From an Americas-centric perspective, here is the reality we see. We have a consumer base who loves virtual console. We have a userbase who really is enjoying WiiWare content. So for us really our challenge really is how do we satisfy all these consumers who are loving all of the product we make available on a download basis? As we continue to have things, as you point out, like ‘Mario Kart’ that has its own channel when you’re playing from an Internet perspective, we’re just making this challenge tougher and tougher. So in our view this is becoming much more of a mainstream problem, which is why we have a sense of urgency to solve it.

It's comforting to picture Nintendo HQ, deck chairs and money-counting machines upturned, as klaxons sound, tech teams scrambling to "solve" this problem before the Today Show starts complaining about it.

Nintendo: Wii Storage Limitations Becoming A ‘Mainstream Problem’ [MTV]

All I can tell you is that since the day I walked in the door, I’ve had a very good relationship with the folks at Take Two, continue to have a good relationship. And so in our view we want just the best content coming on our platforms... You know, a GTA on the Wii is all based on what Rockstsar and Take Two want to do. And again, from our standpoint, if they build a bottoms-up game that takes advantage of what we do well, I’d love to see it on the platform.

And hey, why the heck not?

Nintendo President Talks ‘Grand Theft Auto’ Deal [MTV Multiplayer] [Pic]

Nintendo confirms E3 speakers [CVG] [Pic]

When asked if the orchestra conductor demo from E3 2006 would make an appearance, Reggie said "Who knows? Maybe that's one of the things we'll talk about at E3." He similarly dodged a Donkey Kong Wii question.

Fils-Aime said that Nintendo's post-E3 releases will be "maximizing all of our key franchises," teasing something the hardcore userbase will be frothing over. F-Zero? Pilotwings? Something Zelda-related? What is it?!

Reggie was cagey. "There's gonna be a big game for the holiday that the gamers will want," he said. "All I can tell you is what we announce during E3 is gonna be fantastic. The gamer is gonna be excited and the expanded audience is gonna be excited."

Who wants to start making some educated guesses? I've got a rupee on Kid Icarus. Wait, scratch that. Tingle Prime.

GameTrailers TV

That bad news, which is apparently straight from Nintendo of America boss Reggie Fils-Aime's mouth, may be one of those things one can chalk up to Wii allocations. That means there could be a strong Wii hardware roll out in the fall across the Atlantic, with a similar flood of Wiis hitting North America for Brawl's March launch. Good news for those still Wii-less, but Euro Wii fans will surely be rioting in the streets. Either that, or enjoying one of its many, many fine outdoor cafes.

Update: Hey, Europe! Put down your torches and rest your rock throwing arm. Nintendo wants to assure you that no official date has been provided for Super Smash Bros. Brawl in your region, a fact backed up by EGM's Shane Bettenhausen. He writes in his 1UP blog that Reggie gave him no such release date, only that Europe was getting Brawl after us Americans.

1UP Yours [1UP]
GDC: loose ends and clarifications [1UP]

We think here in the United States the reaction will be just as strong if not stronger given the American focus and psyche on being fit, and the game itself is going to be localized for our audience. We expect to have comparable success here in the U.S. if not a stronger result than what Japan has seen so far... Our sights are set very high for the this product so our goal is to make sure we have over a million units available at launch to support it... There are over 10 games in development that take advantage of the Balance Board. Certainly in terms of ongoing enjoyment, we believe that Wii Fit plus the Balance Board will provide that to the consumer.

Wow, it hasn't been a good week for the New York Times.

Turns out that New York Times story didn't just mix up the DS and PSP's features, oh and misspell Reggie's name twice, it also screwed up what exactly was downloadable to the Wii as a full-blown game and what was just for demos.

That's right, according to Nintendo, the Wii will NOT be able to transmit or download full DS games. Apparently the New York Times confused DS demos with WiiWare titles. So you can download full on Wii games (which we knew), but only wireless DS demo games (which we also knew).

