and All Consoles

If you have been trying in vain to get your hands on a Nintendo Wii online, you are not alone. The demand for the gaming console is so high that almost every retailer is sold out within minutes of any new inventory arriving. Fortunately, with a bit of planning, you might still be able to get your Wii. Read the following tips to prepare for your next attempt.

Tip #1: Sign Up For Wii Alert Lists

Online retailers run out of Wii almost as fast as their offline counterparts. Lucky for you, there are several services that monitor the major online retailers 24 hours a day to keep track of any new Wiis that arrive. You can sign up with these services and they will send you an email whenever new units appear in stock. Then, you just have to be ready to click over to these online stores and be the first to purchase. Although you still have to monitor your email regularly to catch these alerts, it still gives you an edge over those who spend the day refreshing the Amazon page for the Wii. MySimon has one of the more popular Wii alert by email services.

Tip #2 – Buy Through eBay

The Nintendo Wii continues to show up regularly on eBay auctions. Unfortunately, the demand is so high that there are some real downsides to purchasing through this popular online auction site. First off, even though eBay does a fairly good job of enforcing its rules, a few unsavory individuals still manage to list fraudulent auctions for the Wii. That is, they’ll take your money, but you’ll never get your console. Before you can do anything about it, their account has disappeared and you have no recourse.

If you buy from eBay, make sure to check previous feedback so you know you are dealing with a reputable seller. Once you have that base covered, there’s still one more big hurdle to overcome – the cost. Auctions for the Wii on eBay typically end with prices much higher than the retail price. For those who can’t get their hands on one any other way, the extra cost may be worth it though.

Tip #3 Buy From Japan

Japan is the home of Nintendo, and although initially stock of the Wii was sold out frequently, it has started to become much easier to get your hands on one there. Most of the major electronics retailers have Wiis in stock on a regular basis. Combined with the fact that the US dollar is very strong against the yen now, coming to Japan and buying up a couple of Wiis, one for yourself, and one to resell for a profit back home might be an opportunity to consider.

Alternatively, if you can find a friend who writes or speaks Japanese, you can bid on the Nintendo Wii on Japan’s top auction site Yahoo Auctions Japan. Here, Wii’s are regularly available for just over $200.00. Even adding in the extra shipping cost, this can still be cheaper than purchasing through eBay thanks to the power of the current exchange rate.

Two weeks after it was released in the US late last year, the Nintendo Wii came out in Japan, and consoles literally flew off the shelves. Reports received from areas such as Akihabara (the major electronics district of Tokyo) and Shinjuku (another massive shopping location) said that it was nearly impossible to walk down the sidewalk anywhere near an electronics store.

Without doubt, the most popular choice of games console by the Japanese people is the Nintendo Wii, although the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 have sold quite well in Japan. You couldn’t escape the ads for Wii anywhere last year, and it seemed to be all Japanese video games were talking about. So, why is the Nintendo Wii, loved so much in Japan?

To start with, the Nintendo’s have always outsold the other gaming systems in Japan. A survey noted that the Nintendo games tend to contain subject matter that was interesting to Japanese gamers. They said that the Nintendo games appeal to all ages and tastes.

The interactive features of the Nintendo Wii have become extremely popular. The Nintendo Wii makes use of a new remote sensing technology, which means that while playing a game, such as golf you can actually take a swing to hit the ball. Naturally, this technology has caught on with the non-gamers as well as gamers. Recent studies have discovered that more woman and older adults, demographic groups that don’t normally go for games consoles in a big way, get a big kick out of the Wii’s interactive features.

There was tons of promotion and advertising. It was almost impossible to get anywhere near an electronics store in Japan at the end of last year without noticing a guy dressed up like a giant remote controller, of kids of all ages crammed around a Wii demo console. The Wii was witness just about everywhere last year, much more so the any of the other consoles. With such a big push off, it had to be popular.

One of the main strengths of the Wii console is it sports games. Lately, sports games have become more and more popular in Japan, and they have started to outsell the more traditionally popular adventure games such as Legend of Zelda. The Wii offers great quality, realistic golf, baseball and tennis, among others. For the Japanese gamers, these are a great step forward from the sports games of yesterday.

Then again, maybe the massive popularity of the Wii in Japan is due to those wacky pictures in its safety manual. The Wii has been stirring up headlines worldwide mainly because of the Wii strap related incidents, and the Japanese safety manual covers everything. It’s packed with comically rendered pictures of housewives whacking their husbands around the head with controllers, Wii-motes stuck halfway down a child’s throats, and people injuring themselves in a variety of outlandish ways. Do a quick internet search yourself and see if you can find some pictures!

While the Nintendo Wii is undoubtedly the most popular new gaming system in Japan, the PlayStation 3 does come in as a close second. Some sources on the web believe that the PS3 does actually sell better, but it’s hard to say for sure. Certainly, the new interactive features are a draw for Japanese people, who are always searching for something new to enhance their gaming experience.

Published by Darren Lintern

The Nintendo Wii has establish itself as a ground-breaking system, which is mainly because of it’s accessories that have change the way you can play games. You’ll no longer restricted to the couch with the little controller in your hand; now you can jump all over the room, serving up those bowling swings for real, and taking a roll of the ball in real-time.

Here are some of the new accessories that are available for the Nintendo Wii:

Wii Nun-chuck controller: This controller isn’t designed for kung-fu games, although it can be used for fighting games. The nun-chuck works similar to the Wii-mote. You hold it in your hand, and it is installed with a motion sensor technology so wireless play is intended. It’s designed to fit your hand well and can be used for either right or left.

What’s great about the nun-chuck is that, for some of the games, you use the analogue stick to control the characters basic movements and your wave the nun-chuck around to perform special actions, such as lobbing a ball or shooting a weapon.

The nun-chuck is notably smaller than the standard remote controller, and is fitted with less buttons. It is similar in design and intended for certain games only.

Wii Component Cables: The cables that are supplied with Wii are useful for various needs. You have the option of connecting your Wii to an HDTV for improved graphics. Or, you can hook up the Wii to your stereo system for better sound. The component cable basically offers you the chance to hook your Wii up and pimp it out.

Gamers have been delighted with these in view of the better graphics offered. The only set back is that Nintendo have not really made them that easy to purchase, they currently only available of online sale.

Wii LAN Adapter: Although the Wii has WiFi installed, you may want to get wired up, that’s what the LAN adapter is for. It is fitted with a USB port so that you can get a wired connection going through your Nintendo Wii. Many users tend to prefer a wired connection to a wireless when hooking up to the internet.

The start with, the LAN adapter was only available in Japan, and it came to the stage at one point when you couldn’t even purchase them off Play-Asia anymore. They just couldn’t keep up with the demand. Nintendo has now released this accessory worldwide.

Wii Controller Glove: The controller glove is extremely comfortable and stylish, but it’s more important positive point being that it makes gaming safer. Once you begin playing your Wii with the remote, it’s all becomes too easy to get into your game a little too much, and to watch the remote go flying. With the controller glove, it will help to keep the remote where it actually belongs – in your hand, and not flying across the room towards your television screen.

Although, the controller glove aims to make gaming safer, you still need to be careful. Last year, gamers were complaining about the thin straps breaking. Nintendo has stated that the newer one in production will be more durable, but try not to get too out of control.

Published by Darren Lintern