Now Get a “Rain check” to get a Wii

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With Christmas around the corner and people sweating it out to get their hands on what has been termed the No.1 gift choice-the Nintendo Wii. Nintendo Co Ltd announced on Friday that it will advance a "rain check" program to deliver the Wii in January to shoppers who can't buy the game console during the holiday season due to inventory shortages.

Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo of America President said that shoppers who pay the full price of $249.99 for an out-of-stock Wii on Dec. 20 and 21 at retailer GameStop Corp will get a certificate promising a Wii "sometime in January."

He said, "We expect this to be a great way for consumers who desperately want a Wii to have something to put under the tree." He added that the video game specialty retailer had "many tens of thousands" of rain checks to deal with frustration among holiday shoppers hunting for its Wii game console this holiday season.

Fils-Aime said that GameStop has the infrastructure to deal with rain check program as it regularly takes deposits on hot software titles before they launch. He added that Nintendo is also cooperating with other retailers, like Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Best Buy Co., so that the Wiis can be made available at the shelves before Christmas, possibly this weekend and in the coming week.

The Wii has seen tremendous popularity in the U.S mainly due to its unique motion-sensing controller and simpler games that have found approval from customers outside the traditional base of young males.

The Wii has sold more than 6 million units in the U.S. since it was launched a little over a year ago. According to NPD Group, 981,000 units of the Wii were sold in the U.S in November alone. On the other hand, 770,000 Microsoft Xbox 360s were sold, and 466,000 units of Sony PlayStation 3 were sold in the same period.

The popularity and tremendous demand for the Wii in the holiday season can be gauged from the fact that consumers across the United States have scrambled to find a Wii, often lining up before dawn at shops, or paying significantly marked-up prices.

Fils-Aime said that due to this strong demand for the Wii, Nintendo has not been able to manufacture the systems fast enough to satisfy consumers' appetites. He added that due to the continuous demand Nintendo was not able to “stockpile systems over the summer to meet the holiday rush.”

Fils-Aime called the shortages "unfortunate" and added that Nintendo has raised production twice in the past year to about 1.8 million units a month from an initial run of 1 million a month. He also said that there is no hope of an imminent increase.

"We'll keep producing at that level for quite a while," he said. "This shortfall benefits no one. Enough systems would make everyone, including me, much happier."