> All of the profit generated in that secondary market would have gone to Nintendo if they'd managed their supply properly.
Untrue. The secondary market is currently selling units at a huge markup. I don't think we have a great indication at the moment on how fast the secondary market is moving; it's possible that, whilst Nintendo might have undervalued demand, the resellers are overvaluing it. As others point out, this also helps drive demand to an extent - it's a phenomenon Apple appears to take advantage of from time to time.
A model against this would be to announce that the first million copies will be at a 50% markup. It would mean that Nintendo (or Apple or whatever consumer-land vendor) can capture the added value, while using moderate production lines, stretching the delivery over time and still get the press releases about "We got our hands over the product, here's what it looks like".
Untrue. The secondary market is currently selling units at a huge markup. I don't think we have a great indication at the moment on how fast the secondary market is moving; it's possible that, whilst Nintendo might have undervalued demand, the resellers are overvaluing it. As others point out, this also helps drive demand to an extent - it's a phenomenon Apple appears to take advantage of from time to time.