Nintendo just can’t keep up with the demand for Wii. The UK, in particular, is looking to face a rather severe drought of Wii’s this holiday season. Retailers are already struggling to keep up with the demand for the supply constrained console. Nintendo themselves have said that they’re “doing everything possible” to keep up with the demand.
“The demand for Wii hardware globally has been unprecedented and higher than Nintendo could ever have anticipated,” said a spokeswoman.
“Nintendo is now in a position in which seasonality demand trends are being broken, therefore the demand for Wii hardware is constant throughout the whole year globally. Due to this phenomenon it is possible that the demand for Wii hardware may outstrip supply,” she said.
Retailers have also commented on the issue.
“Although we’re receiving regular deliveries from Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft and getting the products onto the shelves as fast as we can – it’s possible that demand will outstrip supplies on some products, for example the Nintendo Wii, which has been hugely popular all through the year,” read a statement from the UK game retailer Game.
Most retailers receive a slow trickle of the console on a weekly basis; they advise consumers to just keep an eye out if they’re in the market for one.
While Nintendo has upped their yearly shipment of Wii from 14 million units to 17.5 million, it’s still unknown how many of those consoles will be on store shelves this holiday, and which region shipments will be prioritizing. While Nintendo obviously couldn’t foresee these shortages, they’ve been privy to the demand for Wii for a year, now.
