Nintendo’s Wii gaming console is in such high demand this holiday season that there simply aren’t enough to go around. So instead of finding one of the cool, white machines under the tree, a lot of kids will be finding their stockings stuffed with a card promising delivery sometime in January. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the rain check program is exclusive to retailer GameStop and offered to shoppers who buy out-of-stock consoles this Thursday and Friday.
Gamestop reportedly has tens of thousands of rain checks for the Wii, which retails for around $249. With its intuitive control system, the machine and its games are not only big hits with kids, but have also become popular with casual gamers of all ages. A recent study found that a lot senior citizens using Wii games as an entertaining way of keeping mentally sharp and exercising hand-eye coordination.
Its wide appeal and a shrewd marketing campaign have helped the Wii become the top-selling console in the U.S. Nintendo has sold approximately 6 millio units in the states to date. To meet holiday demand, production has reportedly been nearly doubled from 1 million units to 1.8 million units a month.
