With the North American release of Wii Fit expected to spark a boom in demand for the Wii next week, Nintendo has maintained that the shortage of its console is not a result of the company artificially manipulating the flow of product into the market.
“The fact is that we have put far more product on store shelves worldwide than our competitors. The difference is that in a very short time we have far outpaced their total sales,” said Dervin Camden of Nintendo of America.
According to Camden, it’s easy for some consumers to arrive at the conclusion that the Wii shortage is intentional when “competitors’ systems fill the shelves” and Nintendo’s console remains scarce.
“The Wii console has effectively expanded the video game market by re-defining what it means to be a gamer. Millions of people who never before picked up a controller or who had sworn off gaming years ago are trying the Wii and becoming fans,” Camden said.
“There is no benefit to Nintendo in not having enough product on the shelves to allow everyone who wants one to be able to buy one, which begs the question, ‘Why don’t you just make more?’ Please understand that the Wii console is a complex electronic device featuring one-of-a-kind components from different suppliers around the world. Many things factor into our being able to effectively increase assembly and shipment of a product without compromising quality control.”
“We are doing all we can to get as much product as possible into stores,” he said.
