Wii to disappear from shelves, says Nintendo

The Nintendo of America president has said the firm will not be able to cope with the demand for its Wii console this Christmas and that it's likely the system will temporarily disappear from the high street.

Speaking to the Mercury News, Reggie Fils-Aime said: "We're working very hard to make sure that consumers are satisfied this holiday, but I can't guarantee that we're going to meet demand. As a matter of fact, I can tell you on the record that we won't.

"What I can tell you is that typically, our inventory is lasting a day... I don't think we will know when supply crosses with demand until after the holiday season."

Fils-Aime went on to state the problem is not the production of the console, rather it is the huge demand that is causing the chaos, adding: "The issue is not a lack of production. The issue is we went in with a curve that was aggressive, but the demand has been substantially more than that. And the ability to ramp up production and to sustain it is not a switch that you flick on."

The surprising news comes following Nintendo's promise last month that an "unprecedented" number of Wii consoles will be available for the Christmas season.