AfterDawn: News

Hey Nintendo, it's time for a Wii price cut

Last week we reported that the Nintendo Wii, among other consoles, took a serious hit to its sales, seeing a 57 percent drop year-on-year for the month of May.

The drop marked the third consecutive month the Wii saw substantial declines in sales. Supply issues are no longer a problem either, as there are ample amounts on store shelves.



Analysts are now coming out in droves declaring the console has reached a saturation point at its current price and price cut is necessary to stop the continued decline in sales. A $50 price cut, bringing the Wii to the same price as that of the low-end Xbox 360 Arcade seems to be a good point.

Nintendo continues to deny any price cut is in the works however. We have "no plans to reduce its prices at this time."

"We expect Nintendo to cut the price of the Wii before the holiday," adds Wedbush Morgan video game analyst Michael Pachter. The Wii is the only console to not see its price tag slashed since launch.

BMO Capital analyst Edward Williams wrote that he believes the Wii "is selling in a more traditional seasonal pattern."

Major US retailer GameStop CEO Daniel DeMatteo agrees with the sentiment and believes a minimum $50 USD price cut is coming to the Wii by the Q3 2009.

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 15 Jun 2009 22:42

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• 21 comments

• AlmostOz

  We are always told about these "experts" who say price cuts are coming to ps3 wii etc.
  
  I think they know as much as we do - nothing.

  15.6.2009 23:06 #1

• KillerBug

  Hehe...they think that by lowering the price to match the Xbox 360 will sell it? Maybe if they beat the price of the Xbox it might help, but for the same price you will not fix anything.

  16.6.2009 00:27 #2

• iamgq

  nothing wrong with the price, better games is needed though...

  16.6.2009 01:48 #3

• MrXenu

  Do you think Nintendo even care that sales are dropping? They are still beating 360 and ps3 put together. The only games that sell well on the Wii are Nintendo published games, like WiiFit and such, they make a massive killing off those products.
  
  How about instead of its reached a saturation point in the market, its a recession and people are buying less. Especially considering Nintendo's main target market is the normal consumer, who is definatly spending less. Compared to the 360 or ps3 target market which is more concentrated on gaming, so will be prepared to stop purchasing other things in order to keep purchasing games and such.
  
  Continueing the issue iamgq raised, there have been a lack luster amount of games being released this year anyway compared to last, so how on earth can they expect consoles to be moved, when there are no new AAA games coming out.

  16.6.2009 05:36 #4

• redux79

  I think nintendo will let the wii stagnate while releasing a few better games over the next year or two. They made a killing this generation of consoles which puts them in a great position to release the first console of the next generation. If they can beat MS and sony by 4 to 6 months I think they’ll cement a decent lead that may just hold considering the huge fan base they've created.

  16.6.2009 08:55 #5

• happydoob

  Originally posted by KillerBug: Hehe...they think that by lowering the price to match the Xbox 360 will sell it? Maybe if they beat the price of the Xbox it might help, but for the same price you will not fix anything.Wow, the wii has been beating the ps3 and xbox 360 sales combined, this thing hasn't needed help selling since it came out

  16.6.2009 11:58 #6

• atomicxl

  Originally posted by KillerBug: Hehe...they think that by lowering the price to match the Xbox 360 will sell it? Maybe if they beat the price of the Xbox it might help, but for the same price you will not fix anything.Thing is that the Wii sells more than the PS3 and 360 combined. Sales have dropped, but it's more like sales dropped from being crazy insane levels to just crazy levels.

  16.6.2009 12:43 #7

• DSWarrior

  I agree...Nintendo NEEDS better games. As someone said above, the only games that sell well are Nintendo developed ones...and some WiiWare games due to their craziness and innovations (kind of). If Nintendo keeps releasing garbage for the Wii it will suffer the same fate as the GameCube. I do love my Wii though, but I'm tired of seeing dumb games on the shelves. Besides...atomicxl is right...sales are not dropping down to a "OMG! NO ONE BUYS GAMES ANYMORE" levels....so if Nintendo wants to keep the lead, they better get working on some good games and sequels to their franchises....

  16.6.2009 15:50 #8

• SProdigy

  Originally posted by DSWarrior: I agree...Nintendo NEEDS better games. As someone said above, the only games that sell well are Nintendo developed ones...and some WiiWare games due to their craziness and innovations (kind of). If Nintendo keeps releasing garbage for the Wii it will suffer the same fate as the GameCube. I do love my Wii though, but I'm tired of seeing dumb games on the shelves. Besides...atomicxl is right...sales are not dropping down to a "OMG! NO ONE BUYS GAMES ANYMORE" levels....so if Nintendo wants to keep the lead, they better get working on some good games and sequels to their franchises....Nintendo isn't releasing the garbage, rather they are whoring the Wii license to games based on bad movie franchises, cartoons, and kiddie crap. Sony did the same with the PS2. If you aren't going to buy/rent/play the game, then why bring it up? I doubt even magazine reviewers play EVERYTHING that comes out! (Who has the time?)
  
