Nintendo cuts price of Wii in face of PS3, Xbox 360 resurgence
It was bound to happen, and it now has done. After the release of the PS3 Slim and the price cut which accompanied it, and the Xbox 360 price cut as well, Nintendo had little choice but to act, and act fast. So from Sunday, Sept. 27, the Wii will cost $199 in the States, and supposedly will have its price cut by a similar figure in other territories as well.
A couple of weeks ago, I asked where Nintendo could go next with the Wii. Nintendo has sat back for the past few months and watched Sony and Microsoft take action to push their consoles to lower price points and able to reach new demographics. With that in mind, and the fact that the Wii hasn’t been doing quite as well as it previously had, Nintendo had to do something.
The rumors began a few days ago that Nintendo were about to drop the price of the Wii. And Engadget has now been confirmed. From this weekend, in Best Buy, Toys R Us, and supposedly everywhere else, the Wii will see a $50 price cut to take it from $249 to $199. This will put the console on a par with the Xbox 360 Arcade as the lowest priced current-gen console on the market.
This is the first price cut the Wii has seen in its three years on sale. And to be fair, it’s the first price cut the Wii has needed because it launched at a very low price and all the while sales remained high there really was no justification for dropping the price.
But things have changed somewhat, with the PS3 and Xbox 360 now feeling like much more attractive options to those on a budget, and a feeling that sales of the Wii may have peaked.
It remains to be seen whether a price cut is truly enough to reverse the downward trend in Wii sales. I suspect it will help a little but how many people who weren’t tempted by the console at $249 will conceivably be tempted at $199?
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90 Responses to “Nintendo cuts price of Wii in face of PS3, Xbox 360 resurgence”
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September 24th, 2009
lets see where a $50 dollar price cut will take them (not that thay are in a bad position)
but at least it could encourage ppl to spend it on wii pheripherals
September 24th, 2009
Wii has hit the $199 sweet spot. I guess they’ve got christmas sewn up again, not like they didn’t already anyway.
September 24th, 2009
Heheheheh … their making the best of it.
September 24th, 2009
I guess at $199 it’s closer to impulse buy. I’m lucky in that respect. I seem to know so many people with wii’s that just don’t use them I can just borrow it from them for more than likely a fairly unlimited amount of time. It’s a shame none of those same people have Mario Galaxy!!
September 24th, 2009
i wonder why M$ and Nintendo didnt make a big announcement for their price cut
September 24th, 2009
@Roca
Because they don’t have to. Even the mainstream media here in canada (CBC newsworld, CTV newsnet just to name 2) is reporting the Wii price drop heavily in its business section. The target customers who don’t already own one or more of this gen of systems, don’t read tech sites. They go to the store, and they see the price, and check to see if they can pay it, if they want it. Shelf price is far more important than any announcement or press event for those out there who haven’t bought in yet.
September 24th, 2009
I understand that, but look at the sale spike of the PS3 after Sony’s GameCon big announcement, because it spreads out by word-of-mouth.
September 24th, 2009
The PS3 had the unique position of being the most expensive console, and having a LOT of people waiting for that price to drop. No body has been begging for a price drop from nintendo.
September 24th, 2009
make sense.
September 24th, 2009
so what do you guys think?
120GB PS3 Slim FFXIII bundle
vs
120GB Xbox MW2 bundle
September 24th, 2009
so what do you guys think?
250GB PS3 Slim FFXIII bundle
vs
250GB Xbox MW2 bundle
It’s 250GB instead of 120…. sorry
September 24th, 2009
too bad sony isn’t positioned to take the lead this holiday. Empty shelves is not what they need, but according to Jack Tretton, that’s exactly what cuold happen this holiday.
reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSTRE58M4GT20090924
it looks like wii will take the crown again this holiday…. which is odd considering all the uber-”value” the ps3 is behing claimed to be by the resident ps3 fanboys…
oh well….maybe next year…lol….
September 24th, 2009
Jofa – “The PS3 had the unique position of being the most expensive console, and having a LOT of people waiting for that price to drop”
this is why you guys are silly. there is absolutely NO proof of this, yet you claim this like there are people refusing to move to the next gen until sony (and sony alone) drops their prices…
the (lack of) intelligence shown by the ps3 fanboys is staggering….
September 24th, 2009
Nintendo couldn´t go any lower because they would end up competing with their own DSi. First they would need to lower the price for the DSi but again, they shouldn´t do that because the latter is still selling well.
