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Reggie reveals GameStop Wii 'rain check' program, talks supply photo

During today's short-notice Nintendo group phone interview, Reggie Fils-Aime announced a Wii 'rain check' program partnership with specialty retailer GameStop.

On December 20 and 21, consumers willing to give up the ghost and admit to their children that Santa isn't real will have the opportunity to pick up a "rain check" for a Wii console. Paying in full will guarantee a console for pick-up sometime in January, with the caveat that the console must be picked up by January 29. While Reggie wasn't able to talk about an exact number, he's confident that there will be plenty of rain checks to go around.

"[GameStop] have many tens of thousands of rain checks available across their roughly 3,000 points of distribution," he says. "So we expect this to be a very strong program, and we expect this to be a great way for consumers who desperately want a Wii to be able to have something -- their certificate -- that guarantees their family that they'll be able to get a system in January."

For those not willing to wait and are prepared to continue the hunt, Reggie also says that system will be available this weekend, with six national retailers actively promoting the availability in circulars (Best Buy, K-Mart, Sears, Target, Toys 'R' Us, and Circuit City). He also mentions Wal-Mart as a place frustrated gift givers might want to stalk -- they're said to be pushing out "massive amounts" of Wii systems all week long.

I'll be reviewing my call notes shortly in an attempt to pull out some more gems, but don't get your hopes up -- the call was mainly focused on Wii availability (it's hard to get) and Wii production (they're trying, they couldn't have anticipated demand, and so forth). We already knew that, right?








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30 comments | showing # 1 to 30
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BahamutZero's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/14/2007 11:08
BahamutZero
right now I want that wii skully more than a wii
AgentMOO's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/14/2007 11:09
AgentMOO
Rain checks are so next gen
Shin Oni's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/14/2007 11:10
Shin Oni
that Wii skully is on the wrong black person's head.

needs to be on my black head.
MrSadistic's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/14/2007 11:14
MrSadistic
This reminds me of that whole 'Star Wars toys' fiasco back when the first movie came out.
Y0j1mb0's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/14/2007 11:18
Y0j1mb0
Or instead of a raincheck people can just get an Xbox360 or PS3 and the hell with the Wii.
JamesSorensen's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/14/2007 11:23
JamesSorensen
gamestop preorder.. such a novel idea
Holyetheline's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/14/2007 11:23
Holyetheline
This reminds me of the old time Beanie Babies fiasco.
JACK of No Trades's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/14/2007 11:26
JACK of No Trades
There should give out: "Good Third Party Game" rain checks.
Geoff Henao's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/14/2007 11:27
Geoff Henao
Best Buy will have Wiis for this Sunday's sales ad. Meaning, go to your Best Buy early Sunday morning to beat out any potential lines that may form if you want to pick up a Wii.
JamesSorensen's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/14/2007 11:31
JamesSorensen
ya many places will have a lot Sunday.. prolly good lines too
Corncobtacular's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/14/2007 11:32
Corncobtacular
How many new posts do you think there will be in the clogs announcing this news? I'll say 3 by the end of the day.
cannonball's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/14/2007 11:46
cannonball
*puts in his two-week notice at Gamestop*
gitrooman's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/14/2007 11:46
gitrooman
So how are these rainchecks any different the preorders?
BahamutZero's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/14/2007 11:50
BahamutZero
corn - 6

anyone in NYC keep checking with virgin megastore in union square, they always get in big shipments and its not a place most people look for games. which is weird. Their games section is 2x the size of best buy
monosylabik's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/14/2007 12:13
monosylabik
its an old joke but really....what the hell goes into making a goddamn wii.its barely a gamecube with some extra pieces. someone should let nintendo know that they are already kicking major ass and they dont need to be playing games about wii shortages and not being able to meet demand. im sure there are so many extras reggie has built a house made entirely of wii's.
konchu's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/14/2007 12:51
konchu
This is definitely good its better than a pre order cause its really guaranteed by Nintendo I know on pre-reserves manufacturers do sometimes guarantee numbers to the store but its not always 100%.

Now if we see a lot of systems all of a sudden hit I can't help but think maybe they were holding back just a little. You have the holiday and the closer it gets the more desperate buyers get. Don't get me wrong there is demand for the system is real but if you have stock that you are pretty comfortable will sell out why not direct the flow to your advantage amplify the hype and keep numbers consistently growing on the books.
Trevor McGee's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/14/2007 13:04
Trevor McGee
Christ, Reggie looks fucking evil in the picture.

hoydensnare's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/14/2007 13:07
hoydensnare
A deal of Faustian proportions.
loki d20's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/14/2007 13:24
loki d20
Not interested. Even less interested because it's GameStop.
rubadub's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/14/2007 13:38
rubadub
The best thing about the problems with Wii availability is that in the time it took me to locate one, I realized id rather have a 360 or PS3 so it essentially saved me a headache.
king3vbo's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/14/2007 14:12
king3vbo
Reggie is fucking scary
AgentMOO's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/14/2007 14:19
AgentMOO
@king, check out the podcastle this week, Sterling's imagery of Reggie will shock and amuse
Gorelord's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/14/2007 16:00
Gorelord
that guy looks zombiefied
vexed alex's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/14/2007 16:33
vexed alex
So, Preorder the Wii, but instead of paying the $5, you pay the entire thing. Meanwhile, Gamestop is making interest off that $250 every step of the fucking way. Fuck you, Nintendo.

I've been calling every day to see if any stores have Wiis. None ever have any. This is supposed to be my little brother's Christmas gift. If I can't get one, I'll just get an XBOX 360 Arcade. I have an extra 20 GB HDD so I'll just throw hand him that too. I'm not going to beg you beg you for your damn console.

I'm not going to do anything outside of going into a store to buy one. I'm not your little bitch ass Nintendo fanboy who rebuys the same Zelda game. The same douche bag who gets mad at reviewers after their precious Nintedo game didn't get a 10. This one of very few situations where you lost a sale because you can't be a real company and have the proper amount of consoles out in stores. Hopefully people will do the same. Overhyped, overpriced crap...
Fading Star's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/14/2007 17:56
Fading Star
Keep on the search. We must find the ancient Wii of Cortez!
Urashima's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/14/2007 21:19
Urashima
My Game Crazy store did something similar to this last year. Had a lot of angry people come January because we couldn't get them fast enough. Even had some people who did this come back and demand refunds becuase they had found it elsewhere and then saying how slow our company was at getting product replenishment, etc etc.

Ura
liqideos's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/14/2007 22:48
liqideos
Bahumut...I have FIVE of those skullies.

No joke.
Bob Muir's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/15/2007 00:03
Bob Muir
I'm sure that kids are going to love getting a rain check instead of an actual gift.
Aaron Mxy Yost's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/15/2007 01:04
Aaron Mxy Yost
Is it sad or awesome that I recognize the guy in that pic as Isaiah "Triforce" Johnson?
Burnt Meatloaf's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/15/2007 05:45
Burnt Meatloaf
Do they offer reality checks, too?
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