Nintendo: We're still struggling to meet Wii demand

Nintendo has admitted that it is still struggling to meet consumer demand for the Wii as the console continues to sell out at retail just as quickly as it arrives.

With demand growing on a weekly basis, Nintendo Europe's senior marketing director Laurent Fischer told GamesIndustry.biz that the company is currently in the process of upping production capabilities.

"We are still struggling to deliver the right numbers of hardware to cope with demand," admitted Fischer.

"We're planning to increase the production capacity but it's not something that can be done in a couple of days. We have to be patient.

"We're delivering new units to market every week and everyone at Nintendo is working really hard to ensure it's harming the consumer as little as possible," he added.

With the company well on track to reach the six million sales target by the end of March, even Nintendo is surprised by the success of its new home console.

"It's astonishing to think that with six million we're not able to fulfil the initial demand," Fischer said.

Despite the success so far, Fischer is aware of the frustration felt by consumers still unable to buy a console that has been on the market since December.

"We know that in the Japanese, US and European market to find a Wii on a daily basis it's not so easy. You have to pre-register or pre-order from the retailer," he said.

"We're having difficulty coping with demand because of the recruiting power of the Wii. It's even more powerful than anyone had guessed."

However, Fischer is confident that the demand reflects Nintendo's much publicised focus on the mainstream market, and the intention to bring new consumers into gaming.

"We're confident the strategy is working, we saw it with the DS, this is what happens when you reach an expanded audience and keep the regular gamers."

"But when you open this new door it's difficult to measure the reaction you'll get," he concluded.