Fils-Aime Says Wii Won’t Meet Demand In 2007

Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime has admitted that stock of the Wii console is unlikely to meet demand in North America in the run-up to the Christmas gift buying season, claiming that the console has been sold out worldwide since launch. Speaking to the San Jose Mercury News, Fils-Aime has admitted that supply of the Wii console is likely to continue to be restricted through the end of the year in North America and by implication into 2008. This despite an apparent slowing of demand for the console in recent weeks, in Japan. “We have been sold out worldwide since we launched ... Every time we put more into the marketplace, we sell more, which says that we are not even close to understanding where the threshold is between supply and demand”, claimed Fils-Aime. However, Fils-Aime claimed that manufacturing was not necessarily the problem, saying that: “The issue is not a lack of production.” “The issue is we went in with a curve that was aggressive, but the demand has been substantially more than that. And the ability to ramp up production and to sustain it is not a switch that you flick on. We're working very hard to make sure that consumers are satisfied this holiday, but I can't guarantee that we're going to meet demand. As a matter of fact, I can tell you on the record we won't.”