Doesn't matter. There is NO excuse for still being sold out of a product a YEAR after its introduction, especially when demand is still so immensely high and there's zero danger in overproducing.

I can understand being caught off guard for one Xmas, but being caught off guard for TWO?

As I've said before, it's not just about manufacturing. You also have to build a support operation that can serve a 1 million+ increase in base per month. In addition, they are also having to increase support for an additional 2 million DS units per month. That makes 3 million + hardware units a month going out the door.

It takes time to adequately train the support staff, from phone operators to repair technicians. In addition, you have to maintain adequate quality controls to make sure that customers are being served properly. The worst thing you can do is overexpand too rapidly and leave the customers with inadequate support.

There is still no evidence they will be for sure caught off guard for two christmases. By all accounts they have heavily increased production, yet sold totals have not increased significantly. To me, this hints that maybe (or almost certainly) they are SAVING UNITS FOR THE HOLIDAYS! That they are quite possibly attempting to prepare for what has the possibility to be the best selling holiday for a console. Whether or not they can produce enough is another question. I would not be surprised if they are/will soon be producing 2m/month.

That amount of hardware is ridiculous, and yet I wouldn't be surprised at all if Nintendo came out tomorrow with a statement that they would be producing that amount by the end of the year. Even October on alone would be an extra 1.5 million units to sell at christmas (based on the last figure I have heard, which was 1.5m/month. If this has changed, I would love to know)

As for there being no excuse...
When another console has launch sales as high relative to the wii as the wii's is relative to (name of any other console in history), we'll see how well they are able to keep up with the demand. Until that happens, lets just admit that Nintendo may have a bit more experience than us at worldwide distribution of the New Hotness.

Your post tells me you don't realise what is involved in upping production. There is no dial on the Wii factory floor they can just turn to increase production. They have to open new facilities or expand existing facilities, this takes at least a year if you fast track like everything. There is an absolute ton of stuff to do.

The problem a lot of companies run into is that they increase their factory capacity or open new factories and then when demand drops off they have no need for this brand new factory that has been tooled for making their product. So they have to re-tool their brand new factory, which costs a significant portion of the original factory cost, and takes 4 to 5 months just to get it operational after a re-tool.

I know you folks are frustrated with not being able to get a Wii, but you really have no idea what is involved with Nintendo's end. So please have a little faith that one of the oldest industry giants does in fact know what they are doing.

Wii is not like a video game software which you can just produce as many as you want.

To open new factories for wii, they need first to get government approval which can take months, then they need to get contractors to build the buildings which can take years. After all that was done, they need to train people to work on the console get and get enough machine into the factories, which can take months to do.

Like a 60 inches LCD monitor. If people demand 60 inches LCD monitor like they demand wii, I bet the world will not be able to meet the demand for a long long time.

Your posts tell me that you haven't the faintest clue, either.

Go flip your Wii over (if you have one). You'll notice the words "Made in China" on the bottom of it.

Do you have any idea how easy it is to get manufacturing done in China?

"The country already produces 50% of the world’s cameras, 30% of air conditioners and televisions, 25% of washing machines, and 20% of refrigerators. One private Chinese company manufactures 40% of all microwave ovens sold in Europe. The city of Wenzhou in Eastern China produces 70% of the world's metal cigarette lighters." source: http://www.jimpinto.com/writings/chinasyndrome.html

Again, what's the excuse here? Nintendo is making Wiis in China, not Japan, and China is a manufacturing powerhouse. The country's income is comprised primarily of exports and manufacturing. If Nintendo builds/hires too many factories, they can be converted to manufacture other goods because that's how the manufacturing market works. You don't build your own factories, you buy/lease them as they're needed.

Bottom line, Nintendo is in no danger of grabbing up too many factories when they're doing so in the LAND of factories. 

250,000 Wii systems per week works out to (approximately) 3,000,000 Wii systems per year
3,000,000 Wii systems costs Nintendo (roughly) $3,000,000,000 to $6,000,000,000 to manufacture

not a simple decision to increase production

 Where are you getting these numbers from?

The idea behind commissioning factories is that the factories retool their internal structure to manufacture your product but you don't "own" the factory because, if you no longer require their services, they'll retool for another client and move on. 

i don't know specitics, but i think i have a good general understanding of this.

well they basically have to deside a a month or two ahead of time how many systems to release in a month, because they have to order all the needed parts, wait for them to get to the factory, assemble them, and ship them out to stores. and a million consoles a month cost $180,000,000 to make (considering they still spend $180 on each system) and that would be 12 million systems a year or  $2,160,000,000. and don't forgot all the money the're spending in advertising, wiimotes, nunchukes, game discs, disc cases, and instruction manuals (considering they manufacture all of that themselfs, and i think they do since they publish a majority of the games.

i think it comse down to that rule that you can't exand as fast as you want because rapidly growing companies suck up alot of money, and even if the're making huge profits, it's hard to keep up with the massive spending.

In the end, that makes the most sense, and I say that because I'm sure no one hates the Wii shortage as much as Nintendo hates it.