Could the Wii get a price drop this holiday?

Can it be lowered? Yes

Should it be lowered? Consumer says maybe (depends on who you ask), economist says no way in hell, when you get this kind of sales at this pricepoint, why would you?

Doubt it. Although they could get the models from Japan,as they are in plenty of stock it seems. Without Wii Sports I could see where this is going...but I highly doubt it.

Nintendo is outselling the competition consistantly. The Nintendo machina isn't slipping. No reason to drop the price for something that is selling as it stocks.

I'm betting probably not...but my main reason for this post is simply this: What's with the meat?

If Nintendo is already saying they will not be able to meet product demand, what's the benefit to cutting the price?

If the price does drop, it's a clear indication that the Wii "shortage" is artificial and driven solely by Nintendo, and not by consumer demand out pacing supply.

To Anon:
Trimming the fat. Get it?

"What's with the meat?"

"Trimming the fat," I think. Very subtle, WiiFanboy.


...or it could be that Nintendo is butchering the competition.

Trimming the fat?

I think the price in Canada should drop to be on par with the US. The currency is.

@9 - it never works that way. just go buy one in the US and save your $30. :)

When systems start staying on shelves for longer than a day, then you can maybe start talking about price drops.

Until then there is no reason to. If Nintendo did it now they would simply be losing money as the consoles would have sold out anyway.

@Matt, ouch! That is funny. I agree with you though.

Seriously, dropping the price would be a pretty stupid move. When has a company every said, "well, we really are making too much money, so we'll go with less."

Obviously there is no need to stir demand, so a price drop would just be plain stupid.

Yes it should be lowered! The PS3 slim is coming out, the 360 dropped it's price...if they don't drop it then they at least need to introduce in a new colour! The long awaited black Wii or something! They need to win these holidays. If the PS3 somehow pushes through they are going to be in bloody trouble. That system has so much going for it. Accept it.

I don't think a price drop would have a positive influence on the earnings for Nintendo. Though if they want to look long term, they'd want as many people with Wiis as possible.. But still.. Meh.

@13

PS3 slim? So the bulk of the PS3 was all due to the backwards compatibility, eh?

The only reason they would drop the price would be to push sales but right now they can't keep the damn things on shelves at $250. If they lowered it they'd just be throwing away money. The Wii is at $250 as long as it continues to sell this well at $250 and meanwhile Nintendo increases manufacturing efficiency and profits slowly rise.

Although I suppose one could argue that if you pay $200 for a Wii you might spend that other $50 on a game but that sounds a little risky because maybe you don't.

Hell, they could probably raise the price and still sell out. The stupid thing is so bloody popular.

They're not dropping the price now for the same reason they're not bringing out new colors now. Those things drive up demand and they can't meet the demand that's there already. Once production ramps up and sales taper off they'll do the colors, price drop, or both at the same time. Maybe even roll out the DVD Wii.

My guess would be next july for a price drop OR a new sku (to replace the current one, not like 360)

I asked that same question months ago:

http://madiart.blogspot.com/2007/04/200-wii.html

hell they could raise the price $50 and people would still buy it. the Wii is a juggernaut right now. so needless to say, i dont expect a price drop. maybe a new colors or something but not a price drop.

They might drop the price - just to maintain price pressure they have on competitors.

I think soon price drop was indirectly communicated by N folks when they told that they have too much money and looking where to put them.

N might get cash bigger surplus - by keeping the price as it is - but that will not necessarily turn into future profits.

N might get even more customers - by slashing prices - what would result in bigger install base what is always better than plain cash.

In the end, now Wii really competes with PS2 which is current king of the hill. So price drops are only natural - to take on the PS2 market share.

Instead of a price drop, I wouldn't be surprised to see Nintendo add a new SKU in the next 3-6 months, of some type of bundle package. My opinion, they should do a Virtual Console pack, including whats in the Wii Box now in addition to a Classic Controller and 2000 Wii Points, either on a card or just pre-loaded on the console. Then, with that at the 249 price point, drop the "plain" Wii Box closer to $200.

As others have noted, they need to get their supply chain "problems" under control before altering the existing Wii pricing scheme, otherwise it will undermine the lingering threads of credibility they may or may not still have on the issue.

Its called going for the throat though people- if Nintendo can get the Wii past the 20 million mark worldwide by early spring, they'll have assumed a DS to PSP style sales lead that, while not specifically marking 360 or PS3 as "losers" (the PSP would be considered a very successful handheld if the DS/GBA didn't exist), would ensure an even bigger slice of developer budgets and time going to Wii development.

The Wii is not competing with the PS2. It competes with the 360 and the PS3. Anyone that says it is not next generation is a Sony or Microsoft fanboy that only looks at graphics when buying a game.

Nintendo chose not to worry about graphics in their next generation system. It is more about the controller, and having games on the console that you haven't been able to play before.

I am a PC gamer at heart, but I picked up a Wii. I played it with my brother, and loved the thing. I HATED Nintendo when I was younger, as I was a Sega fanboy. I never played Nintendo games, and never wanted to...to me, at that time, they were stupid. Why were they stupid? Because Nintendo made them...duh!

But, that thinking is childish. I bought a Wii to have fun. The PS3 doesn't look fun and is way too expensive right now. Will it eventually have games? Yeah, that's a no-brainer. Will it eventually be affordable? Yeah, that's a no-brainer.

I thought about a 360, but putting up with red rings of death didn't appeal to me. And, most of the games I see on the system are coming out on the PC, like Bioshock, or Deadlands. I can build a PC myself for a tad more than a 360 Elite, and get access to even more and better games.

The Wii has games coming down the pipe that you can't find anywhere else. Zelda and Metroid looked cool, and I am looking forward to Fire Emblem, FF: Crystal Chronicles, Project O, Zak and Wiki, Smash Brothers, Mario Galaxy, Nights, No More Heroes, Civ: Revolution, Battalion Wars 2, Endless Ocean, etc.

Will all of those games be great? Probably not, and some will suck, some will be good, and some will indeed be deserving of all of they hype they get.

I own a PC, and a Wii...both for different gaming purposes. To me, the Wii is fun. It is a next gen system, with hardcore games. Sure it has kiddie games, and yeah it has party games. But, Nintendo isn't stupid. They are releasing games for their core audience. And, those games look like they will be a blast to play.

Call me a Nintendo fanboy, or whatever...I don't care. I just think that this generation, the Nintendo Wii has games that return us old gamers to the core of this hobby. Games that give you that fuzzy feeling years from now. You may not be able to go back and play them to get that same feeling...but when it's new...it's awesome.

doesn't matter what they charge for it, you still can't find wii's in the stores

When is the Wii going to start coming in black and assorted colors? That green prototype looked so hip. :(

Dropping the price would be insane for Nintendo since you still can't walk into a store and find a Wii. Why lower the price when demand still exceeds supply at the current price?