Laurent Fischer, the same guy behind the "geeks and otaku" comment related to Wii storage space, has recently made it known that Nintendo was actually working on a solution to the Wii storage problem. Learn more after the jump!

In a PR faux pas, Nintendo of Europe's Marketing Director Laurent Fischer commented that the only people concerned with the Wii's limited flash memory are "geeks and otakus." This statement managed to raise the ire of God of War creator, David Jaffe. Check out Jaffe's heated response (when did he last issue a lukewarm statement, anyway?) in the full article.

(Editor's note: With all the events happening around the gaming industry this week, we've been churning out news reels like cuh. ray. zee.)

Busy, busy week, folks! Both Sony and Microsoft held their Gamer's Day events this week and we've got a lot of updates from both! We've also got the skinny on the recently launched WiiWare service, and what's this? Guitar Hero has... drums? Time to get the ball rolling, head over to the full article!

A lot of talk has been going on about how "casual gaming"  will be the way video games will be opened up to the masses. Well, the Europe senior marketing director of Nintendo has something to say about that. Specifically, the term "casual gaming." Find out what he had to say in the full article.

With Nintendo's WiiWare plans for North America now being fully disclosed, it does leave one wondering what the big "N" will have in store for Wii console owners living in Europe. Wonder not, Wii owners, as a recent developer's conference in the region divulges the company's got planned for WiiWare's Europe release.

Much like its US kin, WiiWare (aka Wii Software) is expected to launch this early 2008, and will allow registered console owners to purchase games on the Wii channel with their Wii points, much like they do for the Virtual console.

Similar to Reggie Fils-Aime's statement in WiiWare stateside, Nintendo's European marketing director Laurent Fischer pointed out that the new service would be beneficial for developers on relatively tight budgets. He said, "Wii Software provides developers with big ideas - rather than big budgets - an easy and very accessible way to create new games and bring them to the marketplace."

That's all for the moment, although investing in a good SD card might be advisable this time around...

And if it did, well, the Nintendo Wii already stomped them. In an interview with Laurent Fischer, Games Industry was able to extract Nintendo Europe's stand on the Wii's supply shortage, the insatiable demand, the lack of competition and the first-party title delays. The Marketing Director was happy to announce that they are on track for the six million Wiis for March.

But they are daunted that even that number isn't enough to satisfy even more demand coming in. In Japan and in the U.S., Nintendo's revolutionary console is either available through pre-orders or from stores that have happened to withhold their Wii stocks from customers for a later date.

Can we expect Nintendo to step up their efforts in production? Fischer says they already are, but it takes time for them to increase capacity, pool resources available and bring up a larger shipment by the next production cycle. "Demand is growing on a weekly basis," Fischer said. We could agree, until someone points at Europe.

Now while the PlayStation 3 has already made it to European shores, with some Xbox 360 lovin' on the side, Nintendo Europe doesn't seem jaded by the fact that they could have their hands tied with the market. Fischer decided that the Wii isn't going head-to-head with the next-generation consoles. The Wii isn't aimed at next generation, it's aimed at the new generation of gamers. Fischer also added:

Whatever Sony and Microsoft does, it doesn't change they way Nintendo works and the way we sell the product. The key point is that as long as you can deliver new and fresh gaming ideas the consumer will stay with you. Whatever the PlayStation 3's success in Europe it won't change the way we operate in the market. You've seen the sales figures in Japan and the US - we're not on the shelves and still we've got higher sales figures.

Fischer is pointing out that they aren't being arrogant about anything. They're absolutely pleased that the PlayStation 3 is now in Europe. It's just because the Nintendo Wii approached the market sideways, that now they realise that gaming might not be a exclusive social habit for hardcore gamers, but even non-gamers.

While the first-party titles aren't lackluster by any degree, they are being released in disturbingly huge gaps. Fischer reassures the Wii gaming community that games developed by Nintendo have to be given the "thumbs up" by the Director himself before they even reach the shelf. Nintendo is headed by a dev legend, and you could expect no less than strict quality assurance from the guys who brought you Mario.

They have distributed dev kits to interested third parties, and they hope that during points in the title releases, third party titles would find their way in to keep the crowd appeased. Super Mario Galaxy and Metroid Prime are coming out this year, while top secret Project-O should be available by 2008.

Before the present day's console war, Nintendo and Sega used to be the fiercest of competitors. This is especially true during the 80s and early 90s. So to those of you who are old enough to remember, the recently announced video game title Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games might cause some thrills or probably remind you of your age.

