This is a picture of something unusual. It’s a used Nintendo Wii. It was new when I purchased it. The availability of this sought after gaming console is strangely limited: approximately 2.5% are distributed worldwide (including Europe and Asia). That’s 2.5 Wiis available to every 100 interested buyers. I only bought one because we had thought it would be fun to rent one for the night, only to discover that there are no rentals available anywhere in the Seattle area. You can’t buy one by dropping by your local store. A few exist online at Amazon and Ebay which you can purchase for inflated prices.  The gear for the Wii is also limited. We couldn’t purchase one of the components we wanted to buy at Fred Meyer’s here in Washington. Gizmodo has a big article on the shortage (link thanks to VTGirl – who also likes playing it!).

The great thing about the Wii is that, after the wait, it’s really fun. From a design perspective, the interface is truely elegant and easy to navigate. The game play is exciting and responsive. And the backwards compatibility (you can download older Nintendo games from their site for storage and play on the Wii) is a big bonus, as well as the built in WiFi.