REDWOOD CITY, Calif. -- Nintendo Co. sold more Wii game consoles last week than in any week since the popular gadget launched in late 2006, but executives warned Tuesday that Wiis would be scarce through the end of the year.
Nintendo sold 350,000 last week, when many stores were closed for the Thanksgiving holiday, compared to 300,000 the previous week. The only time with higher sales was an eight-day period in late November 2006, when the Wii debuted and more than 600,000 units sold.
The company is on track to sell 17.5 million Wiis in the fiscal year ending March 31. Last fall, Nintendo executives predicted they would sell 14.5 million Wiis.
They were producing roughly 1.2 million units per month at the time.
Nintendo has ramped up production to about 1.8 million per month, but its manufacturers cannot increase production again, said Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime, who spent Friday and Saturday spot-checking Wii supplies at Wal-Mart, Best Buy, GameStop, Target and Toys R Us stores in Erie, Penn., and Redmond, Wash.
"I couldn't find a single Wii system on the shelves - literally as I was walking into a Wal-Mart at 11 a.m., someone was walking out with the last one," Fils-Aime said in an interview at the company's new office here. "Consumers are buying every game we can put into the system."
Fils-Aime predicted a new sales record the week before Christmas, despite being "very concerned" about the U.S. economy and the rising price of gasoline. About 40 percent of Wii sales have been in North America and Latin America, while 35 percent were in Asia, primarily Japan, and the rest came from Europe and the Middle East.
He dismissed speculation online that the Kyoto, Japan-based company - maker of Pokemon and Super Mario games - is deliberately constraining supply of the $250 console to generate buzz.
"A shortage benefits no one," he said. "We're disappointed. This was all about how we didn't accurately estimate demand. We need to be more bullish about the potential for the Wii."
Unlike consoles with joysticks that players operate with their thumbs, the Wii responds to the user moving a wand-like wireless controller strapped to the wrist.
Wii games including tennis and bowling appeal to children, parents, hardcore gamers and even senior citizens.
Sony's top-line PlayStation model, with an 80-gigabyte hard drive, costs $499 in the U.S., down from the original price of $599. A new low-end model with a 40-gigabyte drive will go on sale Nov. 2 for $399.
Microsoft's Xbox 360 costs $350 in the U.S.
The Wii has been a tremendous boost for Nintendo.
In the quarter ended Sept. 30, it more than doubled its sales to $6.1 billion from a year earlier, when the Wii has not yet launched.
It has sold 5.5 million Wiis in the U.S. since it went on sale on last November.
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