Iwata Promises Wii Production Increase

Following details of Nintendo’s record breaking full year financial results yesterday, company president Satoru Iwata has labeled worldwide shortages of the Wii console as “abnormal” and promised to increase deliveries by May next month. Quoted in an Associated Press report, Iwata said, "We must do our best to fix this abnormal lack of stock. We have not been able to properly foresee demand." Iwata refused to confirm current monthly production capacity for the Wii, which has been so difficult to obtain months after its launch that it has seen accusations of Nintendo purposefully withholding stock to stimulate consumer interest. No indication was given of how much production would increase, but Iwata did reveal that new Nintendo DS consoles, which are also supply constrained in some markets – particularly Japan - are being manufactured at a rate of 2.5 million units a month, the highest ever for a Nintendo console. Yesterday, Nintendo revealed that the company’s net profit for the financial year ended March 31st, had risen by 77 percent to ¥174.3 billion ($1.47bn), with sales up by 90 percent to ¥966.5 billion ($8.10bn). A total of 5.84 Wii consoles had been sold by the same date – roughly meeting the company’s target of six million.