From Nintendo:

An article about the Nintendo DS video game system in the Dec. 31 Business Day section of the New York Times incorrectly referred to future capabilities of the device. The statement that complete Nintendo DS games will eventually be able to be downloaded into the device via a wireless connection with the company's Wii game console is incorrect. Users can download games to play on Wii, and, in the future, the Nintendo DS will be able to receive demo versions of some DS games from Wii, but not the entire game. The demo will be erased once the Nintendo DS is turned off.

Good lord, that's four mistakes in one story, five if you include the correction to the correction they had to run. A new record?

See Correction Number 3 [NYT]

Correction: January 3, 2008
An article in Business Day on Monday about Nintendo's video game consoles misspelled the surname of the president and chief operating officer of Nintendo of America, and a correction in this space on Tuesday gave another incorrect spelling. He is Reggie Fils-Aime — not Fils-Amie or Fils-Aimee.

Good thing they didn't have to pronounce it.

With Wii and DS, Nintendo Has 2 Hit Game Devices [NYT]

The level of demand we are facing complicates all of our future business planning,...all of that becomes a much tougher exercise until we have supply and demand curves that intersect.

Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime confirmed today what we first broke earlier this week, Best Buy and six other national retailers will be stocking Wii this weekend. And by stocking I mean they will be advertising the console in their weekly circulars (except Wal-Mart) and then throwing the consoles up on the shelves come the weekend and then running away.

Best Buy, Target, Wal-Mart, Sears, Kmart, Toys R Us and Circuit City are all stocking the Wii this weekend for those still on the hunt. We had several tips after our rumor story ran about the stock issue.

According to Best Buy tipsters it sounds like all stores will have at least 21 of the consoles with some carrying as many as 100. I've also heard that Best Buy is expecting a second shipment next week which is supposed to go straight to shelves. Most stores will get them sometimes before noon. The bad news is that rumor has it that that will be the last pre-Christmas shipment for Best Buy, though they expect more in early January.

Target, another tipster tells me, has a big stockpile as well, some stores have more than 100. So this weekend sounds like your best chance to pick up a Wii, unless you don't mind buying a raincheck.

We do not anticipate making online gameplay for Virtual Console games. In terms of voice chat... certainly our system has the capability for online voice chat, what it comes down to is finalizing the peripheral... I would not be surprised to see that capability come to this system.

"On any system you will have a range of quality. Publishers are working extremely hard to take advantage of the Wii and it's unique abilities. Those publishers who do a great job enjoy fantastic sales. As publishers understand how to take advantage of the unique aspects of the remote you will see better and better games. We already have a certification program and publishers need to conform with a number of key aspects to get certified. What we don't do is have some sort of filter for quality, because quality is so subjective. Nintendo is working hand in glove with publishers to share with them our level of expertise with the technology."

My suggestion? Take that big ol' glove and use it to smack down anyone who tries to release another Ninjabread Man. The extent of Nintendo's guidance is anybody's guess at this point, though I am envisioning "Make Wii Games Like Nintendo" seminars popping up around the world.

OK, the call with Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime is set to start any second now. I'll be trying to liveblog what he has to say and the questions and answers as it happens on the jump.

The invitation said that Fils-Aime would be discussing the "overwhelming demand for the Wii" and Wii supplies through the holidays and beyond. I suspect he will also be talking about the increase in production and distribution we mentioned earlier today.

Alrighty, I've dropped into the call. Waiting for it to start.

And it's started with Fils-Aime starting off the talk.

"The purpose of this call is to add some perspective to what continues to be an overwhelming demand for Wii."

He's outlining the effort they've put into meeting demand including a new rain check program. If a consumer goes into a Gamestop on Dec. 20 or Dec. 21 and make a full payment they will receive a Wii rain check certificate (while supplies last) which guarantees a Wii by the end of January.

