With launch day just over a month away, and pre-orders already having been placed, it seems we're that awkward will-we, won't-we time, where we start to worry about whether our pre-orders for Nintendo's new console, the Wii U, have been placed early enough to guarantee us a console for launch day. While it may seem like an odd thing to worry about - after all, the whole point of placing a pre-order is to guarantee yourself a console for launch day, news coming out of games website C&VG today suggests that we may well have good reason to worry.
Speaking to sources at a retail group within the UK, C&VG have discovered that as few as 25,000 consoles may be making their way to the UK this November in time for launch day - which when you consider there's some 62 million people in the country, works out at just one console per 2,500 people - with some retailers now worrying that they won't be able to fulfil the pre-orders they've taken. Other reports aren't quite so grim though, with some stores claiming there'll be 75,000 to 100,000 consoles country wide on launch day - although even then stock may be tight in the weeks leading up to the festive season, especially when compared to previous launches (for reference, the PS3 had over 160,000 consoles to cope with its launch weekend). It's worth bearing in mind that pre-orders have been closed for a while in America, as demand there is through the roof, possibly helped by the fact it works out around £50 cheaper than over here.
With games like New Super Mario Bros. U available on launch day, it's hardly surprising the Wii U is proving popular.
A Nintendo representative has confirmed that "Wii U stock levels will be tight on day one. However we will be providing retailers with regular stock deliveries in the run up to Christmas in order to meet demand as quickly as possible", but whether things will go according to plan remains to be seen. We're hoping we won't see a repeat of the Wii's launch, where supplies were seriously limited for two years post-launch in some places as shoppers rushed out to buy the console - which lead to inflated prices on eBay, long queues and retailers putting together extravagant bundles for excessive prices, making the most of consumer demand. With the Wii having got through some 105,000 units in it's opening weekend, breaking many sales records in the process, the Wii U could be in for some problems if it matches its predecessor's popularity.
Of course, there are a few potential reasons for the limited stock, as Nintendo have suffered several setbacks in the production of the machine. August brought with it some hiccups in the manufacturing of the unique Touch Screen controller, due to it's complexity, although this is quite a common problem with putting together new consoles, but a fire that broke out in one of the factories in October could well have scuppered things more than Nintendo were willing to let on. The third option, of course, is that stock could be being redirected from the UK to elsewhere - according to our local GAME store, pre-orders for the machine have been pretty quiet so far, so there's a strong chance the stock could be being diverted to regions where demand is greater.
As it stands, only time will tell how the Wii U will fare when it hits stores across the country on the 30th November - hopefully we'll hear more about the stock situation in the coming weeks. In the meantime we're keeping our fingers crossed.
