Because a raincheck is so much
easier to wrap

Though a year has passed since its release, people are still lining up in front of big box stores at dawn to score a Nintendo Wii.

To keep people happy and in their beds on Sunday mornings, Nintendo has launched a raincheck program with retailer GameStop that guarantees a console by the end of January, according to MarketWatch.

Customers must pay the full $249 to get a raincheck and have only two days — Dec. 20 and 21 — to buy their console.

In the US, sales of the Wii shot up 89 percent in November from the previous month, to 981,000, according to NPD Group. The Wii also found unexpected popularity in Canadian hospitals.