Fils-Aime has also confirmed that six national retailers, including Best Buy, Target and Wal-Mart, will be releasing large supplies of Wii this weekend.

Fils-Aime says that with the rain check program GameStop has "many tens of thousands of rain checks available across their roughly 3,000 points of distribution." And calls it a great way for consumers to put something under the tree that guarantees they will have a Wii in January.

Reggie says that there is no hard date for when or if they will cut back or increase the current, and recently increased, production rate for the Wii.

MTV's Stephen Totilo asked Reggie if there is any thought about manufacturing Wii in the United States to cut down on the delay caused by the need to ship the finished product from Asia to the States. The short answer? No.

Rain check program is exclusive to GameStop because, Reggie says, the tools they've created for their pre-sale programs allow them to track specific sales trends and where consumers shop. "Only this retailer has the ability to handle this complicated a program."

On the quality of third-party games for the Wii:
"On any system you will have a range of quality. Publishers are working extremely hard to take advantage of the Wii and it's unique abilities. Those publishers who do a great job enjoy fantastic sales. As publishers understand how to take advantage of the unique aspects of the remote you will see better and better games. We already have a certification program and publishers need to conform with a number of key aspects to get certified. What we don't do is have some sort of filter for quality, because quality is so subjective.
Nintendo is working hand in glove with publishers to share with them our level of expertise with the technology."

On possible DS shortages:
"We do not have reported shortages of DS. As we get to the 24 of December inventory will be quite tight, there may be spot shortages at some retailers, but consumers should be able to find them."

On voice chat and VC online play:
"We do not anticipate making online gameplay for Virtual Console games. In terms of voice chat... certainly our system has the capability for online voice chat, what it comes down to is finalizing the peripheral... I would not be surprised to see that capability come to this system."

Finally someone asked if Nintendo is airfreighting Wii from the far east to the U.S. Reggis said they are "doing some unique things that are proprietary. We are expediting product to the Americas."

And that wraps up the call.

As Game|Life's Chris Kohler points out, with some 166 VC games already online and with just 8 more Mondays in 2007, that should put us at 190. That's if Nintendo keeps the current three-per-week schedule going. Could the company be planning to up that frequency, now that its got more consoles on board? Is the VC gift giving channel inspiring a faster torrent of old-school releases? Or did someone just mean to type "190+" and got carried away?

Regardless of the reason, we certainly won't be surprised if Nintendo decides that this holiday is the perfect time to start pumping out VC releases like it's going out of style.

Nintendo slides from BMO conference [NeoGAF via Game|Life]

The challenge that our competitors have is significant. They've gone down the path with building expensive machines that they lose money on. They've gone down the path with games that are hard to develop... They've put themselves in a box. I don't know how they're going to get out of it.

The latest issue of Brandweek names Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aime the Grand Marketer of the Year, saying that the man behind Nintendo of America preached the gospel of gaming and converted moms and the elderly into Wii addicts.

The spread inside the magazine lays out in more detail why Fils-Aime got the top pick, but mostly it's all the stuff we already know: He's flamboyant, loves to smack talk and is riding the success of what Brandweek calls bottled lightning. The piece also includes quotes from both Kotaku and Joystiq as well as some Chuck Norris-esque quotes about the marketeer.

Now, what about that whole logistics problem Nintendo is having with getting their consoles onto shelves, when is that going to be solved?

High fives all around!
Listen Here [Multiplayer Blog]

Will they sell a lot of software? Certainly. Will it sell hardware? I think it's an open question... I think that the Halo 3 consumer already has the hardware, because they're playing BioShock and Crackdown and a variety of games that are, in the end, quite similar: first-person shooter experience, multiplayer capable online. Tell me what's new?

The bad news, which we knew was coming, is that according to Reggie, "given the level of demand and given the fact that the more we put in, the more we sell, it is still going to be difficult to get your hands on the Wii."

Despite sitting atop the NPD sales throne, Reggie humbly tells the San Jose Mercury news that Nintendo "We're not taking our current success lightly." But that doesn't mean he won't comment on the competition from Microsoft and Sony.

