Where in the world is Reveal The Shield
Windcharger? If you live in Canada or the United Kingdom, then you already know the answer to this question. If you live in the United States or anywhere else with a shortage of the aforementioned bot, then you know the frustration this question has brought to many collectors. The latest RTS Scout assortment has been spotted all over Canada and the U.K.
Why haven't we seen hide nor hair of these figures in the U.S.? The answer to this question is purely speculation at this point. There are rumors that Hasbro has decided to cancel the scout assortment in the U.S. There could be many possible reasons why Hasbro would choose to do this if it is true. One reason might be that over seas currencies are doing better than the U.S. Dollar. Other companies have done this before. Here are a couple of interesting articles about this practice.
http://www.wiiblog.net/struggling-us-dollar-effects-wii-fit-release-805/The other aspect of the shortage sounds more believable than the first. The US economy has been struggling for the past few months. We’ve seen food and gas prices rise as the dollar has lost its’ power. The euro has actually become more valuable than the dollar, and for this reason accounts for some of the shortage. It’s been estimated that Europe received over 2 million Wii Fit units, while America only received 500,000.
Here is a quote from Michael Pachter, a professional analyst, “The shortage demonstrates one consequence of the weak dollar. We’re seeing companies ignore their largest market simply because they can make a greater profit elsewhere”
When it comes down to any business, it’s all about maximizing your profit. I don’t blame Nintendo for increasing units to Europe, nor do I hold any ill-will towards the decision. For people who are left wanting a Wii Fit, should just blame the shortage to bad economical timing. The dollar will eventually strengthen, barring any un-forseen disaster. Hopefully the next shipment of Wii Fits will see a stronger dollar, therefore a better ratio for Wii Fit units shipped.
http://www.vgzero.com/thread-15007-post-291648.htmlAccording to Victor Godinez of dallasnews.com, the real culprit behind the shortage of Wii consoles in the Americas is the weak US Dollar. With realistic fears of an economic recession looming in the USA, Nintendo are currently making much higher profits from selling Wii in Europe. In the last year, the value of €1 (Euro Currency) has rocketed from $1.35 all the way to $1.51.
In an interview with GameStop analyst Michael Pachter, Godinez asked how an economic slowdown might affect the availability of the Wii. Pachter claims that Nintendo are behaving "perfectly rationally" in their marketing strategy, that is, sending extra numbers of Wii consoles to Europe in order to "satisfy the more profitable consumers there". But as the demand for Nintendo products in Europe is now reaching a plateau stage, surplus systems should find themselves steadily filtering into the American market.
An explanation on the source website explains all these economics rather well:
With a weak dollar, foreign companies that sell their goods in the U.S. for dollars and then convert those dollars to their native currencies get a smaller profit than if they sell their products in countries with strong currencies of their own (such as Europe with the Euro). In other words, Nintendo makes a bigger profit on Wiis sold in Europe than on Wiis sold in the U.S.
It is a reasonable assumption that Nintendo may be waiting furthermore for the US Dollar to stabilize itself once again; which may just happen as European demand for Wii starts its levelling-out phase. Opinions as always in the forum.
Also in the same predicament are the RTS G1 legends assortment. Whether or not these will hit the shelves in the U.S. is up for debate. This is the exact same mix of ingredients that happened to the Transformers Universe G1 legends assortment the came out before the first Transformers movie in 2006. Many collectors reported never seeing them at retail. Will this happen again?
This is purely speculation based on the availble facts.
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