[UPDATE] Following today's report citing Nintendo of Canada's Ron Bertram, we contacted Nintendo of America, which told GameDaily BIZ that the report on Wii launch quantities was a "misstatement." Below is the official response:

"A number of outlets have reported a misstatement about the number of Wii consoles that will be available in the Americas during the launch rollout. In fact, the truth is even better. After the Americas lead the worldwide launch on Nov. 19, Nintendo expects to sell 4 million Wii consoles globally by the end of 2006, with the largest allotment available in the Americas. Although we expect a huge demand for the consoles, we are working to ensure a plentiful supply and a consistent flow."

Unfortunately, Nintendo did not reveal exactly how many units they will ship on day one. It's entirely possible that Bertram's one million figure isn't far off, but we just don't know.

Financial services company Mackenzie Investments has posted an interview with Ron Bertram, Nintendo of Canada's vice-president and general manager, in which he discloses that Nintendo is aiming to have one million Wii hardware units shipped in North America at launch. "We're looking at a million (units) for North America at launch," he said. "...If we get what we're supposed to get, this will be our most plentiful launch in the 15 years I've been at Nintendo. All signs are actually extremely positive."

Nintendo had not previously revealed its shipment targets specifically for launch, but the company did say that it's expecting to ship 4 million units globally by the end of this year and 6 million by the end of next March. If one million units actually are shipping at launch, customers should definitely have an easier time picking up a Wii than they did an Xbox 360, or will in trying to purchase a PS3 this holiday—Sony will only have 400,000 units available at launch in North America. Indeed, one of the reasons Nintendo said it chose to launch on November 19th was to make sure that supply would be plentiful.

Commented Bertram, "Obviously the earlier you go, the less product you have available. Sony is trying to do what they're trying to do - they're trying to rule the entertainment universe with this very expensive machine. And we're just trying to get more people playing video games and the people who are playing video games playing our system. We knew they were on the 17th but that really wasn't a big concern for us."

"We're hoping if you're already an Xbox 360 owner and you want a new experience, that you'll pick up a Wii this Christmas or maybe next year," he added.