IndustryGamers - Informing the Games Industry

Wii, PS3 Shortages to Continue for Several Months, says GameStop

Posted March 19, 2010 by James Brightman

Both Nintendo of America and Sony Computer Entertainment America have publicly confirmed their respective supply problems with Wii and PS3 hardware. After selling nearly 4 million units in December, Nintendo has had a very difficult time adequately replenishing the retail channel, as Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime reiterated to us in our in-depth interview.

Likewise, SCEA's Patrick Seybold recently noted that there's "incredible demand" for PS3 and the "tight inventory is definitely having an impact on recent sales numbers.” SCEA boss Jack Tretton noted that the inventory situation was "not ideal" heading into God of War III's launch this week. This situation isn't going to change all that quickly, according to GameStop.

Following the GameStop fiscal results, Sterne Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia noted that GameStop management doesn't expect the supply problem to abate just yet. "Management did indicate that hardware shortages on the PS3 and Wii are expected to continue over the next several months (Wii will likely have better stock sooner than PS3)," he said. 

IndustryGamers will be keeping a close eye on the hardware supply. It'll be interesting to see how the sales stack up in the next couple months and if Xbox 360 can come out on top again as both Wii and PS3 continue facing shortages.

James Brightman has been covering the games industry since 2003 and has been an avid gamer ever since the days of Atari and Intellivision. He was previously the EIC of GameDaily Biz.