If you’re like me, you’ve been to several gaming stores and have never seen a Wii available
for purchase. It’s a little ridiculous for a console that is 1.5 years old not to be available
anywhere. I had always wondered why, analysts at Wedbush Morgan believe they know why.
The U.S. economy is very very bad right now. If you’re a kid, you don’t really realize it, but
if you’re older living on your own, you have noticed your grocery bills rising, amongst other
things.
Wii’s are produced in Japan where their economy is currently stronger then ours in the US.
“With a weak dollar, foreign companies that sell their goods in the U.S. for dollars and then
convert those dollars to their native currencies get a smaller profit than if they sell their
products in countries with strong currencies of their own (such as Europe with the euro). In
other words, Nintendo makes a bigger profit on Wiis sold in Europe than on Wiis sold in the
U.S.”
So basically, Nintendo is offering more Wii’s to European nations because the Euro is stronger
then the dollar. But according to the analysts, demand is finally slowing in Europe to normal
levels. So who benefits from that? Us fat ass Americans! The extra consoles that were being
shipped to Europe should now begin to be shipped to the US.
So if you can’t find a Wii soon, just blame Europe.
I'm no expert in economics, but the british pound is probably the strongest (or certainly one of the strongest) currencies in the world right now. In this case, how come its still not particularly easy to get hold of a wii over here either? Admittedly, its easier than it was 6 months ago, but they still seem pretty thin on the ground. Having said that, I don't know how bad the situation is in the USA.
The post did say that they were selling like crazy in Europe as well, but sales are finally slowing down over there so they should begin shipping more units to the US. They're also hoping that the mighty dollar picks itself up too.
If demand for the Wii is so high in Europe that it has prevented people from getting a Wii here and for 1.5 years, then imagine how long it will take for people to find a Wii once Nintendo redirects their Wii supply to America. You still won't be able to find one I'm sure.
I already have one though, and it's great... I guess bragging about how great it is doesn't help the situation much, LOL.
It's also an issue of how many the company can produce. Take Walmart for instance, there are over 5700 Walmart stores in the US. If you figure that these stores get a shipment of two Wii's every two weeks that's 296,400 Wii's going out in a year... just to Walmart. It may sound like a lot but figure that it's still only two a store, which means only two people who visit that store in a given area have an opportunity to get their hands on one... it makes a shortage.
Now factor in all the other stores that get their shipments.
Wouldn't the reverse then be true that the Xbox 360 would sell better in foreign markets since it is an American console and thus should be cheaper? However, that is definitely not ture.
Is Nintendo keeping production limited to keep demand and interest high? Pretty weird how well the thing sells when it is pretty lame as a game machine. But, I guess that is the point, isn't it, the Wii isn't a game machine.
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I'm no expert in economics, but the british pound is probably the strongest (or certainly one of the strongest) currencies in the world right now. In this case, how come its still not particularly easy to get hold of a wii over here either? Admittedly, its easier than it was 6 months ago, but they still seem pretty thin on the ground. Having said that, I don't know how bad the situation is in the USA.
The post did say that they were selling like crazy in Europe as well, but sales are finally slowing down over there so they should begin shipping more units to the US. They're also hoping that the mighty dollar picks itself up too.
If demand for the Wii is so high in Europe that it has prevented people from getting a Wii here and for 1.5 years, then imagine how long it will take for people to find a Wii once Nintendo redirects their Wii supply to America. You still won't be able to find one I'm sure.
I already have one though, and it's great... I guess bragging about how great it is doesn't help the situation much, LOL.
It's also an issue of how many the company can produce. Take Walmart for instance, there are over 5700 Walmart stores in the US. If you figure that these stores get a shipment of two Wii's every two weeks that's 296,400 Wii's going out in a year... just to Walmart. It may sound like a lot but figure that it's still only two a store, which means only two people who visit that store in a given area have an opportunity to get their hands on one... it makes a shortage.
Now factor in all the other stores that get their shipments.
This guy has an entirely different theory:
http://malstrom.50webs.com/index.htm
Wouldn't the reverse then be true that the Xbox 360 would sell better in foreign markets since it is an American console and thus should be cheaper? However, that is definitely not ture.
Is Nintendo keeping production limited to keep demand and interest high? Pretty weird how well the thing sells when it is pretty lame as a game machine. But, I guess that is the point, isn't it, the Wii isn't a game machine.
Fecking aye