4.1 — Nintendo's number to remember

[JMan]

Hmmm... 4.1 million, eh?

Last Christmas, they failed to meet demand once again and lost out on sales. That's two years in a row. Would Nintendo make the same mistake 3 years in a row?

So what if they overproduced? What would be their plan then? Well, they are still intending on doing a DVD version, and they are still intending on doing multiple colors, both of which could increase demand again, even from existing users (think DS to DS Lite) And then, with that kind of level, they are probably getting bigger discounts from their suppliers...which means they could sell them for less if they needed to and still make profits galore, all of which contribute to a larger base to sell games to. Plus they can use the additional units for launching into other markets. Oh, and there's stockpiling for christmas...

So what's the risk of doing that many units per month? That they can't scale back when they meet demand? Isn't that a problem with EVERY PRODUCT IN THE WORLD? What does the rest of the world do? Oh yes, they scale back when they meet demand.

DS is not producing at 4.1 million a month? I wonder if that's why I couldn't find one in stock last month, or this month, anywhere. Demand for the DS seems to have gone up, despite their high production level and huge existing base. I finally found a DS after weeks of searching. And the Wii is in more demand. Yet, in October, the DS was readily available in many places -- I just wasn't looking for it then.

I think 4.1 million a month by the end of the year for the Wii could very well happen. It seems staggeringly high levels for such a conservative company, but they are seeing staggeringly high demand and it seems like the risk isn't all that great.