"Nintendo realizes that when consumers walk into Wal-Mart and they can't find a Wii, they may just buy the PS3 or Xbox 360 instead," said Colin Sebastian, an analyst with Lazard Capital Markets.
Sensing heightened demand, Nintendo has ratcheted up its Wii manufacturing since January, from 1 million consoles a month to 1.8 million. But the Japan-based company has been reluctant to expand its capacity too aggressively.
"It's very expensive to bring a new production line up and running," Sebastian said.
"It's not as easy as throwing on a switch."
Rain checks are unusual in the worlds of toys and consumer electronics, analysts said.
"It's a novel way approaching a shortage," Byrne of Toy Wishes said. "They were more common in the '60s and '70s. It was something that came over from the grocery store business. If you couldn't get your Velveeta on sale, you could get a rain check and come back next week. It's used to build customer loyalty."
But shoppers will have to hurry. Like the console itself, the rain checks are available only while supplies last.
alex.pham@latimes.com