I agree that a $50 looks small in comparison with MS and Sony price drops.
Oh, and I say the FFXIII bundle. Looks more attractive than MW2 and Uncharted to me.
September 24th, 2009
Fifa bundle and NFS shift also coming to EU territories.
kev….shut up, your embarrasing your self
September 24th, 2009
“this is why you guys are silly. there is absolutely NO proof of this, yet you claim this like there are people refusing to move to the next gen until sony (and sony alone) drops their prices…”
Maybe that little fact that they sold a million consoles in three week after the price drop. Do you get tired of looking stupid, or have you just gotten used to it by now?
September 24th, 2009
FF13 bundle is only in Japan.
I will go out on a limb and say that the FF13 bundle (JPN) will outsell the NA release of the MW2 360 bundle.
September 24th, 2009
Oh, and you know it’s not true Kev?
A true case of the Pot calling the Kettle back.
September 24th, 2009
phranc – a spike does not equal a trend.
if you remember the ps3′s sales spiked after mgs4, while you clowns swore it was just the beginning…then they fell flat again…
you guys hyped every single sales spike with every single price drop, and yet, they were very short lived….
oh well…if at first you don’s succeed, keep trying…..
that’s okay… your comment will make it more funny when january comes and the ps3 has been outsold for the holidays…..again….lmao…
September 24th, 2009
ncaissie – yes… because sony has had numerous price drops, while the sales spiked only momentarily…. only to drop again… but this time it’s different….right? lmao….
September 24th, 2009
Thats because you don’t like GUNZ and CHINSAWZ, and more GUNZ, and more BLOOD WITH CHAINSAWZ….
Ill be getting MW2 for PC, but if I had to pick a bundle (and IF I could play FPS’s on console without being a complete retard with the sticks) I would pick the MW2 bundle.
September 24th, 2009
Gah, post was in reply to Akaro….
Note to self, refresh page before posting…
September 24th, 2009
Kev: “phranc – a spike does not equal a trend.”
did he or anybody in here said that it was going to become a trend??
September 24th, 2009
I cant believe FFXIII was a 2006 title
September 24th, 2009
some trick considering the ps3 wasn’t out till the end of that year.. lol
September 24th, 2009
SW: Perhaps that´s true but, someday, this will happen:
images2.wikia.nocookie.net/uncyclopedia/images/4/4f/RPC.jpg
And I´ll be all for it. This I promise.
September 24th, 2009
LOL Kev you are a tool!
How in the hell do you know the people that purchased PS3s during the spike were not people waiting for a price drop? CarlB is one of them and proves the fact that there are people waiting. Maybe there are people waiting for a specific price before they buy. You act like a jealous child.
September 24th, 2009
@Kev You talk like Ivan represents all PS3 owners. No one said they were going to sell out every time they lower the price. They did in FACT sell more which is the point.
September 24th, 2009
Kev is the worst xbot ever. good thing we dont see him too ofter. he is embarrassment to the xbot community
September 24th, 2009
I thought we already came to an agreement. It’s rare that one great game will make the difference (I realize I’m putting my foot in mouth for when FF13 comes out in Japan) Lots of great games and a decent price is what it takes.
The 360 was doing that by last year, and it looks like the ps3 is doing that this year.
September 24th, 2009
What’s up Fanboys! Did U Miss Me?
September 24th, 2009
hey looks whos back…..what took you so long?
anyways……welcome back
September 24th, 2009
I think Kev is the xbox version of Ivan and Andrew. LOL
September 24th, 2009
Ncaissie – I’m sorry that you feel I treat all you ps3 fanboys like Ivan. Maybe when you stop acting like him, I won’t….. ‘nuff said…..
In the meantime, keep reminding us all how the 360 is the only console with hardware problems, how millions of nameless people are just waiting to buy the ps3 over the competition, how price reductions will turn the tide in sony’s favor, and how “exclusives†are the most important thing to gamers. It’s all b.s….
The statement from Jofa was “a LOT of people..†really? So where’s the proof of this? I guess “a LOT†is relative…. Lmao…
September 24th, 2009
Hey CAD, welcome back! Any news?
September 24th, 2009
1 of the big retailers here (I think it was Big W) are advertising the Wii + 4 games for something like $380.
