GamesIndustry.biz put Nintendo Europe senior marketing director Laurent Fischer on the spot, asking him about Europeans' continued inability to buy Wii unless they happen to be in a store the moment a shipment arrives.

""We are still struggling to deliver the right numbers of hardware to cope with demand," Fischer said. "We're planning to increase the production capacity but it's not something that can be done in a couple of days. We have to be patient.

"It's astonishing to think that with six million we're not able to fulfil the initial demand... We're having difficulty coping with demand because of the recruiting power of the Wii. It's even more powerful than anyone had guessed."

Fischer believes the Wii demand is related to market expansion. "We're confident the strategy is working, we saw it with the DS, this is what happens when you reach an expanded audience and keep the regular gamers. But when you open this new door it's difficult to measure the reaction you'll get."