The scarcity of the Nintendo Wii is a well known phenomenon, almost to the point where one suspects foul play. Just as the console’s popularity in the US market was apparently underestimated, so it seems was the Wii’s version of Guitar Hero III.
After experiencing GHIII on a friend’s PlayStation 2, I had to have it. Quite a few million people feel this way; the game sold 1.4 million copies in October across all platforms. I imagine it did just fine in November and December as well. As of today, the game and its distinctive controllers seem to have good availability for the PS[23] and Xbox 360, but not for the elusive Wii.
I walked into Best Buy at just the right time yesterday and was rewarded with the opportunity to buy the Wii version of Guitar Hero III for $90. They had at least ten of them there and today they are gone. I called around a few other places, but they were sold out as well. Why was I calling about the game when I had already purchased it? Well… it’s a little embarrassing.
Just as I had to have the game, I also needed to play in co-op mode with my brother. After hunting around online, we eventually learned that a standalone GHIII controller for the Nintendo Wii is not for sale – no such product exists. The best we could find was a pre-order at Toys “R” Us for $60 that ships January 28th. This resulted in the following sequence:
- We’ll have to wait a month to play co-op with that pre-order
- We want to play now
- If the pre-order is $60, and if the game/controller bundle is $90, then really you’re only paying $30 extra to have the controller now
- I offer to cover $15 of the extra $30
- The offer is moot because the game is now sold out all over town
Maybe I should have bought the game for my PS2 instead. Regardless, the point here is that, aside from exposing myself as a sad video game junkie, once again the popularity of the Wii has been underestimated. Oh well… don’t be surprised if you see Guitar Hero III for Wii selling on eBay with no accompanying controller.