  Also, did you see the stuff coming out from Nintendo? They have another Mario Galaxy, Zelda and Metroid title in dev. Also some of the titles coming aren't bad either. Take Punch-Out for example: it's one hell of a game! Another Resident Evil, Wii-Fit, and more are coming soon, but in the end it depends on your tastes.

  16.6.2009 18:38 #9

• atomicxl

  I think the "needs more games" argument is a little old. The SNES was the king of great 3rd party titles... but that was over 15 years ago. Starting with the N64, Nintendo consoles have basically been boxes that play Nintendo brand games and nothing else.
  
  If you don't like Mario platformers and spinoffs, Zelda, Metroid, Pokemon, Smash Brothers, etc... why on Earth did you buy a Wii? Sometimes I wonder if people went into a coma back in 1994, woke up today and are totally unaware of what Nintendo has been like ever since then.
  
  The Wii has more than delivered as a Nintendo game machine. They've released AAA Mario platformer, Zelda, Metroid and Smash brothers. There was a AA Mario Kart and Mario RPG. There are two new Mario platformers coming in 2009 and 2010. We haven't seen a real deal sequel to a Mario game since the NES. New Zelda coming in 2010, new Metroid coming in 2010.
  
  With games like No More Heroes 2, Silent Hill, Fragile, Tatsunoko vs Capcom, Red Steel 2, The Conduit, Muramasa, Tiger Woods 10 and many others on the way, I think they are actually getting more high quality 3rd party support than they have in a LONG time.
  
  Once they get a Star Fox game, I think that when you look at it from an unbiased eye, the Wii would actually have one of the better game lineups that a Nintendo console has seen since the SNES.

  16.6.2009 23:03 #10

• bobiroc

  I still enjoy my Wii system. I can't honestly say which system I play more the Wii or the 360. I will agree that the 3rd party (for the most part) developers have underutilized the controller scheme and made it into a gimmick. I think that the game developers need to step up and while the mini-games are fun they lose their fun factor fast. But there are just some games that are more fun to play with the motion controller than a standard controller. Play the new Punch out or Metroid or Zelda. Those games are a hell of a lot more fun that way IMO. Speaking of Metroid have you all seen the trailer for the next installment? I am not sure but it looks like they are pushing the graphics envelope with this one. Looks pretty damn good for a 480P system.
  
  Metroid: Other M - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCPXPOeE36Y

  16.6.2009 23:18 #11

• SProdigy

  Originally posted by atomicxl: We haven't seen a real deal sequel to a Mario game since the NES.New Super Mario Bros. on the DS was a REALLY good sequel, if you want to call it that. They left the racoon/cape flying mechanic out, which I think screams for a part 2.
  
  If you haven't played it, you definitely need to check it out. I do think this game could be ported to WiiWare, as the touch mechanism was only used for the special items and tacked on mini-games that were not part of the single player game.
  
  Originally posted by atomicxl: I think that when you look at it from an unbiased eye, the Wii would actually have one of the better game lineups that a Nintendo console has seen since the SNES.Absolutely. I'm glad someone else sees this. The N64 had ONE Mario title (Mario 64) and no Metroid at all! The Gamecube had 2 Metroids, but only ONE Zelda and Mario title. Each had one Mario Kart, and so on and so forth.
  
  Nintendo is ramping up the production of 1st party games to meet the demand... finally.
  
  Now where's a new version of Duck Hunt for the Wii Zapper??? How about Track & Field with the Balance Board??? ;-)

  16.6.2009 23:30 #12

• iamgq

  Originally posted by atomicxl: I think the "needs more games" argument is a little old. The SNES was the king of great 3rd party titles... but that was over 15 years ago. Starting with the N64, Nintendo consoles have basically been boxes that play Nintendo brand games and nothing else.
  
  If you don't like Mario platformers and spinoffs, Zelda, Metroid, Pokemon, Smash Brothers, etc... why on Earth did you buy a Wii? Sometimes I wonder if people went into a coma back in 1994, woke up today and are totally unaware of what Nintendo has been like ever since then.
  
  The Wii has more than delivered as a Nintendo game machine. They've released AAA Mario platformer, Zelda, Metroid and Smash brothers. There was a AA Mario Kart and Mario RPG. There are two new Mario platformers coming in 2009 and 2010. We haven't seen a real deal sequel to a Mario game since the NES. New Zelda coming in 2010, new Metroid coming in 2010.
  
