No Wii for Christmas

12/07/2007

Nintendo has admitted that, for the second Christmas in a row, retailers may not have enough stock of the Wii console to meet consumer demand. Shortages are likely to continue for the rest of the year, right through the Christmas party season.

At the company's E3 conference yesterday, Nintendo revealed a host of new products including Wii Wheel peripherals, the Wii Zapper, and new software in the form of Wii Fit.
George Harrison, Senior Vice President of Marketing told Reuters that Nintendo is trying to find the right production schedule for the Wii console, but could not guarantee supply would be able to meet demand in time for this year’s Christmas party season.

Harrison said: "There is no guarantee that we are not going to have 'out-of-stocks' this holiday season. If you see one, buy it. Don't assume that you can come back later and find one."

Harrison added that the Wii console always sells out immediately whatever the region: "As we've seen every time we ship product to the market, whether it's on Japan or here in the US or Europe, it sells out in a matter of days."

By contrast, there are likely to be plenty of DS games available during the Christmas party season: Disney's Anno 1701: Dawn of Discovery, Ubisoft's The Settlers, Square Enix's Heroes of Mana, Sega's Sonic Rush Adventure, THQ's Worms: Open Warfare 2, and 10tacle's Panzer Tactics are all tipped to become bestsellers.