The Making of a Medley
Newsstand: November 23, 2009
Transit City and Transit Cities
The Daily Photoist: November 23, 2009
It's the Nintendo Wii's third holiday season, and it's still the must-have gift that's impossible to find. Torontoist contacted forty major retailers in the GTA, and they were all sold out—most of the stores we talked to didn't even know if they were getting more. "Nintendo arbitrarily sends them," explained one Best Buy employee at Sherway Gardens. "We never know if there are going to be some in the truck." Matt Ryan from Nintendo Canada told us that "Nintendo has no way of knowing what the ceiling is in regards to demand for our Wii product. We do however have more Wii units going into the marketplace during the holidays than we did last year." Nintendo may have increased supplies in North America by 50% this holiday season, but it's clearly been insufficient. If you're still looking for a Wii, the big retailers, like Best Buy, Future Shop, and Zellers, are your best bet, as those stores usually receive the largest shipments—but there's no guarantee that they'll be getting more.
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I wonder how the sales for the DS will be this year, since they were sold out last December/January.
Surprisingly, I snagged a used DS for about $100 a few days after Christmas last year. I was at the same place recently and saw several used DSs.
I got mine from a small gaming store, actually, in a tiny "old people" mall. Went in and personally asked when they get shipments (Nintendo or not) and showed up that day... no line ups, no fights... much better than dealing with uninformed seasonal staff at Best Buy.
Shoppers drug marts seem to always have Wii's, and sometimes Wii fits as well. No one seems to ever check there.
One of the things I discovered while writing this article was that a lot of stores put empty Wii boxes on their shelves to show that they carry the product, even if they don’t actually have any.
I second the Shoppers Drug Mart suggestion. They also have somewhat limited quantities but you might have a better chance getting it there than Best Buy or something (At least I did).
Wal-Mart informed me the Wii and the DS were the hottest items this year (along with the Wii Fit). The SuperCentre in Scarborough did have some in stock the other night though.
I've heard that HMV on Queen St. West will be getting a shipment in on Dec. 22 (be there early). The Source has a bundle available on their web site as well (if you don't mind buying a battery charger, memory card, batteries, etc. with it).
To paraphrase a Sony commercial: "If fun didn't matter..." What Nintendo has achieved with the Wii is just insane. Three years ago there was talk of them getting out of the console industry and just making games, like their former nemesis Sega, because the Playstation and Xbox were just selling so well and Nintendo had been second and then third fiddle for so long.
When trying to buy the Wii last year, I just basically asked every single place that I imagined might possibly sell them, until eventually I lucked out. I didn't kill myself looking, just on my travels. But yeah, i concur with the Shoppers Drug Mart idea, they're a place you wouldn't normally associate with selling them, and they do.
As for Wii Fit, I got mine recently at a Rogers Video. I discovered they sell them (as well as consoles, so try there Wii Searchers), and they actually put me on waiting list, and called me when they got a shipment.