Nintendo Ramps Up Wii Production Rate

In the hope of satiating demand for the immensely popular Wii console over the festive period, Nintendo has upped the amount of systems it is producing., according to comments from Nintendo of America's President, Reginald Fils-Aime. Previously it has been thought that late last year the figure was to be boosted to 1.8 million units made per month, but Reggie states now that figure was closer to 1.6 million. Whatever the case, though, the figure is about to leap up to 2.4 million consoles each month in order to keep up with the non-stop demand that has seen nearly 13 million units sold in the US alone, over-taking the Xbox 360 despite its year head-start.

"Nintendo has continually raised the production levels of the Wii hardware. We're now producing 2.4 million units a month worldwide. Last year, we made 1.6 million a month. So we've made a 33 per cent increase. One of our competitors projects they will sell 10 million consoles worldwide this year. For us, that's three months of production. We're producing an unprecedented level of hardware to try to meet demand."

"At this point, only about three in ten stores will have Wii Fit in stock. We are dramatically increasing shipments of Wii Fit. We've sold somewhere around three million units. The demand has been so brisk that it has been difficult to catch up. The other challenge is that we're seeing demand from a whole new market. Of the people who stood in line in New York, 60% were working women. This is a demographic that arguably has never bought a video game, and they're buying it for themselves."