As Australia finds ways to prepare itself for the Wii launch on December 7, retailers are beginning to close down their pre-order programs as they run out of allocated stock. A Nintendo Australia spokesman told fansite Aussie-Nintendo:

There are a handful of retailers that have actually had to stop taking pre-orders because they can no longer guarantee stocks

This "handful" includes Toys "R" Us, one of the nation's biggest video game retailers. This may seem like everyday stuff for Americans and Europeans, where the launch-day enthusiasts number in their millions, but in Australia, where they number in their thousands, consoles rarely see this kind of anticipation. Word on the street is that we're going to receive 40,000 consoles for the lauch, and these are about this close from being sold out before they even hit the shelves.

The previous record-holder for "biggest console launch EVAR" in Australia is the 360, which shifted around 30,000 when it launched in March. If we really do get 40,000, that record should stand for another, oh, seven days. Luke Plunkett

Retailers put a forced stop to Wii pre-orders [Aussie-Nintendo]

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