If you thought that GameStop’s partnership with Nintendo, announced last week, would at least partially quench your Wii-nter thirst, I have bad news for you.

Probably carried away by the wave of sympathy that Wii enjoys these days, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime promised last week that people in search for a Wii will eventually get their hands on a console, thanks to a partnership with games retailer GameStop.

What that actually means is that consumers will get… a coupon that gives them the right to claim their Wii until January 25 next year. So there goes your Christmas present…

But there are more murky details about this deal. While Fils-Aime’s rain check program was supposed to last for two days, GameStop eventually reduced it to a single day, December 21. Consumers will get a piece of paper in return for their $249.99 (the standard price for a Wii) at any of the GameStop or EB Games locations across US. In return, GameStop will offer a "custom-designed DVD case emblazoned with a Wii and the iconic Mario character," containing the guarantee gift slip. And only while supplies last. Reggie Fils-Aime did promise that "many tens of thousands of rain checks" would be available, but who knows?
 
"I get personal calls from people wanting to know why we don't just manufacture more. If it were that easy, we would," Fils-Aime said on a conference call last Friday.

"Production depends on components from a wide array of suppliers. If only one can't increase their capacity, then we can't increase ours," the official added.

Nasty surprises might also appear. Although the price for a Wii is ~$250, retailers have the bad habit of profiting from “forced bundling”, which means that you don’t just grab the console and that’s it. Some stores could force you to buy either additional games or sports-attachments for your Wii-mote, even if you don’t want to. Nintendo isn’t satisfied with this practice and Reggie Fils-Aime made this clear in an interview with Reuters: "retailers have already been given feedback that we are not big fans of [forced bundles]. We think it masks some of the price advantage we have versus our competition and, frankly, the consumer should decide what they want."