The recently promoted CEO of GameStop, Dan DeMatteo, was seen at the GameStop eXpo in Las Vegas this week, and talked to John Gaudiosi about how the Wii is currently doing at retail. In short, it’s still the same as it’s been since launch – despite record production numbers – and we might see the Wii being the hottest item for a third Christmas.
I’ve never seen this type of demand before. I know they’re making more, but we’re still short like everybody else. I think we’ll have a continued shortage this Christmas… I don’t see a near-term end in sight for Wii shortages, not unless they really ramp up supply. I think they’ve ramped it up 20 percent or so, but Nintendo is fairly cautious by nature. They ramped it up 20 and it’s still evaporating.
I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’ve seen Wiis sitting in Wal-Mart display cases a little more often. Sure, they’re sold out by the end of the day, but at least they’re making it to the shelves at all.
