Nintendo ramps up DS Lite production to meet high demand

As the Nintendo DS Lite continues to prove hugely popular with Japanese consumers, Nintendo has announced plans to step up production of the redesigned handheld.

According to the company's official website, partially translated by GameSpot, a total of 550,000 DS Lite units will be produced in March - up from the figure of 450,000 which was previously suggested. In April production will increase even further, with 700,000 units expected.

Demand for the DS Lite has been extremely high since the handheld launched in Japan on March 2nd. Last week Nintendo president Satoru Iwata admitted that there were supply issues but said Nintendo was doing its best to resolve them, stating: "I'm hopeful in the latter half of April we can get rid of the terrible, terrible shortage situation that we are facing with the Nintendo DS right now."

There's still no word on a European release date for the DS Lite. Last month online reports suggested the handheld will launch here on August 16th - but retail sources said the release date could be earlier than that.