And this is no different than any other game console that has launched. The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 were also sold out going into the new year.

One major difference is that the pre-orders didn’t sell out as fast. Last generation, you had people pitching tents and camping outside game stores in order to get a pre-order. Instead of instantaneous pre-order sell-outs, it took days for the Wii U pre-orders to sell out.

Another major difference is the economy. “But if the economy is so bad, why are so many people wanting to pre-order the Wii U?” Perhaps because they have no intention of playing it? The bad economy is likely to increase the front-load on the console buying because people are desperate for money. Remembering how in demand the Wii was, there will be many people buying the Wii U in order to flip it (its not like these people can flip houses anymore).

The next indication of demand will be how uninterested people are when they interact with other people’s Wii U. The Wii U customer, of course, will think it is the greatest thing since sliced bread and that NSMB U is the best Mario game ever created. Saying anything else would be to admit they were a fool to spend $400 on it. If the noninterested people become passionate about the Wii U after playing NSMB U or Nintendo Land, then we will see continued demand going into the New Year.