Japanese company, Nintendo, admits orders for the Wii U is strong and there’s a possibility of shortage once the console is launched this holiday season.

Photo credit: Nintendo

Company president, Satoru Iwata spoke to investors and mentioned that most retailers have already used up their pre-order slots for the upcoming Wii U. Major U.S. game retailer, GameStop, was cited as an example. He said that the company already carries about 250,000 names on its pre-order list.

The gaming giant is targeting to sell at least 5.5 million consoles during its launch which will be happening in November for U.S. and Europe. The console, however, will not hit Japanese stores until December. Despite the huge selling target, Iwata still cautions that there will be gamers left without a console.

He further added that it’s likely that the company’s production capacity will be the main cause for the possible shortage and not because of consumer demand.

Nintendo shares that the overall slump in the sales of gaming consoles are forcing them to sell the Wii U at a lower price. To make amends, they look to the software titles for profit instead. To date, the most affordable Wii U is around $300 for the United States while it’s 250 Euros for European countries.

Despite falling demand for the consoles in general, many fans are still eager to experience the new Wii U “GamePad” controller. The controller will look like a tablet, featuring a touch screen interface; the standard motion detection; camera as well as stylus. The pad can also function both as a display or to be hooked up to a larger TV to make for a better experience.