Nintendo, GameStop address Wii shortage
By Will Greenwald, News.com
December 14, 2007 3:24 pm ET

Publisher and retailer team for rain-check program that guarantees prepurchasers access to scarce console in January. The Nintendo Wii launched more than a year ago, and the system is still incredibly hard to find.

This long after the system started shipping, people are still camping in front of stores as soon as they hear about new shipments. Friday morning, Nintendo of America's president and CEO Reggie Fils-Aime held a telephone press conference to address the continuing shortage of the Wii.

Fils-Aime said Nintendo hadn't expected as much demand for the Wii as it is getting. Since the launch, he claimed, Nintendo has almost doubled its global production from 1 million to 1.8 million Wiis per month and tripled its workforce at Nintendo of America's North Bend, Washington, distribution center.

The Nintendo president wouldn't say whether Nintendo would further increase its Wii production, but he denied any claims that Nintendo is stockpiling Wiis. "There was no ability for us to stockpile systems in the summer for the holiday rush," Fils-Aime said.

Gamespot
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