Wii drops to $150 on May 15, bundled with Mario Kart and wheel

by Ludwig Kietzmann on May 4th 2011 9:15AM

Nintendo has officially announced an impending price drop for the Wii. As of May 15 (confirming our earlier report), the Wii will be sold at a suggested retail price of $149.99, and will come bundled with Mario Kart Wii and the Wii Wheel accessory. The new price applies to both black and white system models.

Now that Mario and his comical transportation have been crammed into the box, Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort are out. On May 15, the original sports collection will join the "Nintendo Selects" line of budget-priced software, alongside The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Animal Crossing: City Folk and Mario Super Sluggers. Expect to pay $19.99 for each of those (and accept the obligatory punishment of polluted box art).

Wii Mario Kart hardware bundles

Source: Nintendo

Tags: Mario-Kart-Wii, mario-super-sluggers, nintendo, nintendo-selects, price-drop, the-legend-of-zelda-twilight-princess, wii, wii-sports

Reader Comments (73)

hell of a bundle. Too many good times playing Mario Kart in the old days to not finally pick up a wii.

@(Unverified)

Does the free plastic wheel do anything? It seems so stupid to me...

@LEONLEONLEON

Some people swear by the motion controls. Personally, I'm much more comfortable with a Wavebird.

@baby sea tuna

Concurred.

@baby sea tuna
Can you even connect a Wavebird on the Wii? Last time I checked, the rounded surface behind the conector's plug - made to match the GC casing - wouldn't allow you to connect it to the Wii flat surface.

@TheShaper

You can indeed connect the Wavebird to the Wii. Works just fine. The lack of control customization for the Wii Virtual Console is disappointing though. (Try running on SMW with the Wavebird and you'll see what I mean.)

@LEONLEONLEON Well, just using the remote alone works, but the wheel feels more natural. I got pretty great at the game with the wheel.

@TheShaper

You can. I do. It's my preferred GC controller (though for MK Wii I do just fine with the wiimote/nunchuck, and for Brawl I'm terrible using anything but the classic/pro).

@Ignatius
@John Z

I suppose I'm gonna have to look into it again. Even though I've been around since the NES age, playing games with corded controllers has become a nuisance. It just feels clunky.

SSBB with a Wavebird? That'd be awesome.

@TheShaper
Wavebirds sold like hotcakes when the Brawl was announced.

@LEONLEONLEON
The wheel's fun. Hardcore game snobs tend not to use it - and it's possible you can shave microseconds off your times if you use the nunchuk to steer instead - but I always use the wheel.

It's also more fun when other people are playing - it looks amusing, and you don't have to explain to them how to steer. 'Hold down this button to accelerate' is all the instructions it needs, they can figure out the wheel part.

This is perfect! :D
Last year a TV fell on my Wii and it broke it along with Mario Kart which was in there.

Super excited to get one again :D

Guess I'll get Wii sports for $20, got to wonder why resort is $50+ on amazon.

@182
The same thing happened to my Wii years ago! A jock off TV fell onto the Wii below. There's a crack along the machine itself but it still works perfectly.

Wounded by not dead.

@Banksyliveraa
battlescar!

@andreopalomino

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HZmSIEZ7y4

@182

I guess this is how the TVs are striking back against all those 2006 Wii Remotes.

@182 OBJECTION! wouldn't you still have the wii sports copy from when you originally purchased the wii?

@shabby329 I gave Wii Sports to a friend of mine who had lost his copy. Figured I'd get another one with my next Wii.

@Banksyliveraa nice! is your Wii a Launch Wii?

@182 gotcha. phoenix wright i am not.

Still one of the best racing games of this gen. Played the hell out of it at launch then gave up on the Wii. Came back last week and Mario Kart Wii? Yeah I've probably thrown more time into that than Portal 2 (GOTY by far). Superb racer that.

@Banksyliveraa

Why was he down-vo...

Oh..... Probably shouldn't have mentioned Portal 2.

@Banksyliveraa

It's hardly difficult to spend more time on Mario Kart Wii when Portal 2 is only a 12 hour game with little replay value.

(A good 12 hour game, but 12 hours none the less)

@Colin 12 hours? Maybe to play the single player and half of the co-op, but at this point, I've spent 20 hours on the game after replaying it with commentary and finding most of the achievements.

@Proog

About 12 hours is my number. Around 6 on the single player and nearly 6 on the coop. And despite what Valve may think I definitely won't be playing the coop over and over now that I know the solutions. It's just not a game that lends itself to multiple playthroughs.

Black.Wii.Wheel.

nuff said

@DarkSonata
I wonder if it will be easier to grip on tight turns

@DarkSonata

BLACK WHEEEEELLLL!

I had a wheel once. Long story short, I'm not legally allowed to buy Nintendo products anymore.

If these are anything like their Japanese counterparts and the New Play Control GC ports, the box art will be reversible

Mario Kart Wii is a fun locall multiplayer game, but annoying as single player. Rubber band AI at its worst (yes I've played MK before).

I went back to double dash, now that is fun.

@ZForce915
Agreed.
I couldn't stand MK Wii for more than 20 minutes. On the other hand, I've cleared my save data and completed Double Dash all over again countless times.

All in all, I'd like to see an MK that mixes up both Double Dash and MK DS, which BTW is not the best MK ever IMO just because it doesn't have an analog stick.

@TheShaper
Get a 3DS, put MKDS in it, and enjoy analog goodness

Ive had 2 Wii's since release, i sold my 2nd one.
Now im getting that Urge again.
Black Wii & Zelda are calling for me,

@Vampettrelli

wish I had cash laying around to buy back up game consoles!

