If the Wii is good for you….?

I want a Wii, badly.

I’ve been trying to find one since Thanksgiving of last year, when a friend of a cousin who lives far away brought his to our family get-together. My children were enamoured with the fact that you actually “played with the game” rather than “playing the game”. They had hours and hours of fun, and were only slightly less sweaty afterward than their time in the church gymnasium playing ball.

My wife and I have discussed the merits and deficits of getting a video console for some time. My kids have a computer, so they do play games to be sure, but I am really trying desperately to avoid anything that would trend them toward couch-potato-hood.

The Wii was the answer I have been looking for. Its games were fun for the kids, and there was next to no learning curve. Even the little there might have been came natural because of the physical interaction. Perfect… I froogled (which you really must try) the Wii, and fell even more in love with the price point. My favorite view of this phenomena is an exercise regimen designed exclusively around the Wii.
Today, I read that my suspicions were correct. The Wii is good for your health (and my kids’ health too). Nintendo has even made the “Wii Safety for Morons” guide, for those that could get hurt with something as mundane as Cheese Whiz.

Yet, of course, I still don’t have one. Why? Of course you would ask that. Because Nintendo wants me to be fat.

OK, so maybe it’s not personal, but pretty please isn’t getting me anywhere. Is Flextronics so over-subscribed for their manufacturing work that they can’t pump out more of these babies? I mean, really?!? I’ve shopped on-line, been to nearly every store that says they’d sell me a Wii if only they had one, and even signed up for raffles… not to win a Wii, mind you, but to have a chance at buying one… AT FULL PRICE. Can you imagine telling your wife ‘Hey honey, I’m in luck, I spent as much money as the manufacturer would allow the store to take!’

Even Nintendo has wised up to the health aspect of this toy-wonder. They are now making games for the purpose of increasing exercise based on the Wii. Those brilliant cohorts have one tiny problem. They are being stingy on opening their market by not having enough manufacturing capacity. Isn’t that why companies outsource to Flextronics to begin with?

Maybe I’ll get one soon. Maybe I’ll just pop down another Diet Coke and pretend I’m 10 pounds lighter. Maybe Nintendo will hear my desperate plea and get a few from their back room and ship to their retailers, or at least go direct via the Web (hey, hey, cut out the middle-man!). I’ll pay MSRP, just give me the Wii and no one gets sat on!

So there are three facts that should be stated. One- I will buy a Wii when I can get one. Two - I strongly considered buying BOTH Nintendo stock and Flextronics stock prior to Dec 1, but didn’t, just in case they screwed up their manufacturing or distribution model, and Three - I still can’t bring myself to buy either company’s stock, since they are now sitting on a long slog to get consoles to market while it rapidly erodes to the X/Box since there aren’t enough Wii’s to get into consumers hands.

What Nintendo should do, is sell Advanced Shipment tickets. A customer can buy a Wii today with a promised delivery date. That date needs to be something less than 5 weeks. Such a move would put a lot of money into Nintendo’s pocket, satisfy a lusting marketplace (somewhat) and give them reasons to order a predictable add-on batch of orders from their suppliers. Without a predictable time to purchase for people wanting to get their post-Christmas Wii’s, Nintendo may find themselves in a tragic situation; being the hottest commodity that no one can get until the market forgets them since the itch couldn’t be scratched.

Forget all the legislation on “Trans-fats” and “school lunch regulations”. Give me a Wii !

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