  With games like No More Heroes 2, Silent Hill, Fragile, Tatsunoko vs Capcom, Red Steel 2, The Conduit, Muramasa, Tiger Woods 10 and many others on the way, I think they are actually getting more high quality 3rd party support than they have in a LONG time.
  
  Once they get a Star Fox game, I think that when you look at it from an unbiased eye, the Wii would actually have one of the better game lineups that a Nintendo console has seen since the SNES.
  Take it easy, nobody is hating on the Wii, its just boring is what people are saying.

  17.6.2009 01:26 #13

• chubbyInc

  I'm one of the millions of people who don't care about the price cut...
  Still waiting on some more good games. I've spent too much on games that should have never been released.
  
  Hope the new Mario Galaxy game is more like Mario64. Better 2 player options would be nice as well.

  17.6.2009 01:48 #14

• varikelo

  Nintendo needs also to start cutting the price on several catalog titles (the kind of platinum or gratest hits). I bought Mario Galaxy for my kid back in december 07 and I saw the same game a few days ago with the same price tag of $49.99!! I'm talking about a game that was released almost 2 years ago! Same with Zelda and Metroid, just to mention a few...
  
  All those games should be at least retailing for $29.99.

  17.6.2009 11:00 #15

• iamgq

  Originally posted by varikelo: Nintendo needs also to start cutting the price on several catalog titles (the kind of platinum or gratest hits). I bought Mario Galaxy for my kid back in december 07 and I saw the same game a few days ago with the same price tag of $49.99!! I'm talking about a game that was released almost 2 years ago! Same with Zelda and Metroid, just to mention a few...
  
  All those games should be at least retailing for $29.99.
  I think there is still a lot of people fresh cought in the hype of the Wii who are still willing to pay that much for an old game. But I also believe most with'n a year get bored of their Wii...

  17.6.2009 16:46 #16

• Tarsellis

  Nope, a lousy 50 bucks isn't even going to make me look at a Wii. You'll have to cut the price of that thing in half before I even consider buying an over-clocked gamecube. Sorry, but my GC just sits on the shelf and my old NES gets far more action. Frankly, my PS2 with it's reliability and huge library of fun games I can beat over and over is still king, and only slowly losing market share to my desktop and games consoles just can't do right like Total War.

  18.6.2009 09:22 #17

• LissenUp

  Pricecut??? Pricecut???
  
  Now why would a company that sells a system as well as Nintendo's WII cut the price?
  
  I've got a tiny tidbit of news for all those who have their heads in the sand about this 57% drop in sales.
  
  It's called "saturation" and "homeostasis". It's balancing out and of course sales will drop...................when everyone that wants one HAS ONE, sales will come to a dead stop and then they will make money on something else.
  
  Go Nintendo! Don't cut your price. 250.00 is reasonable.........though with an extra controller, component cables, batteries, a game or two and a warranty, one is easily pushing the 400.00 mark.
  
  Pony up the cash or go to a friend's house who has one.

  19.6.2009 14:40 #18

• LissenUp

  Originally posted by Tarsellis: Nope, a lousy 50 bucks isn't even going to make me look at a Wii. You'll have to cut the price of that thing in half before I even consider buying an over-clocked gamecube. Sorry, but my GC just sits on the shelf and my old NES gets far more action. Frankly, my PS2 with it's reliability and huge library of fun games I can beat over and over is still king, and only slowly losing market share to my desktop and games consoles just can't do right like Total War.It's a totally different system as opposed to your "over-clocked" Gamecube you ninny! TOTTALLY DIFFERENT. GC was boring with poor sales in comparison. I'd rather play Tiger Woods golf on WII than computer, XBox, or PS anyday.

  19.6.2009 14:45 #19

• Tarsellis

  Quote:Originally posted by Tarsellis: Nope, a lousy 50 bucks isn't even going to make me look at a Wii. You'll have to cut the price of that thing in half before I even consider buying an over-clocked gamecube. Sorry, but my GC just sits on the shelf and my old NES gets far more action. Frankly, my PS2 with it's reliability and huge library of fun games I can beat over and over is still king, and only slowly losing market share to my desktop and games consoles just can't do right like Total War.It's a totally different system as opposed to your "over-clocked" Gamecube you ninny! TOTTALLY DIFFERENT. GC was boring with poor sales in comparison. I'd rather play Tiger Woods golf on WII than computer, XBox, or PS anyday.Hardly. Internal hardware barely changed. All they did is stop making GC games, made you use your GC controller for any kind of accuracy, and added the nun-chuck. Sure, the 'chucks can be fun for some multiplayer games, but I'm not gunna play Zelda or Metroid with that thing.

  19.6.2009 16:58 #20

• shengzhi

  nothing wrong with the price, better SPAM is needed though...

  25.6.2009 03:57 #21