On the console front he sounded pretty confident in the Wii's ongoing success, saying "In terms of our competitors, what we continue to see is that 360 and PS3 essentially trade share as they alternate on price reductions. But, really none of that is impacting our business."

But what about the PSP, Reggie? Asked about the implications of the new PSP model shipping, Reggie gave his opinion on the matter, saying "I actually put a unit in my hands yesterday. I think most consumers will be hard pressed to tell the difference. I find myself fortunate that they continue to struggle a little bit."

Overconfident or reasonable evaluation? Who out there is making the transition to the "Slim"?

Video: Interview with Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aime [San Jose Mercury News]

In this video interview, Reggie Fils-Aime gleefully teases that a number of titles are in the process of localization or evaluation, possibly including the first two games mentioned in this post.

But what about all those other successful import only games? Kanji dictionaries, Common Sense Training, Daigasso! Band Brothers, Mother—some probably will just never make the hop across the Pacific. But with Professor Layton & The Curious Village, Flash Focus and Nintendo Magic all coming to the Nintendo DS this year, it does give one hope for untested, Mario-not-playing-sports games coming to the platform.

Personally, I'll operate under the assumption the Nintendo hates America right up to the point where my Club Nintendo account is approved.

Video Exclusive: Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aime (Part Two) — Does Nintendo Favor Japanese Gamers And Developers? [MTV]

Remember WiiConnect24? Remember agreeing to leave that feature on? Remember when when it was used for virtually nothing for the past eight months? Well, Geoff Keighley of Game Head and Bonus Round fame does and he grilled Nintendo boss Reggie Fils-Aime on the subject. Most gamers I've talked to barely blinked at the Check Mii Out channel announcement, wondering where the hell the good stuff was.

Fortunately for those nearing 'E' on goodwill, Reggie says something is coming. More specifically, a "surprise is coming... by the end of September" but was coy in the Nintendo fashion on further details. Any guesses?

Like that Xbox 360 downloadable content? Nintendo president Reggie Fils-Aime doesn't! According to him, Nintendo "isn't going down the path of multi-media downloadable content." The Wii, it's a games machine. It doesn't need movies. Xbox Live has movies. And what does Reggie think of Microsoft's downloadable service?

If you have decent game, Video Marketplace isn't worth a damn.

I can't talk about Europe and Japan, but in North America, no.

He and I start chatting and he suddenly asks me about the odds on the group hug. For those of you who didn't partake in the Kotaku E3 Fantasy Betting Pool, one of our more outlandish predictions was that Reggie Fils-Aime, Peter Moore and Phil Harrison would have a group hug. The odds? 1,000,000 to one.

I asked Harrison if he was considering an on-stage group hug with Moore and Fils-Aime. If he can bet $5, he replies. Maybe Kotaku dollars? And I hear that Peter Moore was talking up the idea on a recent podcast. It sounds like I only need to convince Reggie.

Well, N'Gai called it. This morning, Nintendo official announced WiiWare, which allows developers to create downloadable titles especially for the Wii. Using redeemable Wii Points, the games will be sold via the Wii Shop Channel. Says Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime:

Independent developers armed with small budgets and big ideas will be able to get their original games into the marketplace to see if we can find the next smash hit. WiiWare brings new levels of creativity and value to the ever-growing population of Wii owners.

Nintendo's WiiWare Paves The Way For Fresh Games, Cool Consumer Experiences Nintendo Sets a New Paradigm: One Game Can Still Make a Difference

SANTA MONICA, Calif., June 27 /PRNewswire/ — The search for the next ingeniously ground-breaking video game has begun. At a private developers conference this week, Nintendo announced the introduction of WiiWare(TM), a game-creation service that will allow developers large and small to create new downloadable video game content for sale by Nintendo through the Wii Shop Channel of the hot Wii(TM) home video game system. WiiWare paves the way for smaller, more creative games to make their way to the public at lower prices, without any inventory risk to developers. The first WiiWare content will launch in early 2008.

