Any home console that has ever launched in november or december always seems to have exstinsive Shortage problems, and it hurts both the customer and the console maker. The PS2, Xbox 360, Wii, PS3, Xbox, hell even the gamecube. Do you think Nintendo has finally been able to learn the shortage problem?

Releasing worthwhile software that drives consumer demand should be the shortage Nintendo aims for.

If they have some strong launch games and it's between $299 and $349 (i.e. it's affordable and becomes the hot new holiday item), then yes, there will be shortages during the holidays. I don't think it's really anything Nintendo can control either, unless they happen to produce an insane amount of consoles.

The PS2 and the Wii were by far the biggest shortages we've ever seen, at least here in the US. It was months before any more PS2s were available after the launch shipment, whereas the Wii saw units trickle in every couple of weeks or so, but they were gone instantly (unless you were lucky), which lasted all the way into 2008.

Hopefully Wii U won't suffer from shortages of that magnitude.

please no one wants a Wii U :3

If it launches worldwide simultaneously, there will be shortages.
The launches need to be spaced out by a few months. Japan first, then NA and EU.

lolwut?

Nintendo launched the DS and the Wii here first. It is likely that NA will see the WiiU first as well.

Of course there's going to be shortages, there's always shortages when launching a new piece of highly anticipated hardware such as a game console. But this is also by design... it's the simple laws of supply and demand. No hardware manufacturer wants to flood the market with their product only to watch it sit on store shelves. Nintendo will probably have a big batch ready for launch, and then will start releasing strategically timed shipments to keep demand for the console high.

I seriously doubt we'll see a repeat of the Wii phenomenon because this console won't be quite as unique or groundbreaking as the Wii, and it will be more expensive than the Wii was at launch. Don't forget... being the cheapest of the three consoles by more than $150 went a long way in helping the Wii achieve its massive sales records early on.

shush you!

Don’t give them any bad ideas! Its gonna be out worldwide by a few weeks not months!! >:|

Hmm I’m sure they will have enough units if they release it Nov-Dec but I think they will have it out before that.

I don't think they can control it, if it's No 1 in holiday then shortage will happen, they need to cover Japan & EU also so it will be hard not to expect shortage of any kind, the lesson that they should & might have learnt is to push it with strong software, that will make it sell, then shortage will happen, they should be able to do that, cos they are not doing anything for WII, not even in 2011 (Only Zelda, Only Mario Party 9)