Poll: DS Lite shortage still plagues Japan

It may not be too difficult for US or European gamers to make a few phone calls, go for a drive, and return home with one of Nintendo's new DS Lites, but that doesn't appear to be the case in Japan. The results of an informal DS Lite poll by Japanese technology news outlet ITmedia were released today, and if their numbers are to be believed, Japan is still knee-deep in DS Lite mania.

The poll simply asked visitors who are in the market for a Nintendo DS Lite to answer whether or not they had bought one yet. Although Nintendo's revised version of the DS handheld system went on sale March 2, only 44 percent of those who wanted one said they'd been able to find one. Thirty-nine percent said they were still looking, while 16 percent said they had more or less given up.

However, given that Nintendo has pledged to increase production to two million units a month and is determined to deliver 10 million units by the end of the year, relief can't be too far off for the DS deprived.