With the world economy in melt down you would expect to see Christmas sales of the Nintendo Wii to suffer. right?

It might, but it looks like there is almost certain to be a shortage, as Nintendo admits that it is "not sure" it can meet demand for its third holiday rush. Last December you could not have a Wii for love or money, which was a situation that Nintendo wants to avoid.

According to Fortune magazine, the company will increase its Wii shipment by 50 percent from the same period a year ago. It is also planning to bump up shipments of the DS, its popular handheld, by 10 per cent. However, from January through August the company sold 4.5 million Wiis in the U.S., which is a 45 percent increase from last year.

Nintendo makes roughly half of its sales during the holiday selling season, which is October through December. Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime was not sure whether the company could meet demand. He was hoping that by December punters could have at least one Wii in a shop. Which is coincidently what one four-year-old did when we were last in PC World. Must have been the expectation.