Wii U eBay resale / sellout / availability discussion
- Thread starter SquiddyCracker
- Start date
Well, there does seem to be a perception problem going by what other people have said. A lot of consumers apparently think it's just a controller for the Wii. It's reminiscent of the 3DS dilemma at its launch where many people thought it was a regular DS with 3D added on. Nintendo will just have to work on that.
EDIT: Oh, the thread I replied to got merged.
EDIT: Oh, the thread I replied to got merged.
The PS3 was, not as much as the wii but it was.
gaming_noob
Member
It was sold out at a giant Wal-Mart in my area with a sign "You can only get a Wii U if you pre-ordered it from this store". NSM WiiU looks so clean, it's great.
1. Consumer Confusion.
2. Those that do know what it is, aren't convinced they need it (at least right now). They are like me waiting for a "big game"
3. It doesn't have the mass appeal of the wii. Grandparents are not going to line up for a system with a complicated controller.
4. The games. NSMBU is a good game, But people are burned out on the NSMB style. Zombie U looks cool, but seems divisive and people dont want to spend 400 bucks on a game they may not like on a fundamental level. Everyone played batman / mass effect already.
5. The Price, especially with the deals you can get on consoles right now.
2. Those that do know what it is, aren't convinced they need it (at least right now). They are like me waiting for a "big game"
3. It doesn't have the mass appeal of the wii. Grandparents are not going to line up for a system with a complicated controller.
4. The games. NSMBU is a good game, But people are burned out on the NSMB style. Zombie U looks cool, but seems divisive and people dont want to spend 400 bucks on a game they may not like on a fundamental level. Everyone played batman / mass effect already.
5. The Price, especially with the deals you can get on consoles right now.
The Wii was really the only impossible to find one. The 360 was available at Christmas the first year that I saw, same as PS3. The Wii was undergoing a "Tickle Me Elmo" situation.
On top of that, and keep in mind this is from MY experience!, I know people who aren't looking expecting a repeat of the Wii being constantly sold out and haven't bothered looking yet.
My understanding is they've launched with hundred's of thousands more units this time in NA compared to pretty much every other console launch in the region. I don't think the advertising or "hook" is as good this time as prior launches, but I wouldn't call the console struggling. It appears that most official online retails have sold through their first shipment and it's much harder to find them in brick and mortar. There's a couple of target's and Walmarts in my area that still have them, but for how long?
We'll see how long this all lasts though. I got my Wii-U with particularly low expectations.
We'll see how long this all lasts though. I got my Wii-U with particularly low expectations.
It's hard to give this a sound byte answer.
I got a PS3 within days after it launched.
Xbox 360 had manufacturing problems and the initial shipping allotment was a lot smaller than what Microsoft told retailers. GameStop couldn't fulfill even the pre-orders until a month after it launched. It wasnt a demand issue - it was a manufacturing problem that led to the shortages.
The only one i had to wait several months on was the Wii.
The PS3 had no shortages and the scalpers were returning them to stores when they saw they couldn't make a profit. The $599 price tag was the reason.
Edit: wtf?? I responded to a completely different thread and it ended up here
I got a PS3 within days after it launched.
Xbox 360 had manufacturing problems and the initial shipping allotment was a lot smaller than what Microsoft told retailers. GameStop couldn't fulfill even the pre-orders until a month after it launched. It wasnt a demand issue - it was a manufacturing problem that led to the shortages.
The only one i had to wait several months on was the Wii.
The PS3 had no shortages and the scalpers were returning them to stores when they saw they couldn't make a profit. The $599 price tag was the reason.
Edit: wtf?? I responded to a completely different thread and it ended up here
speculawyer
Member
It wasn't. I still remember someone at Sony saying they'd give out something like $1000 for each PS3 found after launch. He didn't hold up his side of the bargain.
TheGreyHulk
Member
This is true. I know some people that literally though it was just a controller for the Wii or that the gamepad itself is just a handheld or something. They didn't know that it was actually the successor to the Wii itself.
Nintendo really should have named the console the Wii 2. It would clear confusion instantly because people automatically would know it's the new generation of the Wii.
I don't think ebay prices will last at all. There's a lot more consoles this time around from Nintendo. They're restocking stores quickly with more shipments than in 2006 for the original Wii.
Definitely. It was a shooting star that faded quickly. If you could do a BiN on ebay during the morning of launch, things were spectacular.
Demand quickly dropped by the day.
And within 1 month, they were available in stores everywhere. And Jack Tretton then began with all the quotes that insulted people's intelligence (and I believe the entire city of Milwaukee).
It wasn't. I still remember someone at Sony saying they'd give out something like $1000 for each PS3 found after launch. He didn't hold up his side of the bargain.
