In just a few short days the long, arduous wait for Wii U will be over - in North America at least - as Reggie Fils-Aime will hand over the very first Wii U console at the Nintendo World Store in New York City, in exchange for money of course.
It appears, however, that if you decided against pre-ordering a Wii U Deluxe Set then you might find it difficult to get hold of one at launch, as Nintendo of America's Scott Moffitt has revealed it has been selling like hot cakes; presumably the Basic Set is just selling like cold cakes...
Speaking to gamesindustry.biz, Moffitt said the response to the new console had been "phenomenal", as consumers have been flocking to their nearest retail outlets to get their pre-order down as soon as possible. Moffitt believes this incredible response shows that Nintendo has got its pricing "in a good spot."
Nintendo has had problems with console shortages in the past. When Wii was launched, there were issues getting the consoles out there fast enough to meet the high consumer demand. Moffitt believes the company has learnt its lessons from this and has plans to replenish stock much more frequently over the festive period.
Certainly we've seen brisk pre-sales and that the phone calls have been coming into our headquarters for quite a while now asking for more and so we do expect high demand. But I can tell you this - on opening week we will have more systems on hand for the Wii U than we did for the launch of Wii. And, second, our replenishments will be more frequent this holiday time than during the Wii launch.
However he was quick to cover his back as he went on to say, "it's impossible to exactly predict demand, and so I can't say that we won't have some shortages out there and that people won't have to be a little patient".
Have you pre-ordered your Wii U? Are you worried about shortages? Let us know in the comments below.
[source gamesindustry.biz]
Comments 58
Got mine!
I preordered on the first day that preorder was available, and waited in front of the store an hour before they opened. At the time I felt a little silly but I'm glad at this point that I did.
Just a few more days...
I'm so glad I decided to preorder mine. It won't be long now.
I missed the preorder period because I was gone on my honeymoon. I'm not that confident ill be able to find a system anytime soon, especially since I want that coveted deluxe set!
November 30th can't come soon enough. Where I pre-ordered it from often send the stuff a few days early so I might get lucky.
Glad I got mine, even though I'm going portable more then TV, I hop in a few gens all Nintendos home consoles will transfer to there handheld
I pre-ordered one, but I'm thinking about selling it since I could really use the money to move. I know I'll get one eventually, but my only worry is how long Nintendo will be doing the Deluxe set with the eShop program...
Im glad I was able to snag an in store preorder at target after the first rush of preorders sold out.
This is no surprise to me. The deluxe set is easily worth $50 more than the basic set. That being said, it will be interesting to see if any nonfanboys think any wiiu is worth $300-350.
Same I didnt get a chance to preorder but hopefully I can walk away with one on launch day. The deluxe will be hard to get
Am I the only one who didn't pre-order? DARN IT!
I didn't get a pre-order in. And no way I'm getting Basic. I hope shortages aren't large.
I pre-ordered 2 wii u's hahaha. I know one of my friends are gonna want one once it comes out. they'll FINALLY understand why its gonna be such a great system! They're just too blind right now....FOOLS! Haha
Here in Brazil, we'll have to wait for 2013!!!
I went to gamestop and preordered right when the direct was over!!! Paid off my four games and my wii u delux set !!!!
I pre ordered it the day the European release date was announced, so I should be allright. I don't think the pre-orders sold out here though, but it's still nice to be confident you'll get your hands on it soon enough.
Got mine and knew it would sell greatly.
1st day preordered! 10th person to reserve at my gamestop!
I preordered as soon as GS let me.
two of my brothers and I all ordered the deluxe model.so Sunday can't come fast enough.
I had one preordered one but something came up so hopefully I will be able to get one for Christmas still.
Lucky Americans I can't wait for the EU release, but I don't think that I will be getting my WiiU on launch, since I was a bit late with my pre-order. Looking forward to your initial reactions!
I pre-ordered a few days after pre-ordering started. Deluxe you shall be mine
After watching that video this morning, even though I don't understand a word of Japanese, it was apparent that the non-deluxe Wii U is almost useless. Even if the deluxe didn't come with a $60 game it would be worth it for the extra 24GB (the basic only has 3GB free), the extra stand, the charging stand and the "Premium" 10% discount club for 2 years.
That said, MS sells a 4GB Xbox360 so I'm sure the basic will be usable and sell out as well.
I went to Gamestop about a half hour after the New York press/pricing event a few months ago and pre-ordered mine, no problem at all. It was sold out, for GS, a few days after that though, so I went at the perfect time. I'm not waiting like an idiot either; I'm going to GameStop Sunday morning at 9am and walking right in and out with my Nintendo stash
I pre-ordered mine at Best Buy back in September, I should be good. Only 4 days left!
I'm getting a Basic first since the Deluxes were out of stock, but I'll trade in my Basic for a Deluxe after a year or two.
@Jaco Your best bet will be Walmart or Best Buy at midnight, and big stores like that, which MIGHT actually receive an extra few. Stay away from "video game" stores (that specialize in them, like GameStop) as that will be an exercise in futility, my friend. They will be lucky to get any extra systems, and it's highly doubtful at release their will be many extras at all. I would not want to be you in this situation buddy. Good luck though, none the less! The more, the merrier.
