Earlier this week MyGaming reported on rumors which indicated that Nintendo would shortly be dropping the price of its home console system; the Wii.
The rumors came after Microsoft and Sony both slashed the pricing and reorganized the product structure of their respective home consoles. With both companies now selling their flagship console for $300, it seemed only a matter of time before Nintendo responded by reducing the retail price of the Wii, which has to date sold more than 50 million units worldwide, making it the best selling home console of this generation.
Due to the Wii’s remarkable commercial success, Nintendo has been able to maintain the $250 (R1925) price tag since its launch in 2006.
However, Wii hardware sales have been on the decline this year, a trend which has been amplified by the PS3 and Xbox 360 price cuts.
While hardware sales for Nintendo are not looking good, software sales are going as strong as ever with 9 out of the USA’s top 20 consoles titles in August being first party Nintendo games.
While the general consensus has been that a Wii price cut is a virtual certainty, most analysts have predicted a slight reduction of between $20 (R155) and $30 (R230).
Recent flyers sent to Kotaku however advertise the console at $200 (R1500). This represents a reduction of $50 (R385), or 20%.
Nintedo has not given any comment on the rumors, however, it seems quite obvious now that a price cut will be announced over the next four weeks. Local Nintendo distributor Core did not have anything to say on the matter at the time of publication.
Discuss Wii price cut in the forums
Loading ...
