Nintendo Wii Features

Wii shortages: No End in Sight

By Casey Lynch Apr 12, 2007, 20:47 GMT

Don\'t count on Wii supplies to increase any time soon.

Even the though the Nintendo Wii launched almost six months ago, you’ll nary find a console on shelves.

The little console that could continues to sell past Sony’s PS3 and is fast closing in on Microsoft's yearlong lead, having sold an estimated 6.5 million worldwide.

High demand and sold out shipments sounds great from a marketing stand point, but from a consumer perspective, it’s a bummer and current demand is still much higher than the supply.

If what Perrin Kaplan - Nintendo's vice president of marking and corporate affairs – had to say about the shortages is right, it could be months before there’s any change in the lack of supply.

Talking to Next Generation, Kaplan said:

"There is a lot going on behind the scenes in terms of working on what we are producing, and the numbers continue to rise, but the product is so very popular that we may see a supply / demand situation last for some time. We are at absolute maximum production and doing everything we can. The number of units that we have been able to produce has far exceeded our hardware production in the past - and the production levels of a lot of our competitors - but demand continues to be really high. People are being really diligent about working with retailers to locate one, but we are cognizant of the fact that a lot of fans are not able to get their hands on one yet. We are asking them to be patient and to know that we are working on this as fast as we can."

Have you had a hard time finding a Wii? Let us know, and we’ll keep you posted as we hear of supply-related Wii news.