The winter of 2006 should have been a happy time for gamers.  Two new consoles launched, and a third, already established, had released its first marquee title (Gears of War).  Unfortunately, a sinister figure appeared amidst the holiday festivities, with the production-“Grinch” limiting the number of consoles to go around.  As a result, shortages of both the Nintendo Wii and Sony PlayStation 3 marred more than a few Christmas mornings, with the former’s predicament continuing into 2007.  According to one market analyst, the Wii won’t soon be widely available, and in fact might not be easy to find until 2008.

The prediction comes from Lazard Capital Markets analyst Colin Sebastian, who informed both investors and the media that news on Nintendo’s production progress could be considered both good and bad. 

Good news: “We believe that Nintendo may be near its targeted monthly Wii production of approximately 1.5 million units per month, based on comments made by Nintendo as well as retailers such as Gamestop”.

Bad news: “Based on our retail channel checks, demand still appears to exceed supply, and we believe that shortages could persist through the remainder of the year, including the key holiday period.”

What does it mean?  Certainly that consumers, especially casual gamers, will continue to see the Wii as a rare treasure, making those systems that do make it to market, well, more marketable. 

Unfortunately for Nintendo, it also gives Microsoft and Sony a larger window of opportunity to make their Xbox 360 and PS3 consoles more attractive.  With both companies ready to launch 2007 game libraries far more impressive than the big N’s lineup, the Wii may be available in larger quantities earlier than expected.