I'm gonna try to get the deluxe set on black friday, if not then the whole month of December is gonna be a game of go to the store everyother day just like the Wii was, hopefully shortages won't be nearly as bad~
I preordered mine from Best Buy shortly after hearing it was sold out at Gamestop. Only 4 more days!
I pre-ordered, but I had it sent to m home so I probably won't get it for a day or two after launch.
Pre-ordered mine, but too bad itll not make its way to Ecuador fast. At least Im most certain Ill get it for Christmas under the tree when my father gets it from the US
i preordered the very next day after i found out the price so i got my deluxe and in time too i might add lol, few days later i found out it was sold out so whew that was a close one
Of course I preordered! The bad thing is that even if I'm going to pick it up on launch day, I won't be able to actually play with it until mid-december... ;-;
Check !
I don't get the point of the Basic model. They could have called it Standard, but instead they diss it by calling it Basic. They specifically show how totally inadequate the storage space is, and leave it out of the digital downloads promotion as though they don't even care about the extra profits they would get from download sales vs retail. The fact that the Deluxe is selling like hot cakes and the Basic like cold cakes pretty much shows that the pricing is off. They should have raised the price of the Deluxe $20 and lowered the price of the Basic $20 and then maybe there'd be a more even distribution of sales.
Got my hands on a reservation card at Target for $5 as soon as I could. That was only two and a half weeks ago and it guarantees me a wii u deluxe set on launch day, and they would reserve it 7 days after launch. Alot of people don't even think to reserve at target and they STILL had reservation cards available at some targets last time i checked. Me and the kids will be there first thing sunday morning to pick ours up!
@acelect24 I couldn't preorder either as my grandma wouldn't let me for 2 months... THEN she let me when they all sold out. I'm gonna go at 8 am in the morning sharp to Sears sundau in an attempt to get one when they open. I don't care if it's basic or deluxe (I can buy the stand ETC later for christmas), I'm gonna get a Wii U day one, even if I go Double dragon trying to get mine out of the store without being beaten.
pre-ordered mine the day after they officially announced the date. glad I didn't wait.
Preordered mine and the one I am giving as a present through Walmart. This works out great as the 18th is within associate appreciation and I will be able to get 20% off everything.
Glad I've already got my Wii U pre-ordered. Now just four days remain.
Gotta wait in line. There better be one to buy launch day if I stand in line.
I didn't pre-order because I know I will be getting one for Christmas, (and I'm a patient boy) but when I unwrap my Wii U, it will most likely be the Basic Set.
My family is like, "Ooh this one is cheaper so let's buy this one instead" so if I'm very lucky, I might (emphasis on might) unwrap a Deluxe Set instead.
The store im buying mine in didn't take preorders
nobody likes nintendo near me so im not worried about shortages around me
Hope I can get deluxe w/out pre ordering
I didn't pre-order, and I can't remember why. lol. The Target reserve cards caught me off guard. How did anyone know they were coming?
Target was where I stood in line to get a Wii on launch day and back then they had no pre-orders, so I was hoping to repeat. Now, I'm not sure how many they'll get beyond the reserve number.
Saturday, I'll be calling places to see if they have any info on numbers. Will be interesting.
Could have grabbed a Basic reserve card at Target... but I don't want that one.
I'll hopefully find a deluxe Wii U before Christmas or after, and when the console launches in North America, i'll hopefully have all the Wii U toys from Burger king (Yeah, i'm THAT excited about the Wii U)
It's killing me that I can't get it this Sunday because I don't have the cash for it.
And yes, I do want the premium bundle just like everyone else!
Waiting for price drop. Remember the 3DS guys?
@pntjr I doubt it if it's selling this much
@pntjr More ambassador GCN and DreamCast games form me
@nintendaholic that's what I though to, and it was sold out, but I barly got mine
@pntjr on the price drop. You will be waiting a long time. Nintendo is selling this console AT A LOSS. Nintendo attempted to make a profit on each 3DS and it backfired horribly and then it took a hit on each one to make sure it didn't lose ground. That lesson has already had an effect on the Wii U price and probably the amount of memory in the console. It's about as low as it's going to get for a LONG time.
I guess if thousands of the consoles sat on the shelves with no one interested for the next few months the price could drop, but so far that doesn't seem to be the outlook.
I will also concede this: The basic bundle COULD get a minor price drop as it seems the demand for the Pro is WAY higher so far.
My pre-order got cancelled by my store when they stopped carrying it DX
I pre-ordered one a few weeks ago. I went with the premium bundle, even though I wanted the ZombieU bundle. The ZombieU bundle was sold out all the affordable places and I regret I didn't pre-order the ZombieU bundle right away.
I got my pre-order in on the weekend after the release date was announced. I went with the Basic Set because I have no interest in Nintendo Land and I only wanted white. The memory situation is a non-issue for me, as I have intended since the Wii U was announced to add an external hard drive.
I seriously doubt the Basic Set gets a price drop early on. I can see them giving buyers a copy of Nintendo Land in some kind of basic set bundle, but not a price drop.
I preordered the moment I saw the first online preorders available. kinda wish I had waited until the morning and gone in store to do it. My online preorder is marked as shipped now, with a delivery date of the 20th. DOH!
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