Why is it so hard for me to find a Wii remote? With Wario Ware: Smooth Moves hitting the streets next week, I’m going to need a second controller if I’m going to pull of my planned evening of drunken, mini-game madness. Target, Best Buy, K-Mart, GameStop — you name it. Sold out.
But hey, Wii Play comes with a remote! So I decided to try and reserve one at my local GameStop. Well, apparently, I’ve missed the boat. It seems GameStop/EB Games have reached their brick-and-mortar reserve allocations for Wii Play (which won’t hit shelves until February 13)! That’s right, as far as one month out from release, the specialty retailer has stopped taking reservations on the product.
It’s a well known fact that finding a Wii console (ever after the frantic holiday season) is no easy task. Despite Nintendo’s claims that they’ve met their shipping targets, it just hasn’t been enough. While reports are coming in that stores are receiving shipments with some regularity, they seem to be arriving in small numbers– certainly not enough to meet the demand.
But fine; I’ll give them console shortages. There’s still a huge demand for the system, there’s no doubt about that. But accessories, too? Come on, Nintendo. If you want my mom, my sister, my grandma, and my parrot all to gather in the living room for a rousing round of Wii Bowling, maybe it’s time to start shipping more than four remotes out to stores every two weeks.
