Nintendo to offer Wii rain checks

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- Nintendo plans to issue tens of thousands of rain checks to appease Christmas shoppers who want the sold-out Wii video game console.

The rain checks will enable shoppers to pay for the highly sought consoles next week and then pick them up in January, Nintendo promised Friday. The rain checks will be available only on Dec. 20 and 21 through the GameStop retail chain, which has 3,900 stores nationwide, the Los Angeles Times reported Saturday.

Nintendo hopes the vouchers will help defuse criticism over Wii shortages for a second straight holiday season, the Times reported Saturday.

Elderly people are helping fuel the Wii surge because they like how the controller emulates the motion of real sports, The Washington Post reported Saturday.

"We had no interest in video games until the Wii came along," said Earl Davis, 73, a retired Marine from Silver Springs, Md. "Now I think we're addicted."