The case of the Nintendo Wii is a wet dream for any business.
As the darling of the electronic entertainment industry for the second holiday
season in a row, Nintendo is still selling out of every single Wii it makes.
The consumer public’s appetite for the Wii is so insatiable
that Nintendo has pulled its usual advertising in the UK for its console in hopes
to not “fuel demand” any further.
“We have been running the campaign all year round, but we
want to take a responsible stance this Christmas and not fuel demand,” said a
Nintendo UK spokesperson in a MarketingWeek
story.
Instead, Nintendo will be using its ad space to promote the
DS handheld instead of the Wii console.
The move by Nintendo UK runs contrary to the company’s North
American branch, where it plans on pulling no punches when it comes to
capturing the attention of consumers this holiday season.
“We're still expecting some shortages in December. But we're
not going to be pilling back on our marketing,” explained George
Harrison, Nintendo of America’s marketing chief. “So even though we'll be
selling everything we can get, we'll continue full-blast with our outreach
through PR, and through paid advertising and other things.”
Meanwhile, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime can’t
find a Wii.