South African consumers have long lamented the fact that the Wii console is overpriced in South Africa.
Due to the fact that our region has worked alongside Europe, the price has always been fixed to the European price of €250 (R2 700).
Factor in import duties, shipping fees and additional local markups and the local RRP of R3 500 quickly becomes easy to understand.
Nintendo yesterday announced that the US price of the console has been reduced to $200 (R1 500). With no confirmed price cut scheduled for PAL regions, and Nintendo reportedly offering European consumers a new bundle instead , it appeared likely that South African’s would continue to pay the current price, making the local price on the console more than double what consumers pay in the USA.
However, in an unforeseen turn of events, local Wii distributor Core told MyGaming today that the Nintendo Wii will be seeing a significant price cut in South Africa as of October 2. While the ultimate price of the console is determined by retailers, Core told MyGaming that some retailers have confirmed that they will be selling the console from R2 499.
This is a significant price drop of R1 000, or 28 percent.
The price cut will help Nintendo remain competitive in South Africa, especially following the recent price cut of the Xbox 360 Elite to R3 300, and introduction of the PS3 Slim for R3 800.
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