I was working at GameStop when the Wii launched on November 19, 2006, and naturally, there was a huge demand for the console on launch day. We had taken less than 20 pre-orders and had zero systems available for walk-ins. Nonetheless, the phone rang off the hook all that day and through the holiday season, with crazed gamers looking for the next new thing, and parents desperate to get the Nintendo console under the tree for Christmas. This wasn’t my first system launch (I’d been there for the Xbox 360 the year before, and the PS3 two days earlier), so I knew that this was to be expected; systems are always hard to get in the first couple of months. However, I don’t think any of us could have predicted that the phone calls would never stop, and the Wii supply would never be enough to meet the demands of the customers.

It’s now been three years and four months since the Wii launched, and apparently, GameStop finally has a big enough supply of Wii systems to meet the demands. GameStop SVP of Merchandising Bob McKenzie told Gamasutra that they’ve got it under control now:

"You know, three years later, we finally have enough inventory on the shelf, and we've got a couple of weeks in supply of this. That's good because we can finally determine and gauge it before we get into the fourth holiday season."

Seriously, it’s about damn time. I love my Wii and all, but I feel sorry for all of the retail employees who have been dealing with batshit crazy Nintendo fanatics since late 2006. I certainly don’t miss getting in trouble for answering the phone, “Thank you for calling GameStop, we don’t have any Wiis”, or having customers get angry because I wouldn’t sell them something we didn’t actually have in the store.

Now, let’s watch as the same insanity happens when the DSi launched this summer. Oh, Nintendo, you’re always one step ahead, aren’t you?

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