Anyway, SEGA UK boss Mike Hayes noticed the same and commented that things are not the same now as before. When it comes to the new tag team of characters Mario and Sonic, he remarked,

Now of course it is different because there are many different platforms, for those of us that have been in the business that long, to bring those characters that were always pitted against each other together makes it even more remarkable.

Moreover, both Nintendo and Sega confirmed that Mr. Shigeru Miyamoto is very much involved in the development of Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games. Miyamoto was the brilliant mind behind video game heroes such as Mario, Link, and Donkey Kong, among others. He was recently inducted into the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences' (AIAS) Hall of Fame.

Nintendo European Marketing Director Laurent Fischer said that it is only logical that whenever Mario is involved, Miyamoto is also involved. Then he elaborated on the video game designer's role in the making of the upcoming title.

He's working on a large number of titles and he's delegating to the producer, but he's always there. The game is being developed by SEGA, but we are used to Mr. Miyamoto going and following up with the team. He's joining the discussion, it's a relationship - he's not directing the game, he's just there in the discussions.

Likewise, Hayes confirmed this statements from Fischer and admitted that they are actually thrilled to be working with the guy. "Our teams working on it in Tokyo are unbelievably thrilled to be working with the most important man in videogaming; it's like a dream come true for them. He's certainly there and involved."

Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games will be released both on the DS and Wii Christmas of 2007.

And so Nintendo comes to terms with the fact that they just aren't shipping out enough Wiis to match the demands of the market. Laurent Fischer, Nintendo Europe's senior marketing director, talks to GamesIndustry.biz about their dilemma.

"We are struggling to deliver the right numbers of hardware to cope with demand. We are planning to increase the production capacity but it's not something that can be done in a couple of days. We have to be patient," explains Fischer.

He also says that Nintendo is actually delivering new units to the market every week. But despite of this little hurdle that the Wii creator is facing right now, it still is pretty safe to say that they ain't doing so bad, especially that they are right on track to reach their target of six million sales by the end of this month.

And it is amazing enough to surprise even Nintendo's own people. "It's astonishing to think that with six million we're not able to fulfill the initial demand." We trust that the company is effectively using this as the primary motivation for them to keep at satisfying the customers.

And to further placate those frustrated for not being able to pick up a Wii from their local retail stores since December, Fischer explains that what's making it difficult for them to produce sufficient quantities of the Wii to meet the demand is the recruiting power of the Wii. "It's more powerful than anyone guessed."

And as it turns out, Nintendo aren't just happy with how well the DS Lite and the Wii did in North America this past Holiday season. As it turns out, it seems that they also have much reason to celebrate since sales from the other side of the globe have turned out to be particularly satisfying last Christmas.

In the UK alone, Chart Track has released independent sales figures which indicate that the Wii and the DS took the number one spot on everyone's Christmas wishlist. The result of this of course, would be 200,000 Wiis being sold over the holiday period, and over 500,000 DS Lites flying off the shelves, being gift-wrapped and sent to a loved one. And let's not forget about all the accompanying accessories and software, shall we? After all, Legend of Zelda: TP sold 500,000 copies in December, while Wii Play sold 320,000 copies during the same period.

According to Laurent Fischer, Marketing Director for Nintendo Europe,

We have enjoyed one of the most successful Christmas holidays ever, with both Nintendo DS and Wii selling at staggering rates. The success of our products this Christmas clearly shows that Nintendo’s drive to make gaming accessible to everyone has attracted people of all ages and abilities to the industry. We are facing such high demand for both platforms that unfortunately we are facing stock shortages, however we are doing everything possible to combat this by attempting to deliver both consoles and games to retailers on a daily basis.

Ho ho ho!!

The North American Wii launch sure is one tough act to follow. Can Nintendo make a repeat of its success, this time in Europe? It would seem that they are more than willing, ready, and able to step up to the plate. After all, the incredible response of North America to Wii is but the beginning of many more things to come for this next-gen console.

As the European launch comes to its one-week mark, Nintendo becomes ever more persuasive to potential consumers to place a pre-order now so that they'd be sure to secure a unit come day one. "We're launching a great product and we know that demand would be high," says Nintendo Europe's marketing director, Laurent Fischer.

And as in the smooth-sailing launch last month, Nintendo Europe is also making sure that there'll be enough units to go around for everybody. And to spice things up, they're also planning to hold events. For one, they've already teamed up with retail partner HMV in inviting the people to get a chance and rub elbows with celebrities over at its flagship store in Oxford Street. To those who'd get there early enough, they will be given a treat with limited edition products.

So gear up, 'cause it's gonna be a storm out there.