Nintendo suffers from its conservatism and the vrey high level of demand. I believe that they are aware of the supply issues, but they are afraid from stock issues from last generation (gamecube). So, they don't organize shortages, however, they don't do the maximum to avoid them.

Thats what you get when you want to be the technology leader, Nintendo. Shame on you. Why couldnt you just stick with normal technologies and produce a gaming console with widely available components? But nooo, you had to choose to be become the technology lead. so it is absolutely your fault!

So manufacturing more than any console manufacturer in history is not doing their maximum to avoid shortages?

Keep in mind that if 1 vendor cannot increase supply of their product, Nintendo (by way of Foxconn who actually assembles the Wii's and other consoles) obviously cannot increase production.

Analog Devices makes the Wii-mote accelerometer and are making them 24/7 at rates 10 times higher than ever in their history.  STMicroelectronics makes the accelerometer in the nun-chuck and they're doing the same thing.   Broadcoms Wi-Fi chips are at peak capacity.  AMD/ATi has their manufacturing partners rushing out Hollywoods well beyond their anticipated capacity.  Same with IBM and the Broadway CPU.

Why don't you do some research before assuming they don't do anything?   And this especially goes out to you supporters of the artificial shortage theory.  Get some facts, then come back.  Your assumptions are just making you look silly to those that know what they're talking about.  Worse yet even when facts are presented before you, you ignore them and continue to perpetuate ignorant fallacies. 

Snake, I just remembered why I've always stood up for you, no matter what anyone else says behind your back... your a great guy -

"Analog Devices makes the Wii-mote accelerometer and are making them 24/7 at rates 10 times higher than ever in their history. STMicroelectronics makes the accelerometer in the nun-chuck and they're doing the same thing. Broadcoms Wi-Fi chips are at peak capacity. AMD/ATi has their manufacturing partners rushing out Hollywoods well beyond their anticipated capacity. Same with IBM and the Broadway CPU."

Time to save that and memorize it for party joke purposes of course.

You know, the first couple of times Kotaku posted comments like that I thought it was some subtle or elaborate joke. Now I just shake my head. Even if they're just trolling for hits, that's not really much better.

 You could go around killing people in their sleep and leaving a note that reads "I killed them because they didn'thave a Nintendo Wii."

Bit extreme though.

Only plausible to somebody who has no clue how supply and demand actually works. Shortages DO NOT increase demand, the desirablity of a product does. If the Wii was not desirable by it's own merits, shortages would frustrate people and cause them to simply purchase a competing console.

The reality is, the shortages are there because of high demand, high demand is not there due to shortages.

A few reasons why Nintendo is not creating shortages on purpose:

1. They like money. The demand is obviously there, so they (like any business) want to sell as many items as possible, therefore making as much money as possible. Not meeting demand on purpose only frustrates customers seeking the product and is NOT a good business decision.

2. The numbers show that nearly every Wii console manufactured is sold very quickly. If they were falsely restricting supply, this would not be the case.

3. Nintendo has sold more consoles in a shorter period of time than ANY CONSOLE MANUFACTURER EVER! If you do not understand how this makes it impossible for them to be purposefully constraining supply, you lack any understanding of how manufacturing works.

4. The Wii factories are producing at maximum capacity. I worked in a factory environment for a few years and know it is VERY difficult to increase supply. To increase supply of a final product, every production facility involved has to increase it's production of components and parts. If there is ONE bottleneck, the entire process is slowed. Increasing production DOES NOT EQUAL 'flipping a switch'. It is a tedious and expensive process. Even so, Nintendo has significantly increased supply.

5. Stockpiling for future releases IS NOT THE SAME AS PURPOSEFULLY CREATING A SHORTAGE. It is a common business practice employed by virtually every manufacturer on the planet and is done for the purpose of INCREASING supply when DEMAND is expected to increase. This is to avoid frustrating customers, something no company wants to do.

Nintendo has created demand by providing a product that people want. End of discussion.

Some people just want to cling to the hope that people don't really want the Wii because it's fun. They must want it because others want it as the "cool it thing" and since it's hard to get they really want it more! If people start believing in this "fad" idea it reassures them that at any moment the Wii bubble could collapse and Wii sales will plummet while their console of choice skyrockets.

The 'Nintendo is manufacturing less to sell more' argument is like saying: "I'm going to gain weight by eating less."

It's a stupid argument that shows a general lack of critical thinking skills. (or just blind fanboyism).

This the funniest post that I've seen in a while.