Where to Find a Wii

As elusive as Tickle Me Elmo, the Nintendo Wii is this holiday season's hardest gift to find. Due to unprecedented amount of demand the Wii has made it almost impossible to find. Working at a retail chain store, I probably get asked sixty times a day "Do you have any Wii's?" which is always followed by an apologetic no. With so many people out looking for Nintendo's motion controlling machine of fun, I thought that I would shed some light on why it is so hard to find one and when the best time is to look for one would be.

The incredible demand for the Wii's stems from the new demographic that the videogame console is hitting. Typically, men ages 16 to 32 are the key age group that videogame developers make games for. With the Wii, that all changed. Grandpas are bowling with their grandchildren, mothers are running with Mario, and children everywhere are getting off of the couch.

Videogame nerds are no longer dungeon master virgins, with the Wii; they are women, the elderly, and children. While the majority of Sony and Microsoft's games are geared towards guts and gore, the majority of Nintendo's games are designed for fun and accessibility.

So, how do you find one amidst the chaos?

First of all, start early, go to all of your local stores and figure out when they receive shipments. Typically, the larger chains keep there Wii's for the Sunday ads. Find out when stores such as Best Buy, Circuit City and Target open on Sunday and if they are planning on receiving any Wii's that week. A small amount of sacrifice and dedication maybe needed in order to secure your place in line on Sunday morning. We have had people waiting outside of our store for three hours before we opened in order to get a Wii.

The smaller specialty chains such as; Gamestop, EB Games, Game Crazy and local videogame stores receive shipments Monday through Friday in the morning. Don't bother showing up every morning, but grab a card and call them from time to time, or everyday if you really want it. This is not as reliable of a source though due to the fact that the shipments can show up any day and the employees are not sure what day they will get there.

In case you do find one, I do have a few items that I would recommend purchasing with your Wii. The Wii comes with one set of controllers, and all of the cables you need to hook it up to your television. Another set of controllers, called a Wii Remote and Wii Nunchuck, would be good if you plan on playing with someone else. A good solution for this is Wii Play. This is a set of nine mini-games that comes with a Wii Remote controller. This usually retails for $49.99, only ten dollars more than the Wii Remote controller by itself. The last item that I would definitely suggest is the Nyko Charge Station. Usually retailing for $34.99. The Charge Station comes with two rechargeable batteries, battery covers, and of course the Charge Station itself.

Most of all, you're just going to be a little bit lucky and very dedicated. Good luck, and I'll see you on the other side of the counter.