I low balled my BiN at 2000 at it sold immediately when the listing went live in the ebay search engine. Plenty were selling for 2500. Let's not have revisionist history. It had a spectacular first week. Which is more than Wii U can claim at the moment.
Nightstick11
Banned
I had to drive to five or six stores before I could find one basic set. Deluxes were sold out everywhere.
Also overheard a lot of people asking for a second gamepad controller.
Also overheard a lot of people asking for a second gamepad controller.
Out of 6 Walmarts in a 25 mile radius of me, there are two showing deluxe packages in stock still. That is really surprising.
Remember there is still four weeks until Christmas, and every weekend between now and then are huge shopping days. Black Friday gets a lot of publicity, but other days are just as "bad." Christmas Eve is one of, if not the, biggest days of the year for shopping, so they might still completely sell out over time.
Remember there is still four weeks until Christmas, and every weekend between now and then are huge shopping days. Black Friday gets a lot of publicity, but other days are just as "bad." Christmas Eve is one of, if not the, biggest days of the year for shopping, so they might still completely sell out over time.
PorygonVandal
Member
Ghost Rider
Member
No problems finding deluxes here at all
theDeeDubs
Member
I think it depends on your area. PS3 and Wii were hard to find for a while here (especially the Wii). WiiU's are gone here as well. Our Walmart only got 8 and they sold out at the midnight launch and they're only supposed to get 8 more before Christmas. Seems some areas got more stock than others.
friskykillface
Banned
didnt see any wii u's in cambridge, natick,copley or walpole this black friday weekend, checked best buy,target and wal mart while doing my black friday shopping
wait saw 1 basic unit but it was snatched up quick
this is in massachusetts btw so im glad i pre ordered/got it last week
it really depends on the area/state i guess
wait saw 1 basic unit but it was snatched up quick
this is in massachusetts btw so im glad i pre ordered/got it last week
it really depends on the area/state i guess
AwakenedCloud
Member
Wii U was a bad name. I've already had friends, gamers and non-gamers, ask me what the Wii U was and if it was just an upgrade for the Wii. They need to let people know, even if it means putting "Successor to the Wii!" in big red letters on commercials, advertisements, and console boxes.
Fox Mulder
Member
WiiU wouldn't have been so bad if Nintendo didn't already have a history of similarly named products like the DSi or DSXL. Those actually were iterations on existing hardware, so it's not a shock if people believe the same for the wiiu. They should have called this the Super Wii or Wii 2.
Count Dookkake
Member
.
Basic Models not too hard to find. Some in various Walmarts/Best Buys. Some, mind you. I counted a total of 4-5 in like 7 stores that I went to.
Deluxe Models are impossible to find. Every store has preorders/reserves out the ass for them.
EDIT: Don't trust any inventory trackers. Call instead. Most inventory trackers count consoles on hand even if they're reserved for other people. You might have several dozen consoles at the store, but zero available.
Deluxe Models are impossible to find. Every store has preorders/reserves out the ass for them.
EDIT: Don't trust any inventory trackers. Call instead. Most inventory trackers count consoles on hand even if they're reserved for other people. You might have several dozen consoles at the store, but zero available.
The stores in the city I lived in at the time had between 2 and 4 launch systems. I think North America maybe did 1,000,000 for 2006 didn't they?
MrFortyFive
Member
I guess I'll post my anecdote from Ann Arbor in this thread as well.
I walked into a Meijer at 11:30 on launch night, got in line with about 8 other people, they sold all the deluxes and I got a basic model. I didn't have a huge preference to either one as I don't plan on buying a lot of digital content, and 32GB after the OS and such isn't going to hold up that well anyway.
After that, I have yet to see a Wii U on the shelves. This includes the Meijer, Target, Wal-Mart, Gamestop, K-mart, and Toys R Us before or on Black Friday. There's also a Best Buy but I don't often go there so I don't know if they have any. I'm guessing not considering how empty everyplace else is So it seems that here at least, the Wii U is pretty tough to find.
I walked into a Meijer at 11:30 on launch night, got in line with about 8 other people, they sold all the deluxes and I got a basic model. I didn't have a huge preference to either one as I don't plan on buying a lot of digital content, and 32GB after the OS and such isn't going to hold up that well anyway.
After that, I have yet to see a Wii U on the shelves. This includes the Meijer, Target, Wal-Mart, Gamestop, K-mart, and Toys R Us before or on Black Friday. There's also a Best Buy but I don't often go there so I don't know if they have any. I'm guessing not considering how empty everyplace else is So it seems that here at least, the Wii U is pretty tough to find.
I'm curious about how it'll do in Japan, since Nintendo has been calling it a Super Wii for several weeks now in advertising.
