Prepare to spend your hard-earned cash on an Xbox 360 or PS3 this Xmas as it doesn’t look like you’ll be getting your hands on a Wii in the UK any time soon. At least not without a fight...

It’s all your own fault, by the way - wanting more consoles than Nintendo has the wherewithal to manufacture. You probably want a Wii to play game of the year Super Mario Galaxy too, don’t you? Well, that’s only going to make matters worse!

Anyway, as the festive season grinds into gear the major high street outlets are already feeling the pinch, with Wii consoles arriving only in a “slow trickle”, according to one retailer, and flying off the shelves as soon as they’re stacked thereafter. Many retailers have had to put live stock updates on their websites as a result. We recommend you consult them before venturing onto the high st.

In fairness it’s not as if Nintendo isn’t trying to sort it’s distribution out - the predicted global shipment of 14 million consoles has already been boosted to 17.5 million, which is a respectable 25% increase in output. However it’s still not enough, and we can’t help thinking that Nintendo is secretly rather pleased about it all. To wit the in-your-face-Sony/Microsoft boast bound into their statement:

"The demand for Wii hardware globally has been unprecedented and higher than Nintendo could ever have anticipated. Nintendo is now in a position in which seasonality demand trends are being broken, therefore the demand for Wii hardware is constant throughout the whole year globally. Due to this phenomenon it is possible that the demand for Wii hardware may outstrip supply."

Hey, nobody likes a show-off you know…