"Independent developers armed with small budgets and big ideas will be able to get their original games into the marketplace to see if we can find the next smash hit," says Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime. "WiiWare brings new levels of creativity and value to the ever-growing population of Wii owners."

The possibilities for WiiWare are limited only by the imaginations of developers. WiiWare provides game creators a simple method by which they can get their games to the public. This approach, combined with the remarkable motion controls of the Wii Remote(TM) and Nunchuk(TM), will give birth to fresh takes on established genres, as well as original ideas that currently exist only in developers' minds. The reduced barriers to development provide developers the freedom to create and an inexpensive, clearly defined path to reach consumers who will ultimately determine which game will become the Next Big Thing.

WiiWare will be posted on the Wii Shop Channel. As with current Wii Shop Channel offerings, users will redeem Wii Points(TM) to download content. It will support a variety of pricing options. Details about that and upcoming projects will be announced at a later date. For more information about Wii, visit http://www.Wii.com.

Fils-Aime says the move is an attempt to capitalize on some of "the heat and the action [that] is going on around new forms of entertainment" in Silicon Valley. According to Atonucci, Reggie says that Nintendo hopes to "develop more software that blends an entertainment experience with an educational or informational use" not unlike the company's Brain Age games, but most likely more inline with the wide array of non-traditional software experiences like Cooking Navi and Common Sense Training, currently only available in Japan.

Nintendo's experimental forays into using the Nintendo DS for navigating the Shigureden museum in Kyoto as well as installing the Nintendo Fan Network at the Seattle Mariner's Safeco Field are presumably good indications of how its hardware and software will expand the company's reach. Michael McWhertor

Nintendo opening new offices: an exclusive interview with Reggie Fils-Aime [Mercury News]

We just heard back from Nintendo today about rumors of a mass exodus at Nintendo of America, over the planned move to San Francisco or New York for company's sales and marketing staff.

Contrary to earlier reports, about 60 percent, not 90 percent, decided to quit the company rather than move.

Virtually all of the employees affected by the relocation plan have now responded with their decisions, and approximately four of every ten have agreed to make the move to either New York or the Bay Area, in keeping with our original expectations.

A transition task force of key executives has been formed to ensure the smoothest process possible, and continuous information and resources will be available to all employees. The rest of Nintendo's strong leadership talent will continue to drive our business objectives forward. It has always been the case that Nintendo employees are resilient and rise to any challenge, and there is no doubt in my mind that we will excel as we continue to tackle new challenges and business opportunities.

Nintendo itself can not discuss the relocation status of any individual involved, but for those who will be departing the company, we have every expectation that they will succeed to the highest degree in their future endeavors. We will miss the talent, energy and experience from those who have chosen not to relocate. Our sales and marketing teams have been key components in returning Nintendo to its current position of market leadership.

Reggie Fils-Aime
President, Nintendo of America

As you can see Fils-Aime doesn't really get into the rumor that many senior execs, including Beth Llewelyn, Perrin Kaplan and George Harrison, were among those who decided to leave.

I'd think if it weren't at least in part true, that they'd be denying it by now. But I'm sure we'll find out for sure when they land at their new jobs. Brian Crecente

Back in 2004, when Reggie Fils-Aime left Pizza Hut to work for Nintendo, the company was in a transitional period. The former game giant was trying to reclaim its crown. Fils-Aime, now Nintendo of America's honcho, tells the The New York Times:

Only twice has one company simultaneously had the No. 1 new hardware console, the No. 1 portable console, the No. 1-selling game and been the No. 1 overall software publisher. The first time was Nintendo in the '80s. The second time is Nintendo now.

