weeks away, Nintendo on Thursday said it was increasing shipments of
its popular Wii video game machine in an effort to avoid the supply
problems that cost the company sales last year.
Demand for Wii machines was so high during the last two Decembers
that customers resorted to creative shopping strategies like holding
all-night vigils at stores and stalking delivery trucks. In the end,
many shoppers were disappointed, and Nintendo was widely criticized for
its inability to meet demand two years in a row.
This year,
Nintendo executives said there would be a “significant increase” in
Wiis in stores, though they stopped short of promising that the company
would be able meet demand entirely. “Will there be enough to meet
demand?” Reggie Fils-Aime, president of Nintendo of America, said. “Ask
me in January.”
Mr. Fils-Aime also said that stores were still selling out of Wii machines as soon as new ones were delivered.
Despite shortages, Nintendo’s net profit in its last fiscal year surged 47.7 percent to $2.5 billion.
The
company also announced many new games for the Wii on Thursday,
including Wii Music, which lets users play simulated instruments and
participate together in bands.
The Wii, which features an
unconventional remote control that players wave to manipulate action on
screen, has attracted a broader range of customers than other game
machines. As a result, Nintendo’s Wii has significantly outsold Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Sony’s PlayStation, according to market researcher NPD Group.
The
company also announced a new version of its Nintendo DS hand-held game
machine that features the ability to play music. The device has a
slightly larger screen than its predecessor, and uses SD storage cards.
The new system, called the DSi, also features two digital cameras: One
facing out like a camera on a cellphone and the other facing the user.
But
Nintendo has no plans to release the DSi in the United States market
until next year, preferring instead to satisfy what it says is
still-growing demand for the current Nintendo DS. Starting next month,
the Nintendo DSi will be available for about $180 in Japan, where the
current model is beginning to reach market saturation. Mr. Fils-Aime
said that while half of Japanese households own a DS, in the United
States one out of five households has one.
From : http://www.nytimes.com/