Now before someone corrects me the add actually says the Wii + nunchuck + 5 games. But the nunchuck and 1 games already comes standard so I was just sorting through the bullshit to get the facts.
Still it’s a tempting bundle for people who might be looking for a console and at the moment there is nothing on the TV from either Xbox or PS3 to tempt them away from it.
If MS & Sony want to get a decent slice of that pie leading up to xmas they need to be marketing the crap out of their gear.
I’ve got all 3 so frankly I don’t give a shit eaither way lol, but I do have friends who are interested and look to me for advice.
September 24th, 2009
@ Rhino,
Yeah I saw that ad too. It’s pretty good value!
September 24th, 2009
Hi CAD! Welcome back!
September 24th, 2009
is cad black?
September 24th, 2009
Rhino,
“I’ve got all 3 so frankly I don’t give a shit eaither way lol, but I do have friends who are interested and look to me for advice.”
If your friends are gamers and just haven’t bought into this gen yet, and wanted to know the “one” console to get, I would say the PS3, simply because of it’s price now combined with the lineup of games for the next 6-7 months and beyond (I use the BD player, but not so much the internet/youtube, as I find my laptop seems much easier and convenient for me). To me at least, it seems that the end of this year and early next is the first time that the PS3 has really come into it’s own and become worth the extra price of admission.
Then again, the arcade 360 looks nice for $100 less. Considering it has 512MB built in memory, they don’t really need a hard drive to play games (though it will be noisier without one). Plus Netflix is a very nice app if they happen to live where they can utilize it. Not sure yet on the “watch instantly” 1080p movies, and Last.fm functionality (I could really care less about twitter/facebook).
As for the Wii, well, I’ve had it for a little over a month since my parents sent it back to me (they prefer online flash type games like farmtown/chicken invaders on the pc, so I figured it might fit as a present for them last Christmas). We used to have fun decades ago together on the Magnavox Odyssey2, but that was when we were still together as a family with my brother and sister. The thing is they played it for awhile and just got bored with it. I played it awhile, but the graphics were just really put me off after years of 720p+ gaming. I know there are some great games on it… but it’s like meh for me. The Wii is probably best for families with toddlers to 5 year olds.
Side note, I knew Halo was big, but Halo 3: ODST reaching 2 mil in 24 hours… wow. Plus it seems to be getting some pretty good reviews as well. I might pick this up/rent it since there is still some time before Uncharted 2/Demon Souls releases.
news.vgchartz.com/news.php?id=5279
September 25th, 2009
Ahh ODST I’ll be picking up my cpoy tomorrow.
September 25th, 2009
Kev, where’s your proof that A LOT of people Don’t want ps3s?
And ffs stop saying PS3 Fanboys! Your the biggest M$ troll/fanboy in the entire universe, you just keep regurgitating the same shit again and again.
On a lighter ‘Kev free’ note i got Halo: ODST today, pretty cool game so far, i’m liking it but my god the facial and body animations are fucking terrrible!!!
Everything else looks great tho…
September 25th, 2009
Let us know how long it is and what difficulty level you’re playin at. I hear odst is getting dre’s on older systems.
September 25th, 2009
ODST is a game I will definitely wait on….until it gets a price below $30.
I wasnt surprised when I read ODST has sold 2M copies already. Halo is known for big figures….Even Halo Wars sold well.
One thing M$ knows how to do well is releasing their games on a day that makes sense and will catch the attention of the masses. While Sony keep failing in that department.
Look at Sonys release dates from last year between Sept and Nov: Socom, SingStar, LBP, R2, Buzz, Motorstorm 2 and Valkirya Chronicles (bisically a game per week) all competing against Bioshock (PS3), Fallout, Rockband 2, Guitar Hero: WT, Gears of War, Dead Space, FarCry 2, CoD: WaW, NFS: undercover, Midnight Club and more.
in 2009: KZ2 and MLB the show were days apart from each other competing directly against R.E. 5, SF4.
and now between October and Nov they Have: GoW Collection (same day as MW2), Uncharted 2, Eye Pet, Buzz World, Singstar Motown and Singstar Latino, R&C, Demon’s Souls, NGS2 vs all the great multiplatform coming out this year.
and the first 4 months of 2009 is even worst….I know Sony have alot of games but dont have them all come weeks apart from each other or putting them against big 3rd party titles…release some during the summer…Sony needs to up their game.
