We’re sure that Nintendo execs are very pleased that their console is the absolute must-have item for the second Xmas running - heck, we’re pleased for them too - but are the well-reported shortages really necessary? Indeed, are they actually deliberate?

You’ve got to wonder about the latter, given the competition’s apparent ease in delivering plentiful stock to retail shelves. But we digress, and while it’s a simple matter to stroll into your local gaming emporium and lay your hands on either of the rival consoles you’ll find a full set of hen dentures easier to obtain than the dear old Wii.

And we do mean ‘dear’ too. Nintendo’s recommended price is a highly reasonable £179.99 but ongoing high street scarcity has forced many desperate punters online, where opportunistic retail spivs and auction-site scalpers are asking more like double. You’ll find it tough locating one through some of the larger, more reputable web retailers too. Want proof? Online giants Amazon were lucky enough to get a shipment of 1,400 consoles recently, but ten minutes later the whole lot were sold - that’s nearly two and a half per second!

With our common sense hats for a moment on we’d recommend waiting until the seasonal silliness has died down - probably some time after next Easter. Meantime the truth is that better, more powerful consoles are out there for the same sort of prices and a much larger catalogue of excellent HD games. Then again when has common sense ever influenced a console purchasing decision…?