It may be fast approaching its first birthday, but Nintendo’s Wii is still in considerable demand with consumers. Or at least, it is if you believe what Nintendo America boss Reggie Fils-Aime had to say to the San Jose Mercury News yesterday, after he was asked whether or not Nintendo will be able to churn enough Wii units out over the coming holiday season.

"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," spluttered Reggie, adding, "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.

"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."

Of course, there’s every chance that Fils-Aime is deploying the oldest marketing trick in the book here, citing consumer demand as the main cause behind shortages, thus whipping customers into an elbow-swinging, panic-buying frenzy, and playing down production line issues. Either way, we’d advise getting in early if you want a Wii in your Christmas stocking.