Wii, Xbox 360 shortages deliberate -Analysts

 After the latest NPD results were cast, shortages were pointed out by Nintendo and Microsoft as the main reason for below-expected performances. Analysts, however, theorize that the two companies might have made decisions to make the status quo the way it is. Find out what their takes are after the jump.

 The previous NPD Group report was an interesting one indeed, reflecting a slight slowdown in gaming hardware sales and seeing the Sony PlayStation 3 close in on its rivals. The Nintendo Wii had a slight lead above everyone with 274,000 units sold, while Microsoft‘s Xbox 360 did just 230,000.

Industry analysts tried to get to the bottom of this, and in doing so, some of them concluded that the numbers weren’t dictated merely by consumer behavior. The experts say that this might have been intentional on Nintendo and Microsoft’s parts.

Shortages were pointed out by both Nintendo and Microsoft as reasons for their numbers. While the analyst community generally takes this as true, they also say that this happened by choice and not by chance.

Take for instance Wedbush Morgan’s Michael Pachter, who commented “it appears that Wii shortages were compounded by diversion of supply to Japan in order to support the launches of Wii Fit and Super Smash Bros. Brawl.”

SimExchange’s Jesse Divnich seconds that theory, and supports the notion that on Microsoft’s part, the Xbox 360 shortages may have been caused by the company’s underestimation of demand. The motives behind this move, however, remain vague.

One has to wonder now if this is part of Nintendo and Microsoft’s strategy in dealing with the PS3’s growing momentum. Are they holding in their cards to be put to better use later or is this merely an issue of logistics? Tell us what you think by posting comments below.

Via Gamespot