GameStop Theorizes Wii Shortage Deliberate 163
In GameStop's quarterly public conference call, company COO Dan DeMatteo called out Nintendo on what he sees as intentional supply shortages. Along with the news that the company hit $5.3 Billion in 2006, Next Gen reports that the call contained several remarks on the next gen systems. The Wii, Dematteo thinks, has been short supplied because 'they made their numbers for the year ... [Nintendo's] new year starts April 1st, and I think we're going to see supply flowing.' They also commented on the Euro launch of the PS3, with CEO R. Richard Fontaine saying, 'I think the summary of that was that it was a very good launch falling somewhat short of what [GameStop's Euro managing directors] would call a great launch.'
Re:That is a double edged sword (Score:2, Informative)
Well before the launch they were talking about how they produced so many units you should just be able to walk into your local retailer and walk out with one(sans waiting in line in cold weather for hours) on launch day.
That is not true.
Here [slashdot.org] is a story where Reggie Fils-Aime says "not to get complacent."
Re:Long suspected (Score:3, Informative)
I don't buy it, for the simple reason that the Wii can run all those GameCube titles too. With the relatively small number of upcoming Wii releases, I'm expecting to work my way through the GameCube back catalog to fill in the gaps.
No, as a GameCube owner I can tell you that Nintendo has always had distribution problems. They just can't keep stuff in stores for whatever reason. Even high profile well-reviewed 'Cube games like Burnout 2 are difficult to find in stores and often go for a premium on eBay.