Nintendo DS Lite Update: New Price, Japanese Release Info, Nintendo's Apology & Shipp

News from Lik Sang:

Nintendo DS Lite was formally launched in Japan today. While Nintendo published an announcement on their Japanese web site overnight to apologize for the shortage, Japanese gamers were lining up already since midnight to grab what was made available in Japanese retail stores. Up to 500 souls have been counted waiting over night in front of major shops, and sales in the Tokyo area started as early as 7:30 - with some retailers already putting up SOLD OUT signs as early as 9:30 (with still more than 650 people waiting in front of their shop).

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In today's announcement, Nintendo of Japan finally confirms the number of units that is being produced for the launch month: 450,000 units Nintendo DS Lite and 200,000 standard Nintendo DS models are supposed to hit the Japanese shelves before end of March. However, Nintendo reckons that the demand for the Nintendo DS Lite is exceeding their expectations and points out that the current shipping schedule seems not enough for all customers, and apologizes for the shortage situation.

Nintendo already published a statement last week, informing customers that the Enamel Navy and Ice Blue editions will not make it on time for March 2 due to production problems. Both colors were postponed in the last minute to March 11, making the supply even tighter than it already was before.

According to our contacts on the ground, some of Japan's largest retailers (such as Yodobashi and BIC Camera) were unable to maintain reservation lists for their customers for the first time ever.

Nintendo DS Price Correction US$ 199.90

The now officially confirmed number of units shipping is even lower than what was reported earlier by various industry sources, especially considering that the Nintendo DS is constantly sold out in Japan since shortly after Christmas, with Nintendo being unable to produce enough units to satisfy the market.

Supply is not even remotely meeting demand, which, as we all learnt in economics class, always lead to higher prices. Today is no exception, middlemen and suppliers with limited pockets of stock have all marked up their prices and no unit changes hands without paying the extra premium. There are already plenty of Nintendo DS Lite showing up on Japanese action web sites for a quadruple of the original price.

Please rest assured that the complete team at Lik Sang will do its best to snatch as many units as possible to fulfill every single order, but unfortunately you will have to be patient. As you can imagine, our initial delivery is unfortunately not enough to cover everybody instantly and we are fighting around the clock to get units shipped. We expect small deliveries from Japan frequently.

With Nintendo's forecast and the two new colors hitting the market by mid of this month, we hope the supply to become more stable within the next 3 to 4 weeks, but unfortunately not earlier. Should the situation develop otherwise, you can count on us that we will shoot you an email instantly and that we will also pass through any lower purchase costs. However, please note that a significant price drop is very unlikely to happen before the initial smoke clears in a matter of a couple of weeks.

More info at Lik Sang