Dead Prince
Banned
so its a wii on steroids.
speculawyer
Member
Look at the cartoon you posted . . . see the Copyright 2007? The PS3 was released in 2006 and it was sold out initially.
PS3 Sales did certainly did slow down quickly due to the $599 price tag. But it was sold out in the first few weeks . . . unlike the WiiU.
The WiiU may be in much larger supplies than the PS3 and that could explain some of this. And the idea that there is consumer confusion about this just being an add-on to the Wii may have some merit.
demigod
Member
Umm fellas, the PS3 was definitely sold out at launch. That comic by penny arcade was 3 months after launch.
I'm not surprised by the Wii U's demand. The 360 and PS3's were easily double the price even a week or months after release. You can buy the Wii U's on Amazon's marketplace for under $100 over MSRP.
I'm not surprised by the Wii U's demand. The 360 and PS3's were easily double the price even a week or months after release. You can buy the Wii U's on Amazon's marketplace for under $100 over MSRP.
axisofweevils
Holy crap! Today's real megaton is that more than two people can have the same first name.
If it helps, MCV has an article about the Wii U being sold out in UK.
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/uk-retail-reports-wii-u-sell-out-3/0106954
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/uk-retail-reports-wii-u-sell-out-3/0106954
To expand on it, this mocking was based on the Tretton quote: "If you can find a PS3 anywhere in North America that's been on shelves for more than five minutes, I'll give you 1200 bucks for it." This appeared in the March EGM issue.
m.i.s.
Banned
Hard to say without figures. If numbers were good, I think they would have told us by now [with less than a week to go for UK / PAL launch].
3DS had record pre-orders of well over 100,000 for instance. And Nintendo UK made no hesitation of informing media outlets of that figure at every opportunity.
We've not been given Wii U pre-order numbers anywhere by Nintendo - let alone shipment numbers.
I was just about to ask that question. It's unusual for Nintendo not to release some PR statement about "record breaking Launch sales" etc. I take it from their silence so far that it's not looking too good.
Since last sunday, I haven't seen one Wii U box in stores. I'm sure it's nowhere near hard to find compared to what one would expect out of a console launch, but it's not that easy either. If I hadn't bought it day one, I would have to wait or search the net right now. There's still plenty of stores where most potential buyers are on the pre-order or waiting list in the case of EBgames.
There's still plenty of stores where most potential buyers are on the pre-order or waiting list in the case of EBgames.No it was hot for a few weeks after launch then nothing. The ps3 was easily attainable a month after launch at retail.
Edit: I say this as someone who had a launch ps3 thought about selling it on eBay but didn't because I bought into the hype. Then I felt like a fool weeks later seeing them all over the place retail.
It's not going to break any record, that's easy to figure out just by the launch day which didn't garner much hype. It's probably why it was so easy for me to get one day one without pre-ordering.
Exactly! We've had nothing, not a word from Nintendo. Total media silence. That is kinda weird considering they've just launched a new piece of hardware.
friskykillface
Banned
went to a best buy in dedham, MA and they had 1 basic console, no deluxe
games were selling though, there were no sales at best buy for them but i saw about 4 people with NSMBwii u in their hands.
games were selling though, there were no sales at best buy for them but i saw about 4 people with NSMBwii u in their hands.
UncleSporky
Member
You think? Say it out loud and you get "Wii U is Wii too."
Count Dookkake
Member
.
Don't they usually wait until this weekend is over?
ZedIndyLil
Member
It's too early to say how this launch is going sales-wise; maybe Nintendo will drop some numbers Monday? But if it isn't going well (by some sort of standard), then Nintendo's not the only company who should be a little concerned.
m.i.s.
Banned
For sales figures? Certainly. But what of pre-order figures building up to launch? None whatsoever.
thekonamicode
Member
I can't tell you how many people in my stores have thought it was a regular Wii game.
You're right, but that was a supply constraint. CNN Money notes less than 200k were sold in NA by December 8.
But by the end of December, Kotaku notes how easy it is to find PS3's. Come January 1, 2007, seeing 31 PS3's sitting in a pyramid wasn't an unheard of or uncommon sight. It is too early to tell with the Wii-U, but based on the rumored shipment number of 1.5 million by the end of the year in NA, I don't think what I've seen is indicative of a problem.
That said, I'm certainly not putting any of this in stone and I think we'll have a decent amount of clarity by mid January, if not by mid December.
That's also not to say I don't think Nintendo has a real long term problem. I greatly feel that they do.
Which came out in mid February. When the interview was done in January, there was already a good amount of evidence of a problem.
Sadly there seems been almost a constant stream of bad press/user complaints since launch in the US and the knock-on effect from that, in the UK, is a dearth of folk cancelling any pre-order that they had.
You would have expected some sort of PR spin to keep the console in a good light pre/post launch.