Hardware Wii U Gamecube adapters sold out :(

[shinkodachi]

I finally just caved to an eBay reseller who had the official Nintendo one for $39.99 w/ free shipping. What's aggravating is he had 10+ in stock and has sold over 100 of them.. How are resellers obviously getting easy stock of them yet end users have to camp out with their F5 button and harass Best Buy just to come up empty handed and buy from a reseller out of frustration?

It's likely the guy has "connections" or works at a Best Buy or other retailer and just buys up the stock before it's even sold to retail customers.

I've seen this happen here when there's been a new product launch and there's literally a few units in stock on launch day, while dozens pop up on eBay that same day.

 

[endoverend]

PlayAsia is taking preorders of them for 50$...

 

[shinkodachi]

PlayAsia is taking preorders of them for 50$...

Ah, the beauty of supply and demand. Realistically though there's no reason to go for the Nintendo adapter anymore, other than it being made by Nintendo.

Play-Asia also has the new Mayflash adapter that is as good and even better than Nintendo's adapter with official PC support baked in: http://www.play-asia.com/gamecube-controller-adapter-for-wii-u-pc-usb-paOS-13-49-en-70-8h2n.html. And it's also cheaper than Nintendo's adapter. A few reasons I think that is the case: 1. low expected stock of Nintendo's adapter, 2. Japanese yen has higher value, 3. Play-Asia would rather sell Mayflash products as they get a better cut.

 

[WiiCube_2013]

It's likely the guy has "connections" or works at a Best Buy or other retailer and just buys up the stock before it's even sold to retail customers.

I've seen this happen here when there's been a new product launch and there's literally a few units in stock on launch day, while dozens pop up on eBay that same day.

Not necessarily.

He could've very well pre-ordered from Amazon as there's no limit to how many one can order.

I could pre-order 100 of the Pikachu Hori controller but that'd cost me way too much and I wouldn't want to gamble that much on it.

 

[shinkodachi]

He could've very well pre-ordered from Amazon as there's no limit to how many one can order.

But we're specifically talking about stock at retailers like Best Buy. They obviously don't care how much someone has preordered from Amazon as that will not affect how many Best Buy will receive from Nintendo's distribution directly. So if at launch day you go to a Best Buy only to find they don't have something, it's actually likely an employee or a "good friend" of an employee or someone else bought up all of the stock before sales to retail customers even began. This doesn't happen often and the culprits very effectively get fired for doing that, but it's still happening.

I have first hand experience of this happening when the iPhone 6 was launched and the initial stock was already sold out at one of the local Apple shops. Of course that same stock quickly found its way to local auction sites. My friend was standing first in line to get the iPhone 6 only to be told the shop "didn't get any" which is complete BS.

 

[WiiCube_2013]

Right, there's that too.

Considering they made a better deal with the reseller than selling to customers it's no surprise no one got one and I still remember seeing iPhones going for over $2k which is insane but that iPhone users for you.

Btw, any news on Nintendo's new batch of the NGC adapters or they're not going to do it at all any more?

 

[natiels]

I think a couple weeks back the warehouses had a lot available, but they never made it to the retail stores or they did in very limited quantities. Like a few others out there I went into my best buy and asked them if they had any in. When they said there were none in stock i specifically asked the guy helping me to check the warehouse and he found it right away. I contemplated ordering several and selling a few, but I figured if the warehouse had some that they would be back in stock soon so I decided against it. I am guessing the ebayers did just like i did except they ordered as many as they could afford.

 

[styckx]

Btw, any news on Nintendo's new batch of the NGC adapters or they're not going to do it at all any more?

Nope.. Typical Nintendo silence.

 

[shinkodachi]

Nope.. Typical Nintendo silence.

We know Play-Asia is getting more stock of the Japanese variant, so it begs the question is Nintendo producing more of the adapter and just beginning to roll out worldwide or did Play-Asia just secure unsold stock in Japan possibly because they never had shortages to begin with? I haven't read anything about Japan experiencing the difficulties we are experiencing in the West.

 

[Foxi4]

I know it was probably recommended on previous pages, but I'll post this anyways: you can get the Mayflash adapter which is (arguably) superior to Nintendo's design as it works with both the Wii U and PC.

 

[shinkodachi]

What Foxi4 said. Anyone looking for the Nintendo adapter should just give up and get the Mayflash. I kinda feel like reiterating myself right now:

The fact that a third party has made a clone of Nintendo's own product and made it actually better (with official PC support) and released it worldwide partnering with known retailers (e.g. Play-Asia and GameSeek) all the while Nintendo is still scratching their heads wondering how to produce a piece of plastic not worth $10 is very sad.

And the fact it's been about 3 months since the launch of Smash Bros. for Wii U and we still don't have solid detail on availability from Nintendo makes me question what the hell they're doing down there in Kyoto. More power to 3rd parties, though. It's the only thing keeping Nintendo interesting (ironically).

 

[endoverend]

I know it was probably recommended on previous pages, but I'll post this anyways: you can get the Mayflash adapter which is (arguably) superior to Nintendo's design as it works with both the Wii U and PC.

Yeah, I didn't know it was being sold for 20$ until now, so I bought it :\

 

[WiiCube_2013]

Nope.. Typical Nintendo silence.

This is probably also true for Villager, Rosalina, Ness, Shulk and other hard to get amiibos so the customer misses out during pre-order then things later on will already be tough (unless one of the nearby stores has it in stock).

I'm all good and my Nintendo GameCube Adapter isn't being used but rather back in its original box for display purposes.