"I'd like to reserve a DS Lite, if possible."
The staffer in this large, two-floor game store is a scraggly-haired otaku, and he's looking more edgy than usual. Scratches his head. Looks embarrassed. "I'm afraid you can't reserve one."
"Why not? It's released this Thursday, isn't it?"
"Yes, but we don't have many units coming in for the launch. I'm really sorry, but you'll just have to come in on Thursday morning and take your chances. We open at 11am."
"If I get here before 11, will that increases my chances of getting a Lite?"
"Um, yes. That's a good idea."
"By the way, how many units are you getting in?"
"Well, you know that the blue versions have been delayed a couple of weeks..."
"Yes, but how many white Lites will you have on Thursday?"
It's at this point in our friendly conversation that I realize why the staffer is blushing. Partly because he's being quizzed for info which he shouldn't really let slip (especially when there are other game stores on the same stretch of Kyoto street), and partly because of the answer he's about to give me:
"Three."
He holds up three fingers to confirm that he means three, and then leaves just one forefinger in front of his mouth to signal that this news shouldn't leave the store. "But don't tell anyone," he adds to reconfirm the sensitive nature of this mad information.
Three measly pieces of this glorious hardware. And I can't place a reservation! Great. It strikes me that there are half a dozen staff on this floor, and it's clear that they like their games. Are these three Lites just going to be snapped up by the staff? Will -- Iwata-san forbid -- Kyoto's largest independent game emporium have no DS Lites available on Thursday?! I venture one final question to that effect, but the reply provides (relatively speaking) some good news:
"No, we won't buy any of them. We will leave them for the customers."
'Any of them'? One less unit and he'd have to say 'either of them.' This is a joke. Ho-hum.
In this same store, the original DS hardware is simply not available. In fact, there's a sign indicating that you may have to wait up to six months for the opportunity to buy a standard DS. Crazy, with a capital 'N'.
So this is the scene set for DS Lite's Japanese launch. A scene of undersupply and tremendous demand, of stores refusing to take reservations, of two out of Nintendo's three hardware designs being delayed for a fortnight.
So, what to dor As far as I'm concerned, I'll either get lucky ("take my chances") or get disappointed.
Best outcome: I'm first in line outside the store on Thursday morning, I nab one of the three units (assuming that the staff have kept their pledge not to buy them themselves), and I then sell my original DS for a small fortune because both models remain sold out for months to come.
Worst outcome: I get to the shop and am told that (mysteriously) there are no units left to buy, and I find myself stuck with the slightly-too-bulky original which I can't sell because there's nothing with which to replace it.
Nintendo has a noose around every customer's neck, and it's just been tightened. I really, really need a Lite.
