When we were browsing the local Best Buy last Sunday, I noticed there is a large section devoted to the Nintendo Wii: games, accessories, etc. One thing still is ominously missing: the Wii console.

Wired has an article describing the woes of Nintendo. After increasing capacity from 1 million to 1.8 million units per month, they sell about as much units in a week as the XBox 360 does in a whole month. Yet no store seems to have them in stock. Only EBay has a large supply: about 8,000 auctions were active, selling the $250 Wii for $400-$600.

Yahoo! has a Wii Finder in their buyer’s guide - but the only results I’m getting are “Out of Stock” for the online store, and there is no information for local stores. The “official” Wii Tracker shows a bit of history: Yesterday eToys got some Wiis in stock at 12:30PM, and were sold out at 12:40PM. Toys R Us has the Console for sale a whopping 30 minutes before they too were sold out.

If you’re looking for a Wii, be prepared to do a lot of calling and driving around. A better bet is EBay. Or you can follow the Wired advice and just follow the UPS man from store to store…