Nintendo is being ruthless with Wii. They were confident in Japan, because DS had re-cemented them as the leader there. But they did make sure to allot enough units that they could pass PS3 in Japan right away. And in the US, they launched Wii on the same weekend as PS3, knowing they'd have better supply, to absolutely kill PS3 hype as much as possible. Stories comparing the launches were all over in the mainstream press, and it made Nintendo look like the golden boy of the industry. I wouldn't be at all surprised if they were making a big European push in March. Not so that people waiting for a PS3 buy a Wii--that doesn't make much sense. But just so that when sales figures come out, Nintendo can say that they held their own against the PS3 launch during their fourth month of release, to once again draw the PS3 into question. Nintendo says they aren't competing with Sony. But their timing seems like its designed for viral FUD creation.
"[Our former customers] are unable to find software which they WANT to play."
"The way to solve this problem lies in how to communicate what kind of games [they CAN play]."
Satoru Iwata, Nintendo President. Only slightly paraphrased.