You so know that Reggie has been waiting since 2004 to say that. Brian Ashcraft

Nintendo, Once Down [NYT via Infendo]

That's good news for Nintendo, obviously, but the better news for gamers was that the company will ship three of its biggest, most highly anticipated games before the end of the year. During Reggie's Nintendo Media Summit presentation, he confirmed that Super Mario Galaxy, Super Smash Bros. Brawl and The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass would all arrive before December 31, 2007.

This follows close on the heels of the announcement that Metroid Prime 3: Corruption would this summer, making it a very good year for Nintendo fans. It's also going to be an expensive year. I'm now thinking to myself, "I will work more hours to buy these games." Michael McWhertor

Reggie points to the "technical divide" that separates the world's haves and have-nots, traditionally understood as distanced by monetary wealth. In the context of his argument, haves and have-nots (technophobes) are also separated by increased technical complexity.

Fils-Aime argues that instead of doing more of the same, technology leaders should target not only their core, spec-driven consumer, but those left "frustrated" by the learning curve of understanding complex systems. Using the example of Nintendo's own Wii and, more simply, cereal companies reshaping their products into breakfast bars, the Nintendo prez challenges more companies to utilize the "blue ocean" strategy to target untapped consumers in "white spaces."

Say, those are Wii colors. Coincidence? Michael McWhertor

Perspective: Nintendo on the latest 'technical divide' [CNet]

The directions to get a Reggie autograph of your own takes a bit of effort, and of course, results might vary, especially now that the floodgates are probably open. But it is Monday and hanging out in the mailroom at least kind of looks like you're doing work. Kim Phu

Reggie Shows the Love [N+]

The PlayStation 2 took second place in hardware race with 280,000 units sold, outselling new console competitor, the Wii, which shifted some 259,000 units to nab third. Solid, but down 22% from February. Behind the Wii was the Xbox 360, just a hair shy of 200,000 units sold (down 12% from the previous month) and the PSP with 180,000.

The bad hardware news for Sony came from their new PLAYSTATION 3, which saw 130,000 consoles fall into new customer hands, seeing a 2% sales increase over the previous month. That's well below the performance of Nintendo's Game Boy Advance which was still going strong to the tune of some 148,000 handhelds.

Nintendo president Reggie Fils-Aime said of his company's solid hardware performance, "The message delivered by both Wii and Nintendo DS is the same one; Innovation is compelling both current gamers and new gamers to experience a new way to play. Nintendo is bringing gaming back to the masses."

Response from Sony after the jump.

David Karraker, senior director of corporate communications at SCEA, said of the figures, "According to NPD data, March 2007 showed a 24% increase in retail dollars generated year-over-year for the PlayStation brand in North America with total sales of $447 million, due in part to the addition of the PS3 platform as well as the strong launch performance of God of War II for PS2 at retail."

Addressing PS3 sales, Karraker wrote "While PS3 saw a month-over-month increase of 2% with sales of 129,638 units, we continued to find ourselves supply constrained in March due primarily to the shift in manufacturing focus to the PS3 PAL version to support the launch of the system in Europe."

Finally, on the recently price-reduced PlayStation Portable and PlayStation 2: "PSP also witnessed gains in March, up 2% over February with sales of 179,796 units. The price of the PSP Core system was dropped from $199 to $169 in early April, which has received very positive retailer and consumer response. PS2 continued to be a strong performer in March, with unit sales of 279,866. On the software front, we were pleased to see sales increases from February for both the PSP and PS2. PS2 software showed a 29% increase with the launch of God of War II and PSP software demonstrated a 13% jump."

Interesting take. Where exactly was the PS3 "supply constrained" again? I've been under the impression that the console was rather easy to get your hands on (unless you're bedridden or trapped in a well).

Here are the full hardware and software numbers released by NPD in easy-to-read list format.