September 25th, 2009
*and the first 4 months of “2010″ is even worst”
September 25th, 2009
Exactly oldschool.
I’m not going to waste any more time with that kid.
welcome back CAD. Did you get a new Xbox?
September 25th, 2009
heres another question oldschool…
On the second disc where the Halo 3 maps are….
Do you play with ODST rules?
-No master chief
-No shields
-No regen health
-more stealth-less run and gun
-new vehicles
or is it basically just Halo 3 with three new maps?
September 25th, 2009
Ncaissie
No I have not picked up a 360 yet because I’m basically trying to decide on which Bundle to get but I think I will buy it between Today and Next Week for sure. I think I’m going with the 120 GB Elite with Halo 3 and the Wireless adapter pack in. The 250 GB MW bundle seems like it might be worth the wait though. I would also be intrested in the Forza Bundle and there is a 60GB with Halo ODST. Ohh Decisions, Decisions!!
September 25th, 2009
damn, so many bundles! I will go for any of them except the 60GB bundle.
September 25th, 2009
@CarlB,
Will the Netflix App work work with the Arcade without a HDD? I would imagine that you would need more memory.
September 25th, 2009
and you need Gold for Netflix, and I’m pretty sure you need an HDD for Gold (for patches, firmwares and things like that)
September 25th, 2009
ncaissie – when i hear the term ” a lot” when it comes to the ps3, think in terms of tens of millions. Maybe 1-2 million is “a lot” to you, but not to most…..
i’ll prove my point in January..
September 25th, 2009
sorry, that should’ve went to oldschool…
September 25th, 2009
Not tying to start something but my brothers 360 just died again. I think it may still be under warranty but he is too pissed to send it in.
I may pick it up and do it for him and if it’s not under warranty I may attempt to fix it myself. I read some place that you can fix them yourself so I may do some reading.
September 25th, 2009
You’re best bet is to send it to MS. If you try and fix itself and fail you void the warrant by opening it up
September 25th, 2009
a frozen towel always work
September 25th, 2009
“Not tying to start something but my brothers 360 just died again. I think it may still be under warranty but he is too pissed to send it in.”
Idk if this is true or not but my friend (who has been through 4 360′s) told me that after the first time they repair you console you “3-year-warranty is done, after that you get 30 days warranty and is IT.
September 25th, 2009
@Roca
One of my friends has had his 360 repair honored 3 times over the course of 2 years free of charge, so unless there was a very recent change in policy, I highly doubt it.
September 25th, 2009
he sent it in 2 mondays ago. but when he told me that it sounded like if he was Bs-ing me…it should be 3 years no matter what riight??
September 25th, 2009
I’d imagine it’s three years no matter what from your original purchase date.
September 25th, 2009
So I got all the facts now:
Assuming you live in the US:
From date of purchase:
-One year Warranty for almost all issues (I say almost all issues because hitting it with a hammer, throwing it into a pool, etc… or any other act of negligence is not covered obviously)
-ONE TIME non-extendable Three Year warranty that only covers Three Red Lights issues and E74 issues.
So really, you only get two years for 3RL and E74 since the first year would’ve covered everything anyway.
Warranty After a Repair: You get a 90-day warranty from the moment you get it back.
September 25th, 2009
That sucks. That is No 3 year warranty.
Then his won’t be covered again. If I can’t fix it then he can get some money back from his games.
If I can then I’ll Mod it and he can get some money back that way.
September 25th, 2009
Roca and Phranc,
No, you do not need a hard drive with the Arcade to play Netflix on it. The 512MB built in is more than enough for firmware updates, saves, etc. (though you can get a memory card for more mobility if desired). Though you must have a gold account and Netflix 1 at a time unlimited subscription in order to utilize it, the combined cost is less than what I had before without HD streaming and 2 at a time disc subscription, so to me Gold is worth it for this alone.
Before Netflix HD streaming: $16.99/mo for two discs at a time without Gold.
Netflix HD streaming: $10.99 for 1 disc at a time plus unlimited streaming + $3.33 for Gold = $14.22/mo
So in reality I am saving about two and a half dollars a month and am able to watch much more than I was able to before.
September 25th, 2009
“The new Netflix instant video streaming will also work on the Xbox 360 Arcade even though that Xbox 360 has no hard-drive.”
i4u.com/article20115.html
September 25th, 2009
h**p://www.co-optimus.com/article/2672/Halo_3_ODST_Tops_Killzone_2s_Lifetime_Sales___In_24_Hours.html
SUCK IT!!!!!!!!
