How to Score a Wii This Christmas

Can't find the popular console? Try these tips to up your chances.

ByABC News
February 26, 2009, 3:28 PM

Dec. 5, 2007 — -- With less than three weeks until Christmas, how will you get a Wii under the tree?

Nintendo says it's going to fall short of the white-hot demand for its $250 gaming console. But conservative estimates suggest the company will get at least a million more Wiis into the channel this December.

Want to make one of those your own? Here's our shopping advice.

The best time for Wii hunting is early Sunday mornings, because that's when retailers like Best Buy and Wal-Mart release their weekly advertisements. And if they advertise Wii in the paper, they'll hold some systems for the day the ad hits.

"Big-box retailers are taking advantage of the shortage to entice customers to their stores," says David Abrams, who runs the videogame deals site Cheap Ass Gamer. "If they expect to have Wii in stock, they will mention it in their weekly ads."

"Sometimes, stores will hand out tickets before the doors actually open," he says. These should be the first stores you visit, since you will find out before they open for business whether or not you'll get a Wii. And then, taking after the iPhone lady, you can always buy out someone's place in line if you're too late.

The trick is to get your hands on the ads before Sunday morning, so you know where to line up. Abrams says users of his site post ads in the forums, so that might be an excellent place to start.

Nintendo senior vice president George Harrison tells would-be Wii buyers to be persistent. "Figure out when the shipments are arriving in the store," he says.

It's good advice. Talk to the guys behind the registers at your local retailers, and find out when they get Wii shipments. Even if they end up holding some for Sunday, chances are they'll put out at least some of their stock the minute it arrives.

Abrams says that big-box stores get more Wiis per store than gaming specialty retailers like GameStop. So go to Wal-Mart before you go to the mall.