With the global demand for Nintendo’s Wii currently far outweighing the available supply of hardware, despite the 1.8 million units being manufactured by the firm each month, Nintendo’s American president has admitted that the shortage is a missed opportunity for the platform holder.

Retail giant Amazon recently admitted that it had sold 1,400 machines in just ten minutes when the stock appeared on its UK website last week.

And speaking to news.com, NoA president Reggie Fils-Aime stated: "At this point we are literally trying to catch up with demand. There is no secret plan to store Wiis in a warehouse to spur demand.

“The company, after all, is trying to reach out to women and 40 and 50-year olds who aren't avid gamers. They aren't going to sleep outside of a store overnight or visit a retailer five or six times. It is literally a missed opportunity.”

Earlier today it was reported that Nintendo had sold 650,000 Wii consoles in the first two weeks of November.