Nintendo has admitted what parents of video game playing children have know for months: the company is struggling to meet demand for its Wii video game console and DS hand-held device and is unlikely to be able to do so anytime soon.

"The level of demand we are facing complicates all of our future business planning," said Reggie Fils-Aime, president of Nintendo of America. "All of that becomes a much tougher exercise until we have supply and demand curves that intersect."

Irish retailers have reported major difficulties securing enough supply to meet demand. Nintendo has been criticised because a year after the Wii has launched, it is still not able to keep it in stock in shops.

The director of GameStop Ireland, Michael Finucane, said yesterday the chain's 50 shops nationwide would receive Wii deliveries today.

"We have been working really hard with Nintendo to ensure we can fill any shortage," said Mr Finucane.

James Byrne of Byrne's World of Wonder said it was no longer taking orders in its 20 stores. It had been receiving a small amount of stock each week but nowhere near what it could sell.

While much of the focus has been on the Wii - largely due to its innovative controller which makes it easy to use and fun for people of all ages, the hand-held Nintendo DS Lite has also been a spectacular success for the company that was only a few years ago seen as an also-ran to Sony and Microsoft in the video games world. The DS, successor to the Gameboy, sold 1.5 million units in the US in November and is the best selling piece of games hardware this year.

Yesterday, pixmania.ie, the website for electronics retailers Currys, Dixons and PC World, was totally sold out of the Nintendo DS.