While Nintendo's Wii is sold out in practically every store there is, merchants have to wipe off dust from the PS3 shelves which - as predicted - can't handle the competition.

Although the machine is packed with state of the art hardware and software which offer cutting-edge graphics and Sony's "Blu-Ray high definition DVD player", which should be enough to convince anyone of its potential, PS3 doesn't stand a chance. At least that's what figures show anyway. "Our channel checks yesterday of 52 retail stores, from boutiques to big-box retailers, showed that 28 of the 52 stores had PS3 consoles in stock, while none had Wii consoles in stock", says American Technology Research analyst Paul-Jon McNealy.

Now, it is true that PS3 is more expensive than Nintendo's Wii, but Sony spokesman Dave Karraker assures us that the only reason for its constant presence on store shelves is keeping the supply pipeline moving.

Ok, but what about demand? McNealy sustains that the availability of PS3s in stores doesn't necessarily reflect the demand and that PS3 inventories will be kept under close observation. How is that an answer?

Nintendo sold 604,200 Wiis in the United States in December, topping Sony's PS3 sales of 490,700. Xbox 360, which has been available for a year longer than the PS3 and Wii, sold 1.1 million in December, said NPD (retail market research firm).

Usually, after a console is released, manufacturers have a hard time answering the demand and filling back the shelves, but it seems that PS3 is not going to face this problem, either because its manufacturer has a good sense of anticipation or maybe just because the rumors are of course true and the PS3 really is losing ground in favor of the Wii.