Nintendo Promises “Unprecedented” Supply of Wii Game Console for Holidays

by Anton Shilov
09/16/2007 | 02:08 PM

The unprecedented success of Nintendo Wii game console on the market has caused doubts whether the company will be able to supply enough gaming machines for pre-Christmas sales season. In a recent interview the head of Nintendo America reassured that the company would supply an “unprecedented” amount of Wii, however, he also noted that the console would be sold out.

“We are flowing more and more product into the market place. The amount of Wii hardware that will be in North American stores will be unprecedented. [It will be] substantially more than the launch, substantially more than has been seen to date,” said Reggie Fils-Aime, president of Nintendo America, said in an interview with Mercury News web-site.

Earlier this year it was reported that Nintendo failed to boost production of its Nintendo Wii game console in June this year because of chip and print circuit board (PCB) shortages. Moreover, it was reported that the company, which sells roughly 400 thousand of Wii game consoles in the U.S. alone, would not be able to boost production of its machines in the second half of the year significantly.

The president of Nintendo America admitted that the demand towards Nintendo Wii game console is so high that all the company can deliver is sold out.

“Given the level of demand and given the fact that the more we put in, the more we sell, it is still going to be difficult to get your hands on the Wii,” Mr. Fils-Aime claimed.

According to figures by NPD Group, Nintendo sold 604 thousand of Wii game consoles in December, 2006, in the USA, however that was well before the company’s latest game machine became the most popular in the world. Last December the best selling game console was Sony PlayStation 2 with 1.4 million units acquired by gamers in the U.S., whereas the second best-selling game console was Microsoft Xbox 360 with 1.132 million units sold in the United States, according to NPD market tracking firm.

“Currently Wii demand outstrips supply on the worldwide basis,” Mr. Fils-Aime concluded.