GameStop to offer rainchecks for Wii consoles

By Ed Oswald, BetaNews

December 17, 2007, 12:09 PM

While it might not be as good as actually getting a Wii for Christmas, Nintendo and GameStop have joined forces to help consumers get their hand on one...eventually.

"Tens of thousands" of rain checks will be available through the video game retailer for those who agree to pay for the full $249 price of the popular gaming console up front. The rain check would be redeemable in January.

By offering a guaranteed method to get Wiis in the hands of consumers, Nintendo is hoping to prevent its competitors from using the company's recent shortages as a way to gain footing on the market leading console.

Upcoming shipments would then be matched to a specific store depending on sales. GameStop would issue the rain checks while supplies last on December 20 and 21, but apparently is not able to guarantee a delivery date.

In any case, a consumer with a rain check will need to pick up his Wii by January 29. Nintendo said that only GameStop had the infrastructure necessary to pull off such a program, however it would continue to ship consoles to other stores as normal.

Nintendo's Wii has become somewhat of a surprise hit, surpassing both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in worldwide sales. Nexgenwars.com estimates that the Wii has sold nearly 13.2 million units, compared to about 12.7 million Xbox 360s and 5.5 million PlayStation 3s.