After preparing to see if Nintendo Ltd.'s (OTC: NTDOY) Wii Fit game would fly off the shelves once it was released yesterday in the U.S., there was no disappointment to be had. That is, the Wii Fit was sold out at 11 different stores in my area by noon on the day of release. You'd think this was holiday shopping time or something, yes?The Wii Fit, which comes with a game disc and a unique exercise "board" with sensors and all kinds of feedback, is geared towards exercise routines more than playing games. But, the unit does both -- it's a game that's masquerading as an exercise game. Just like the Wii Sports game that ships for free with every Nintendo Wii gaming system sold, exercise is the key to Nintendo's strategy with the Wii, even though it sells standard fantasy games as well.
But, the sheer insanity of word-of-mouth marketing and media coverage showed itself yesterday, as I visited no less than 11 different retail stores, from Wal-Mart, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) to Best Buy, Inc. (NYSE: BBY) to Circuit City Stores, Inc. (NYSE: CC). There was not a Wii Fit to be found. In fact, two of the Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) locations told me that all Wii Fit stock had sold within 10 minutes of the store's opening that morning. It seems Nintendo may continue to dominate the current gaming systems for quite a while.
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