“We Want Our Wiis” is the rallying cry this holiday season. The magic here of course is that Nintendo has stoked line-forming, obsessive consumer demand for the second year in a row since the video game console’s launch in 2006.

Market research firm NPD said U.S. sales of video-game hardware and software jumped 50 percent in November, led by sales of nearly 1 million Wiis. But what continues to perplex, and perhaps attract, consumers is the elusive state of Wii inventory nationwide.

San Francisco Bay Area shoppers tell the New York Times they’ve stalked UPS delivery trucks on their way to game retail outlets to snatch up a device.

Electronic billboards near our Times Square office advertise “Wii in stock!” and purchasers in the area who bought one device before Thanksgiving now regret they didn’t buy three or four in one go.

According to the Times, the mystique comes with a price. Nintendo could be giving up more than $1 billion or more in sales this season by not working out its inventory issues in time.

(Reuters)
(NYTimes)

Keep an eye on:

• News Corp chief Rupert Murdoch tells Dow Jones staff he aims to set an even “higher bar” for the company hours after shareholders formally approved the sale of the Wall Street Journal publisher. (WSJ)
• FCC Chairman Kevin Martin flatly refused to delay a vote next week on a plan to ease U.S. media ownership rules despite a barrage of criticism from Senate lawmakers. (Reuters)
• Six weeks after members of the Writers Guild of America walked off the job in a contract dispute with the major Hollywood studios, the main directors’ union has indicated it could begin its own negotiations for a new deal early next month. (WSJ)
• Fear not brave lover: If you’ve been dumped by SMS you are not alone. One in seven people surveyed say they have been cut loose with three simple words over their cell phones. (Reuters)

(Photo: Reuters)