Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has said he hopes that the Nintendo DS Lite shortage in Japan will end next month.

In one of the president's many interviews held after his Game Developer's Conference speech, he said he hoped the DS Lite shortage - critically effecting sales of the re-designed handheld in Japan - would end shortly.

"I'm hopeful in the latter half of April we can get rid of the terrible, terrible shortage situation that we are facing with the Nintendo DS right now," Iwata commented, saying that the current high demand for the device was "unpredictable".

With supplies of the Lite all being used up in Japan at the moment, it remains to be seen how long it will take to stockpile enough for an American and European launch of the handheld. We'll keep you posted.