Reggie Fils-Aime talks Nintendo's 3DS supply strategy

Remember how finding a Wii after its launch was more difficult than finding ... um, a thing, like -- you know what? There actually isn't an analogy that's applicable, here. It was the hardest thing to find, ever. That was a rough period to be sure, but Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime recently explained to USA Today, "We learned significant lessons from the launch of Wii and we made sure to have not only ample supply [of 3DS] in the marketplace, but we staged supply so it would not sell out." He added, "That strategy is why you didn't see massive sellouts on Nintendo 3DS."

Fils-Aime explained that, even though the system sold almost 400,000 units in its first week on store shelves, it avoided sellouts largely because Nintendo "had product going direct to store and we also had product in retailers (distribution centers), so they could easily replenish when they had stores running low on inventory." The supply chain seems to be holding up pretty well -- way better than Nintendo's supply strategy for the Wii, which involved making secret wishes on falling stars that Wiis would just, like, appear.