Nintendo Wii Locator

Nintendo, the Japan-based maker of the popular Wii video game system, says it's not out to ruin anyone's Christmas or birthday. Repeatedly since the November 2006 launch, company officials had been increasing production. The company planned to stockpile Wiis the first summer, when demand typically ebbs. It didn't. And company officials who have seen disappointing sales before; remember GameCube? says they are in "uncharted territory" and don't know how many units would satisfy demand. A senior vice president's advice? "I don't want to say 'Stalk the UPS driver,'" he told Wired magazine, "but figure out when the shipments are arriving in the store."

Ramping up production for a global product is complicated, said Christian Nutt of the Gamasutra Web publication. "Actually, they continually increased their production over the course of the last year," he said. "I believe this Christmas there was much less of a shortage than in prior years."

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