One hidden aspect to Nintendo’s strategy for world domination is the rather unique idea of actually having enough product on the shelves. EA estimates that there will be 900K to 1.4 million Wii sold in North America by the end of the year, which contrasts sharply with the PS3 numbers, which look to be half that.

Sony has been trying to spin this as a way of creating a sense of demand, and that this will be the ‘hot product’. How well that will work when mom can turn around and buy a Wii or a 360 instead remains to be seen. And don’t be fooled – consoles are Christmas gifts in North America – having more boxes under trees dramatically increases Nintendo’s odds of hitting critical mass. Shipping substandard numbers in North America for Christmas is going to mean a lot of kids who currently only live off allowances will have to wait a year to get their hands on the box (especially considering PS3’s substantial price tag).

 (How important is Christmas in North America? Important enough that Sony will only ship 80K units in Japan to be sure they have ANY product in time for our Christmas season)

Why can Nintendo do this? It’s just plain easier to ship more products when you’re basing the console on technology you already have lying around. By contrast, Sony has struggled to get their technology pipeline completely solid, with rumor being that the blu-ray player is the primary culprit. Which is doubly ironic, given many people (including me) thinks the blu-ray was a mistake in the first place.