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Forums - Nintendo - Rumor: Wii pricecut to $150 in May

http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/12/nintendo-cutting-wii-price-to-150-on-may-15th/

Nintendo's miniature white monolith has sold like gangbusters for long enough that we're wary it'll ever get cheap, but a trusted source tells us a price cut is indeed headed our way -- and that the Nintendo Wiiwill cost just $150 starting May 15th. The timing would make some sense, given how Nintendo's profits have tanked for a while due to flagging hardware sales, and just last month Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime hinted that the Wii's price might be a potential variable to change that in an interview with Gamasutra. Still, we're not fully convinced that Nintendo would announce a price cut then, rather than, say, at the Electronics Entertainment Expo in June, and it's not like the company to let this sort of announcement leak out. Still, if you find a shiny new copy of Mario Kart Wii in a $150 console bundle this time next month, don't say we didn't warn you.

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I don't think it makes a lot of sense to do it so close to E3 either, why not announce it at E3 instead?

Whether the pricecut is realistic at all is totally different. I don't know if the Wii needs it yet, but it is down over 50% this week YoY, so it might be time to do something about it.



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It's never been a matter of if but when. Perhaps Nintendo saw how much 360 benefitted from doing something to give sales a shot in the arm mid-year last year. I always pegged all 3 to drop price late Q3/early Q4.

I wonder if it'll elicit a responce from Sony or MS.

Sony I doubt, I don't see Sony viewing increasing the price gap by another $50 between PS3 and Wii as significant, especially mid-year. So for Sony I think their price cut schedule will be independant of Wii. But there will be one this year for PS3.

MS I'm not certain. I guess it may depends a bit on how important the 4GB sku is to 360 sales, and  whether a $50 gap between the Arcade and Wii is seen as something that needs to be immediatly countered. I believe most 360 sales are for the 250GB sku, so I don't think MS will respond on 360 pricing. Might be they respond immediately on Kinect pricing though. I think they've got some margin they could trim for Kinect and still be profitable per unit.



“The fundamental cause of the trouble is that in the modern world the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt.” - Bertrand Russell

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace."

Jimi Hendrix

 

I'd certainly love that. It's in my plans to get one eventually.



Xen said:

I'd certainly love that. It's in my plans to get one eventually.

You should get one. NOW

Also, this is much more likely than a PS3 price-cut to $199...



 

Here lies the dearly departed Nintendomination Thread.