Hardware Sales For March

1. Nintendo DS - 508K
2. PlayStation 2 - 280K
3. Wii - 259K
4. Xbox 360 - 199K
5. PlayStation Portable - 180K
6. Game Boy Advance - 148K
7. PlayStation 3 - 130K
8. GameCube - 22K

Top 10 Software Sales For March

1. (PS2) God of War II - 833K
2. (360) Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter - 394K
3. (360) Guitar Hero II w/ guitar - 291K
4. (WII) Wii Play w/ remote - 273K
5. (PS3) Motorstorm - 199K
6. (NDS) Diddy Kong Racing - 189K
7. (NDS) Spectrobes - 165K
8. (360) Major League Baseball 2K7 - 165K
9. (PS2) MLB '07: The Show -164K
10. (360) Def Jam ICON - 148K

Wow. 833,000 copies of God of War II in a month? I guess that pretty much confirms God of War III is on its way.

UPDATE: David Karraker from Sony Computer Entertainment contacted us to clarify what the term "supply constrained" actually means. Here's the official explanation.

The industry standard for a product to be considered to be in an "in-stock" position for a store is 30 units per store. This would be the level you would see for a PS2 or Xbox 360. At this level, retailers will feature a product in their weekly advertising circulars. If you are not at this level, retailers can't guarantee consumers will find one if they go into the store and they most likely won't support your product in weekly ads. Although you can indeed find PS3s in stores currently, we are no where near an "in-stock" position. 300,000 PS3s were sold into retailers the final week of March, so you should see increased marketing support from retailers in April.

So, there you go. Thanks, David.

April should be an equally interesting month, as notable releases such as Super Paper Mario and Pokemons Diamond and Pearl will most likely push Nintendo hardware, with the Xbox 360 Elite and new PS3 shipments looking to affect retail sales. Michael McWhertor

But, hey, where in the hell is Metroid Prime 3, Reg? It's going to miss his projected "early 2007" release date to ensure that the next sci-fi first-person adventure meets expectations, he says. A high profile Nintendo release pushed back? What's next, a plague of locusts?

Fils-Aime also talks about LittleBigPlanet, iNiS' new Ouendan sequel and some juicy Nintendo marketing philosophy. Hot. Michael McWhertor

Loot: Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime on the Future of Nintendo's Third Party Support, Part II [N'Gai Croal's Level Up]

From slamming lovable afroed hack Koji Igarashi to taking a blasphemous dig at Shigeru Miyamoto, the list is sure to cause some controversy. And plenty of traffic.

Let's just hope no Nintendo fans know where feature author Chris Buffa lives or he'll find his front lawn littered with burning Buffa effigies tomorrow morning. Proceed to GameDaily at your own risk! Michael McWhertor

Top Five Most Overrated Industry People [GameDaily]

The tee features a sweet Mii parade on the back, with three key Nintendo execs on the front. From left, there's Satoru Iwata, Shigeru Miyamoto and Reggie Fils-Aime. He's kicking ass just out of frame.

Detail and one more Nintendo exec Mii-ified after the jump.

Aaaaah! It's kind of horrifying. And who's that on the back?

Why, it's George Harrison! I think. The whole thing is suspect. All those grown men hanging around with younger Miis. People will talk. Michael McWhertor

Nintendo of America prez Reggie Fils-Aime spoke on the subject in a recent interview with The Hub.

Nintendo manufactured, through the end of December, four million units worldwide. And to put this in perspective, the ramp up you need to have from a manufacturing standpoint to make four million units, and to make them flawlessly — our defect rate is miniscule — that's a huge challenge. Yet, because of the demand, because of the buzz, we could not satisfy consumers worldwide.

We work with our retailers to supply them on a regular and ongoing basis. Some retailers make decisions to hold product to support their circulars that typically drop on Sundays. But I'm now looking at a report that says in 93 percent of retail outlets, there are less than three hardware units available. That is a huge issue and something we're working very hard to fix.

Look, Reg. Less talk, more stock, okay? If this keeps up, someone's gonna get shot and then you'll really be sorry. Michael McWhertor

Hoo-Wii! [The Hub]