Nintendo recently revealed that it has sold a total of 1.5 million NES Classic Edition consoles worldwide.

Tatsumi Kimishia, Nintendo president, divulged the figure during a corporate meeting held last Jan. 31. Takashi Mochizuki, a tech reporter for the Wall Street Journal, got hold of the information which was Japanese. He translated it in a tweet which also mentioned that Nintendo is increasing production of the hard-to-find mini NES.

Kimishima also issued an apology to consumers and retail partners and explained that the lack of NES Classics is due to certain components of the console. According to Kimishima, some of the NES Classic's parts take some time to procure. The Nintendo bigwig, however, stressed that the company is working hard to increase the mini NES' production.

The $60 NES Classic pops up from time to time in stores such as Amazon, GameStop, target and Best Buy. Other retailers such as Newegg, Chunk Toys and Player's Choice are selling the NES Classic at a higher price.

GameSpot mentioned that Kimishima is looking at the NES Classic controversy in a positive way. The Nintendo president said that the "nostalgic interest" in the retro NES console is a great opportunity to draw attention to the Nintendo Switch.

The Nintendo Switch was officially unveiled last month and the fear of a possible lack of supply quickly became an issue. Kamashima allayed the concerns by saying that the company is "continuously producing in earnest" and that it is still intent on meeting the two million figure that it promised at the onset. Kamashima also mentioned that he received reports that pre-orders for the Switch have already been halted in some retail stores. This was done so some of the store's Switch inventory would be allocated for sale on the March launch.

According to Venture Beat, the $300 hybrid gaming console will be released on Mar. 3 and will be initially available in the U.S., Japan, Canada, Australia, Hong Kong, Europe and other regions.