PS3 and Wii shortages challenged GameStop's Q1

Speaking during today's GameStop quarterly earnings call, COO Paul Raines addressed the issue of hardware shortages during the retailer's first quarter (February–April). "Supply on hardware was a continuing challenge this quarter," Raines explained, "as on an average daily basis, our U.S. stores were out of stock for the PS3 for 80 percent of the time and were out of stock for Wii 50 percent of the time."

We recently contacted SCEA Director of Hardware Marketing John Koller about the PS3's scarcity, and he responded, "Consumer demand remains incredibly high and PS3 supply will continue to be tight across our retail channels. Despite current shortages in the market, we expect to improve the situation shortly." We've yet to hear any word from Nintendo on the reported Wii shortages, but we assume it has something do with the fact that the console is crafted primarily out of crude oil and unobtainum alloys.