September 25th, 2009
Have you played either game as yet Con? If so, please share your opinion, as it’s sales in the first 24 hours were already linked and mentioned above a day ago in this same thread.
September 25th, 2009
Yes I have you obnoctious cunt and Halo beats Killzone hands down
September 25th, 2009
Could you expound on your incisively well balanced and intelligent comment Con? I.e. why ODST beats Killzone 2 “hands down” in your opinion? I take it you’ve played through both before you came to your judgment?
September 25th, 2009
“Yes I have you obnoctious cunt and Halo beats Killzone hands down”
a 4-hr games with last gen graphics beats the best looking console FPS of all time.
yes indeed Halo beats KZ2 in sales…….uhmmm but in gameplay it falls short
September 26th, 2009
roca – if the gameplay “falls short” please explain why xbox live is exploding with halo odst games…. sounds like a looooot more gamers are enjoying the gameplay than you think…
not so of killzone 2.
keep it up fanboy…everytime one of you claims kz2 is somehow “beats” a halo game, you make yourself look more ignorant…..
September 26th, 2009
roca – why do you claim sales doens’t mean anything now when you constanstly boast about GT’s sales in the past as proof of their uber-realism….lmao….
gawd….
September 26th, 2009
People would argue your wife didn’t get good reviews but you still stuck by her!
September 26th, 2009
roca – ” 4-hr games with last gen graphics …”
Actually, i played through it last night. it’s longer than 4 hours and the graphics are noticeably better than halo 3 (this gen graphics).
turn down the jealousy next time…lmao…
September 26th, 2009
People would say the same about your mother but you still stuck by her! No wonder you turned out the way you did!
September 26th, 2009
Yeah standing up to ignorant arogant yanks like yourself lol
September 26th, 2009
“Standing up”… real big man behind a keyboard talking about people and things you have no knowledge or experience of. What an “ignorant arogant yank” lol.
September 26th, 2009
So does this all stem from Carlb being USMC?
September 26th, 2009
I have had first hand experience with the victims of war. Don’t try to act as if you know me you fucking prick.
September 26th, 2009
I’m sorry to hear that, I’ve also had that experience. You’ve told me in the past about some Army forum you go to talk about such things. I suggest you do the same now. At the very least be civil here if you insist on talking about it.
The point is you don’t know me and you don’t know what myself or my Marines did while we were there, or else you wouldn’t have generalized and made the comments you have in the past.
If you have a problem with certain individuals or what they have done, I suggest you take it up with them, not me.
September 26th, 2009
No I have a problem with you. You stink of arogance.
September 26th, 2009
So do you.
September 27th, 2009
Just ignore him Carl, he is obviously not stable, and has a grudge that his therapist has trouble helping him work through.
September 27th, 2009
Standing for justice is quite arogant of me lol
September 27th, 2009
No, coming to a website and talking trash about people you do not know is quite arrogant of you. If you want to “stand for justice” do something in real life instead of trolling on a website.
September 27th, 2009
Coo koo, Coo koo
September 27th, 2009
Hey Jofa, what game(s) are you playing now? I just looked at your trophies, but can’t tell. Is there a way to tell on PS3 without going through trophy lists?
September 27th, 2009
Says the guy who trolls on this site a hell of a lot more than me lol. You know fuck all about me.
September 27th, 2009
“how many people who weren’t tempted by the console at $249 will conceivably be tempted at $199?”
I would say I have to agree with Dave, there can’t be all that many, but then again, this is Nintendo and we’re talking about the Wii… so it’s anybody’s guess.
Nintendo, seems to think it’s a potential 50 million though:
gamedaily.com/articles/news/nintendo-targeting-50-million-potential-gamers-with-wii-price-cut/
September 27th, 2009
Jofa is playing UFC 2009
September 28th, 2009
Yeah, I am playing the shit out of UFC 2009 right now. A real timesink for trophies, heh. I can’t imagine every getting the platinum, but should get 60-70% or so.
I think you can compare trophies, and that will show a much easier list to read through. I used to run two seperate accounts before (when I had 2 PS3s) and had to chose between them when i sold it, so I lost some that way, but that list is pretty accurate for the last 9 months or so.