Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime says “millions of consumers” have been waiting for an excuse to buy a Wii and he thinks the recent price cut could very well be it.
In response to slowing sales and price reductions to both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, Nintendo dropped the price of the Wii console to $199 just prior to the end of September. The move is working out well for the company, according to Fils-Aime, who told the Financial Times that he expects the lower price to attract a lot of potential new gamers who are waiting to be pushed off the fence.
“There are literally millions of consumers out there who want a Wii and had been on the sidelines,” he said. “They’d been waiting for that little nudge to go out and pick it up – the price decline, the sampling, the launching of key software like Wii Fit Plus – we believe it’s what’s pushing them over the edge to get into the category.”
Sales of the Wii dropped off sharply this year, although the system still maintains a very comfortable lead in worldwide sales over the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Amazingly, the September 27 reduction is the first price cut the Wii has seen since it launched in November 2006.
Along with the reduction in price, Fils-Aime also noted that “major releases” like Wii Fit Plus, Wii Sports Resort and Super Mario Bros. had been targeted for release over the holiday season and that more than 140 new third-party Wii titles are being released over the next three months.
Source: Edge Online
Published: Oct 6, 2009 02:46 pm