the narrative I want to portray and will give me more clicks." - Gaming journalism sites

[finite]

Thats great news that stock is available for customers well done Nintendo getting stock out intime

[hduce]

I knew the trolls would be out in full force it's Nintendo. The console will be at over 2 million sold at the end of this month and they predict failure. I know that want it to fail and that's their opinion. Opinions are like assholes, everybody has one. Or is it that these assholes have opinions? Go troll somewhere else.

[zgoldenlionz]

It sorta feels like you're trolling right now. Cheer up its almost Christmas!

[hduce]

I never troll. I have every game console and will continue to buy everything when it comes out. I don't waste my time posting comments on articles about systems I don't like. I'll leave that to you and your trolling friends. Now back under your bridge.

[zgoldenlionz]

If you weren't trolling you would have wished me a merry Christmas.

[hduce]

I didn't know trolls celebrated Christmas. My bad.

[metroidfusion2]

The wii u is already at 1.8 million in sales and it is the second most wanted thing by kids only behind the ipad so after christmas its total might jump to over 2 or over 3 possibly over 4 million who knows but if nintendo exceeds there goal of 5.5 million consoles sold by the end of march next year that's good but even if they don't meet it by that time they will eventually pass it up with monster hunter,the wonderful 101,pikmin 3,lego city undercover and whatever else is coming out next year and I'm sure those games will sell millions

[Gemmol]

Remember Nintendo did say they wanted to keep stock better then the last time with the Wii.....so far the amount it sold in the amount of weeks it been on the shelf show they kept their promise

[rainslacker]

I remember them saying that, but I also remember them saying that they were sold out. Fine distinction that they were sold out of pre-orders, but had plenty of stock to move 2 million units in 5 weeks.

I am happy though that they were able to sell them at retail and make money off them, as opposed to letting the system flippers gouge the unlucky customers. I think it's better for Nintendo in the long run.

[KrisButtar]

i think nintendo is doing fine with sales but what i find interesting is someplaces never were sold out but others were. just was making me think it would be kinda cool if the showed a map of N.A. and showed the spots which were sold out and what spots were not selling, point is maybe it was just the east coast sold out and everyone in the west didnt want one or maybe between north and south. i think it would be nice to see density of some areas verus others

[rainslacker]

That's not really uncommon. Big retail outlets have metrics based on region which can predict how something will sell in an area. Sometimes they are wrong, so it's not unusual for one store to get more than they can sell, while others don't get enough. If you go to gamestops in different regions, you will notice a difference in floor space devoted to the various platforms. Same with almost every retail outlet, except maybe wal-mart, as they seem the same no matter where I go.

[KrisButtar]

thats so very true, i would just like to see pictures or graphs how regions have done(not predict), i have 4 eb games in my area and im friends with the distrist manager said that they didnt even have 1 pre-order on a wii u before launch, yet there were articles that gamestop double as many pre-orders as the wii, so seeing a map or something like that would be interesting to see if maybe some states/provinces in N.A. have no sales or if a small state/province has more sales then some big cities. to see where the wii u is trending :)
http://bgr.com/2012/11/16/n...

[Kevlar009]

Stores have always had them in stock in my area. It doesn't help stores in my area don't have any WiiU demo stations, just a video screen, but not sure if it would help much anyway.

Until we get official sale numbers we are all just throwing out somewhat educated guesses on how it is doing overall. You won't see me with one until a core franchise gets a game (Metroid most likely), amongst other factors. Hopefully Nintendo won't wait until next Fall for a WiiU blitz, I would hope Spring is their first major window, post-launch. Economy has taken a toll on some people, and I suspect some "hardcore" Nintendo fans are waiting for a major franchise release to get the WiiU, but this is merely speculation. We shall see

[strigoi814]

coz its a lie that it was sold out..just to create hype

[PopRocks359]

Or maybe initial shipments actually did sell out and they just kept up with the demand. Not exactly an impossible outcome, you know.

[ElectricKaibutsu]

Nintendo did say they were going to make sure they were in stock for the holidays so it could just be they came through. Or they could be selling badly. All I know is when the Wii came out and it was impossible to get for months a lot of haters were saying it was all a marketing trick by Nintendo and they were purposely limiting supply. Now Nintendo has units in stock and those same people are saying it's a sign the Wii U is dying. I'm looking forward to seeing the actual sales numbers after Christmas.

[josephayal]

Omg this is horrible for Nintendo

[scottd]

Wii U has 425,000 units sold first week . (2006) Wii has 476,000 units sold first week. Just for a comparison,its great that its available for the holiday shoppers, not having a shortage does not = terrible sales. All the trash talking in the world can't change numbers, (and no im not a fan boy i don't even want the Wii U) So in the end who cares... PPl who own the Wii U are having fun the one's that don't want it will not buy it and the world keeps turning :P

[V0LT]

I think its selling fine. Apple is kind of the same way... They sell millions and the supply is usually there... I think they either made more of them this time or they or they are not faking a shortage as they did with the Wii.

[WiigotU]

People have there own ideas of how they measure success. The wii u will be over 2.5 million by the end of christmas and will prob hit 5 million before the end of Feb. Nintendo estimated 5 million by march. So by there own estimation they have succeeded initually. The next thing they need to do is find a better marketing firm and make sure that there retro or monolith studio game sts the bar for the next gen.

[wiiulee]

its good to know that nintendo has plenty of wiiu's out there to get the most sales possible unlike the wii's situation....now they just need some really good commeercials

[BLAKHOODe]

I've seen the Wii U in stock every time I've went to Walmart the last few weeks, which has been quite a bit with all the Christmas shopping. The Wii U just isn't the highly sought after, must have console the original Wii was.. and I think a lot of the Wii's success was that it was so hard to find. To top it off, I think a lot of uneducated gamers don't even realize it's a new console, but just an add-on to the original Wii that they haven't played in forever.

[mastershredder]

I've been traveling this holiday season the. The Wii U was in stock in NY, Connecticut, Arizona and every place I visited back in the Los angeles area. It's not selling like a typical new holiday release console and that is not a good thing (this quarters sales forcast is going to take a hit). Now don't come off claiming I'm a Nintendo hater, far from the truth (I like anything tech or games and have every Nintendo console), but Nintendo has left a weird taste in some people's mouths and jumping onto this system and its current offering seems like more of the same Wii hype. The launch lineup is small and the marketing campaign is not as big of a push in the right direction and what marketing there is, is more kid and family focused.

Now you can argue that the Wii U is more than just youthful and casual titles, but that selection of mature single player and online focused games are far and few. If Nintedno steps their game up to caiter to this mature audience they'll get more sales in that demographic (including multi platform owners). Otherwise, they are going to miss an oprtunity since many folks are not willing to buy another Nintendo console to play yet another iteration of their Nintendo headliner titles with little in the way to feed their non-casual, non-family focused gaming needs.

Now waiting for those "yeah, you're wrong 'cause I bought one" responses, in which you clearly did not get it or look at if from a relevant perspective.