@(Unverified) If you work for it it can happen. I've got 3 360's(yes they all work).

@GTThaAceman

I got a second job to buy a PS3. I didn't need one but I used to do anything Ken Kutaragi told me to.

@GTThaAceman
Me too, but only 2 are currently functional. System Link > Online if you ask me.

I actually kind of like those box alterations. As long as Nintendo doesn't stick the 'best seller' seal on them like they did with GCN games later on, they may have created what is in my opinion the snazziest looking budget cases yet.

Duuuuuuuude. I've been waiting for a price drop for most of these games, so I sure as hell will be picking up Zelda.

Why announce that far in advance they are lowering the price? Everyone will now wait 2 more weeks to buy one. They should just start selling it at that price now.

At first quick glance at the thumbnails in the gallery, the top of the steering wheel looked like a GCesqe handle ontop of the Wii. I got all excited that they made the system look different or something. Damn.

Would really like to see other first party titles hit the $20 mark. May actually pick up SMG2, Punch-Out!!, and a few others if they drop.

Just...WOW. Really great moves.

"(and accept the obligatory punishment of polluted box art)."
I'm sorry, but I find that art quite nice. The border has a Famicom feel to it.

It beats the original Xbox 360 labelling.

I really wish there were a need in my house for a second Wii. Then again, Wii 2 is calling.

@CaptainProtonX

I was thinking the same thing.

This is, by far, the least offensive "Greatest Hits/Player's Choice/Platinum Hits" box-art I've ever seen.

And yes, Sony, I'm giving you the stink eye, here. Ninja Gaiden Sigma is taunting me...stinking up my shelf with it's disgusting red box. Jesus, Sony, couldn't you have just made the label look horrendous? Did you really have to shit on the actual case, as well?

Ugh, it's the color of taco farts.

It's like the only surprises in the gaming industry are bad news. Everything exciting is leaked weeks, sometimes months before.

You know wgat they say, once you go black, you never go back.

@Mrguy you know that guy

You know what they say...once you make that joke, it becomes 2008 again.

@ baby sea tuna Ah... 2008. The year of The Great Wii Drought. Good times, those were...

Whoo! I've been waiting for some sort of price drop on Animal Crossing: City Folk since it first came out. The fact that it has still been $40 to $50 has gnawed at me. I'm coming, K.K. Slider! Get your guitar out!

The genesis of that saying predates 2008 by a long, long margin.

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Wii Sports

Wii drops to $150 on May 15, bundled with Mario Kart and wheel

Wii Mario Kart hardware bundles

Reader Comments (73)

Posted: May 4th 2011 9:22AM (Unverified) said

Posted: May 4th 2011 9:55AM LEONLEONLEON said

Posted: May 4th 2011 10:06AM baby sea tuna said

Posted: May 4th 2011 10:15AM Urethra Alfredo said

Posted: May 4th 2011 10:17AM TheShaper said

Posted: May 4th 2011 10:22AM Ignatius said

Posted: May 4th 2011 10:23AM Dale P said

Posted: May 4th 2011 10:30AM John Z said

Posted: May 4th 2011 10:35AM TheShaper said

Posted: May 4th 2011 2:50PM (Unverified) said

Posted: May 4th 2011 5:57PM xxxsam said

Posted: May 4th 2011 9:25AM 182 said

Posted: May 4th 2011 9:32AM Banksyliveraa said

Posted: May 4th 2011 9:57AM andreopalomino said

Posted: May 4th 2011 10:17AM oOWallaceOo said

Posted: May 4th 2011 11:25AM Acosta02 said

Posted: May 4th 2011 11:37AM shabby329 said

Posted: May 4th 2011 12:30PM 182 said

Posted: May 4th 2011 12:31PM 182 said

Posted: May 4th 2011 12:47PM shabby329 said

Posted: May 4th 2011 9:31AM Banksyliveraa said

Posted: May 4th 2011 10:56AM Vegeta has a ps3 said

Posted: May 4th 2011 11:48AM Colin said

Posted: May 4th 2011 4:16PM Proog said

Posted: May 4th 2011 4:32PM Colin said

Posted: May 4th 2011 9:31AM DarkSonata said

Posted: May 4th 2011 9:39AM (Unverified) said

Posted: May 4th 2011 9:45AM Apsac D said

Posted: May 4th 2011 9:34AM (Unverified) said

Posted: May 4th 2011 9:38AM ZForce915 said

Posted: May 4th 2011 10:30AM TheShaper said

Posted: May 4th 2011 2:53PM RasenganFury said

Posted: May 4th 2011 9:39AM Vampettrelli said

Posted: May 4th 2011 9:47AM (Unverified) said

Posted: May 4th 2011 9:56AM GTThaAceman said

Posted: May 4th 2011 10:11AM baby sea tuna said

Posted: May 4th 2011 10:37AM TheShaper said

Posted: May 4th 2011 9:48AM Epoque said

Posted: May 4th 2011 9:50AM Vegeta has a ps3 said

Posted: May 4th 2011 9:51AM MrSmiley1 said

Posted: May 4th 2011 9:53AM Shockwave said

Posted: May 4th 2011 9:54AM Alexisonfire said

Posted: May 4th 2011 9:54AM CaptainProtonX said

Posted: May 4th 2011 10:37AM Urethra Alfredo said

Posted: May 4th 2011 9:55AM MGTrey said

Posted: May 4th 2011 10:05AM Mrguy you know that guy said

Posted: May 4th 2011 10:13AM baby sea tuna said

Posted: May 4th 2011 10:20AM Mrguy you know that guy said

Posted: May 4th 2011 10:12AM Adorialea said

Posted: May 4th 2011 10:22AM MGTrey said

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