Rumors are flying around that Best Buy will have the Nintendo Wii console in stock today, and it looks like those rumors are true. At least, the flyer in this morning’s paper says they have the Wii. Odds are that if they do, and you want one, you should be in line right now instead of reading this. Either that, or using online resources to find one elsewhere.

All this Wii-madness brings up a question: Does the lack of supply cause you to want the console more, or has it reached the point where you decide, “To hell with it, I’m getting a PS3?” The writers and posters over at Freakonomics can’t seem to agree on whether it’s good or bad for Nintendo. I, however, have the answer. It’s unequivocally bad for Nintendo. Without those consoles on the shelves, gamers are more likely to pick up another console than to wait for the Wii. The unique controller is a hook, but having a shiny PS3 with awesome graphics and a Blu-Ray drive is a pretty darn good hook, too. The only market where the shortage may help is in the ‘non-gamer’ market, since those buyers are not likely to buy one of the other consoles anyway. If you manage to land a Wii, let us know where and when!

Verily, I reveal to you my local Best Buy ad, which clearly shows Wii’s available.

Nintendo of America has donated 100 Wii Party Packs to the YMCA in an effort to support the Y’s stand on physical fitness. The YMCA will be adding Wii-time to their “Healthy Kids Day” events on April 14. Now I appreciate that “some” movement is better than “no” movement, and the Wii may be a “healthy” alternative to the PS3 or 360, but give me a break. This is about like the woman telling me how much money she “saved” us during the big 70% off sale. Bank account is still empty, and you’re still not exercising. Sorry.

A few things I have learned from Nintendo: 1) They KNOW how to work customer service; 2) They KNOW how to do charity. The folks over at Penny-Arcade snapped a few pics (scroll down) of the latest shipment of gear they received from Nintendo in support of their Child’s Play charity. Once the forklifts arrive, that mountain of DSs will be shipped to various children’s hospitals. If you aren’t familiar with Child’s Play, or wish to make a donation, please take some time to check out the site. Every bit goes a long way.

Designing Wii games may be getting a bit easier for developers. Nintendo’s Takeshi Shimada recently discussed a development suite called NintendoWare that would enable Wii emulation on PCs. This would cut out the time consuming step of loading game data into the Wii developer Kit every time changes are made to the software. Nintendo is also developing a middleware application that will simplify fur shading. And the Furries thank you.

Sega announced today the re-release of 6 classic Genesis titles on Wii’s Shop Channel. Old school Sega favorites like Streets of Rage, Comix Zone, and Bonanza Bros are getting all getting a new lease on life for about $8 or less. Honestly this is the kind of stuff I want to see. If I’m going to download games on my console, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel for me. Just give me some oldies but goodies and let me play.

Ok I guess I’m a bit confused. Eurogamer claimed yesterday that the Nintendo GameCube was dead and gone. They extracted this tidbit of news from an interview with Nintendo North America VP Perrin Kaplan. Now however, Eurogamer is claiming that an un-named Nintendo spokesperson told them exclusively “Nintendo is still continuing production of GameCube hardware and GameCube software.” ??? BTW an unnamed spokesperson from Sony told me they will no longer be making the PS2.

With the exception of maybe portables, Nintendo has never been very big on supporting multiple platforms. Now we get news that just three short months after bringing us Wii, Nintendo has ceased production of the GameCube. Additionally, Nintendo of America VP Perrin Kaplan has stated there will be no new first party games developed for the system. While many fans would claim the GameCube died a long time ago, it’s now official.

Perhaps today’s lack of interesting news isn’t because nothing is happening, but instead because it’s a holiday. 21 short years ago the world was graced with the arrival of The Legend of Zelda, and while the rest of the world enjoys World Zelda Day, my boss Mr. Thatholidayisntreal tells me I have to work. Well if it’s not a real holiday it damn well ought to be. I mean come on, whose life hasn’t been touched by the Link, Zelda, Gannon love triangle, err Triforce I mean. Plus any game powerful enough to overcome this kind of marketing deserves praise.

Games Factory has announced an agreement giving them the rights to publish the upcoming Nintendo DS incarnation of the Build-a-Bear Workshop. The title will be a virtual recreation of a trip to one of Build-a-Bear’s 300 worldwide locations. Players will have the opportunity to choose an animal, stuff it, transplant a heart into its fluffy chest, and bring the creation to life. Since it’s DS you can of course take him with you everywhere you go.

So if news earlier this week about eBay stamping out virtual items made you want to give upon the old Pez-trade site just remember, they still sell real stuff. Like how about every licensed NES game ever made? How bout all of them in one auction? Some soon to be wealthy seller, with waayyy to much time on his hands, managed to amass all 670 titles and now passes on the insanity to the public. The current bid is most assuredly hype-inflation, but you never know.