Despite the fact that Nintendo is dominating the video game market in both console and game sales for the last two months, an important market analyst believes the Nintendo Wii needs another price cut. As you may recall, Nintendo cut the price of the Wii to $200 in late September in time for the holiday season, and it greatly paid off with record gaming sales in December.
Now, with sales down, analyst Mike Hickey of Janco Partners believes another price cut to $150 is imminently needed. He also said in an interview with Industry Gamers that if Nintendo doesn’t cut prices on the Wii, then Nintendo will be doomed to a down year. He also predicts that game software across the board needs price cuts and that the PS3 and Xbox 360 will be fine if their respective motion capture devices are released by the end of the year.
Hickey’s prediction is a bold one due to Nintendo leading the market across the board in sales in the video game industry. While I think a price cut would help sustain the sales rate, it is more icing on the cake than a necessary action. Equating the juggernaut that is the Wii to a passing fad is errant due to Nintendo’s track record. The only home console failure was the Game Cube, and maybe the Virtual Boy if you consider it a home console. I think Nintendo will be fine with the good games it has coming out in 2010. This point in the year is just a low point due to holiday buzz ending and E3 still being months away.
http://www.examiner.com/x-13000-NY-Wii-Examiner~y2010m2d20-Analyst-believes-Nintendo-Wii-needs-another-price-cut
