MONTREAL - Consumers are wild for Wiis. They're also waiting and waiting for Wiis.
The frenzy to find a Nintendo Wii video game console can produce lineups at dawn outside stores, repeated telephone inquiries, online searches -- and often nothing but disappointment. Nintendo Canada has said demand continues to exceed supply and the company will ship Wii consoles to retailers as soon as they become available.
"For the masses, definitely the Wii is the thing that people are looking for, and when they get one they're pretty excited," said Darrel Ryce, director of technology and entertainment for the NPD Group, which tracks the gaming industry.
Michelle Leblanc scoured the Internet for a Montreal store selling Wiis and scored big, getting one of only three units at a downtown GameBuzz store.
"It took me an hour to get here and I'm pretty happy," said Leblanc, who came in from suburban Blainville, just north of Montreal, in the aftermath of a huge snowstorm.
"I am not even looking at the price," she said Wednesday, adding it's a gift for her 12-year-old daughter. "They told me they would hold it for me and they did."
She paid $550 for the Wii console and four games, including Nintendo's "Super Mario Galaxy," the top-selling video game in November in Canada.
Leblanc was lucky -- unlike many, many others shopping just before Christmas.
The Wii retails for about $269 -- and in some cases, up to $30 higher. Some people are hoping to sell their new Wiis on the Internet for between $400 and $500.
"I am sure there are plenty of people standing in line who are leaving disappointed," Ryce said.
Don Hill, manager of a Future Shop in Saskatoon, has seen people waiting outside his store at 6 a.m. to find out if there are any Wiis for sale. His store receives between six and 30 of the consoles in a two-week period.
He has a policy of one-per-customer and first-come first-served.
"We would order 10,000 a week if we could," Hill said. "They just can't fill the demand."
In Canada, about 472,500 Wii consoles have been sold so far this year, Ryce said.
An EBGames store in Halifax gets six to 12 Wiis weekly, and they're gone almost immediately.
"It comes in, it goes out," said assistant manager Nick Michaud. "It will last 10 minutes in the store and it will be gone."
In the United States, GameStop has a rain-check policy for Wiis in conjunction with Nintendo. But EBGames, the face of GameStop in Canada, doesn't have the same program.
GameBuzz owner Francois Carrier said he expects to continue to have a supply of Wiis available at his five stores in the Montreal area. But he predicted they will "sell out in 15 minutes."
"I have maybe a hundred calls a day to reserve Wiis or to give me money to get the Wii, but for people who come in my store I want them to have access to buy it," Carrier said.
Ryce noted the Wii was also tough to find last Christmas, and people assumed its popularity would be limited to that holiday season. But he said the Wii has been the top selling game system for 10 of the past 13 months.
"It obviously just wasn't a phenomenon for last Christmas or this Christmas. It is something that in its first year has had some real staying power."
Ryce said he believes the Wii is so popular because it's attracting both traditional gamers and others - people who play for a while and move on to something else.
"The group aspect and the fact that you're playing not sitting down - in a lot of cases you are standing up and moving around - has really helped build almost a party-like atmosphere."
Despite the Wii's huge success, Ryce said Xbox 360 and PlayStation3 aren't far behind in sales. They also seem to be available, he added.
"Typically a hot product isn't good news for your competitors, but in this case all three are doing extremely well and no one is really suffering."
Ryce said the video game industry, including hardware, software, accessories and PC games, is worth $1.2 billion in Canada so far this year, which is a new high.
"We still have the biggest month to come," he said of December.
Those waiting for Wiis aren't likely to get much relief.
A Best Buy store in Vancouver has a recorded message about the availability of the Wii console and "Guitar Hero" game, which can also be difficult to find.
The recording says it "expects to receive more on an ongoing basis. However, dates and quantities are not known at this time."
