Nintendo falling short of US Wii targets?

Article from Gamespot

Source: Straight from the horse's mouth...an official correction in a Nintendo press release.

The official story: Nintendo could not be reached for comment as of press time.

What we heard: When talking about the two recently released gaming consoles, Nintendo's Wii is largely regarded to be plentiful when compared to the scarce PlayStation 3. Even though Nintendo's console has sold out across the United States, gamers have found that getting a Wii has been much easier than purchasing one of Sony's new consoles.

Nintendo reported that 600,000 Wiis were sold in "the Americas" in its first eight days in retail, with almost half a million being sold in the United States. Shortly after the Wii's launch, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime said Nintendo was on target to ship 4 million Wiis worldwide by the end of the year.

Yesterday, Nintendo sent out a press release touting the sales success of Nintendo hardware in November, saying that of the 3.9 million systems sold in the US in the month, 2.1 million (55 percent) carried the Nintendo brand.

The press release also carried the statement, "Despite spot shortages in some locations, well more than a million Wii systems will be available in the United States by the end of the year."

For those gamers still waiting to get a Wii for the holidays, well over a million Wiis is indeed good tidings. Unfortunately, Nintendo may accidentally be playing the role of Grinch.

About four hours after the initial press release hit the wires, Nintendo sent out an updated version with one major correction. In the head of the updated release from Nintendo's PR agency, a correction reads, "...we are advised [by Nintendo] that the fourth paragraph, last sentence which reads, 'Despite spot shortages in some locations, well more than a million Wii systems will be available in the United States by the end of the year,' should be disregarded. (Emphasis added.)

Two days after launch, Fils-Aime told Reuters that approximately 2 million Wiis would be available in the US by early January, with 1 million available in early December. But with yesterday's updated release, Nintendo doesn't seem too sure about that number.

Yesterday's European launch (remember--they don't get the PS3 until spring 2007) and last week's Japanese launch may be bad for American gamers. Nintendo could be feeling a pinch on supply and may be moving some units destined for the US over to those regions.

On the other hand, Nintendo could simply be covering its bases, not wanting to promise something it can't deliver in light of the incredibly high demand for the console.

Bogus or not bogus?: It's still speculative, but also very fishy. Rumor Control will abstain until we hear back from Nintendo.