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[December 21, 2006]

Nintendo Wii is the must-have gadget that we cannot have

(Evening Standard Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) IT is officially the most popular gadget in Britain, yet it is virtually impossible to find.

No more Nintendo Wii consoles can be imported before Christmas and bids for the GBP179 computer are already reaching GBP600 on eBay.

Now retailers are warning frantic parents to find alternative gifts.

Aspokeswoman for Woolworths said: "We've completely sold out and aren't expecting any more stock before Christmas. However, we still have good availability for iPods and Microsoft's Xbox 360."

Even customers who reserved a console before they went on sale have been told they may not have one in time for the big day.

Nintendo said today it has sold 105,000 Wiis in Britain and is importing more to try to meet demand. Nintendo UK's general manager David Yarnton said: "We are doing everything we can to meet demand throughout Christmas and the New Year period."


Heather Hopkins of Hitwise, which monitors traffic on the internet, said search engines such as Google had been swamped by people trying to track down a Wii.

"It's been an amazing rise for the Wii," she said. "The iPod has been the top gadget for well over a year but has suddenly been eclipsed. I think a lot of these searches are definitely parents desperate to get a console for Christmas."

Last week was one of the busiest yet for online shopping. According to Hitwise, visits to the sites of the top 100 online retailers were up 5.4 per cent on the same week last year and four per cent on the previous seven days.

Of the 184 websites that have received visits from people searching for a Wii in the past month, Amazon.co.uk, Game and Play.com were the top three.

Last week, visits to Game's site were up 17 per cent, while Play and Amazon saw growth of 11 and six per cent respectively.

What's the alternative?

If you can't get hold of the most sought-after gadgets, don't panic try one of these alternatives CAN'T FIND: HOW ABOUT: Nintendo Wii Xbox 360 games console iPod Video 60gb Creative Zen MP3 player Vision:M Samsung LE26R7 JVC PD-42DX6 48DX LCD TV 42in plasma TV Sony PSP handheld Nintendo DS Lite games console iPod Nano Sony NW-S203F mini MP3 player Tom Tom Garmin Nuvi360 in-car GPS Samsung e900 Nokia N80 mobile phone

Copyright 2006 Evening Standard. Source: Financial Times Information Limited - Europe Intelligence Wire.

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