Nintendo Wii Officially Gets 199-Dollar Price Tag

Nintendo has officially confirmed that it will be dropping 50 dollars from the price tag of the Wii home gaming console beginning with September 27 on the North American market. On October 1, a similar price reduction will take place in Japan, bringing the console down to the yen equivalent of 220 dollars. Apparently, an announcement related to Europe could arrive at a later time. The announcement came, as expected, at the Tokyo Game Show.

Cammie Dunaway, who is the executive vice president of sales and marketing at Nintendo of America, stated that, “Wii has reached more video game players than any game system before because it attracts everyone – both men and women, and people of all ages. Our research shows there are 50 million Americans thinking about becoming gamers, and this more affordable price point and our vast array of new software mean many of them can now make the leap and find experiences that appeal to them, whatever their tastes or level of gaming experience.”

Nintendo is saying that, despite the reduced price, buyers will still get the same package, consisting of a gaming console, a Wiimote, the Nunchuk and the video game Wii Sports. To get the most out of their gaming rigs, players might want to pick up a second Wiimote, maybe one or two Motion-Plus add-ons, and even a Classic Controller.

It seems a bit of a missed opportunity for Nintendo. The price cut is nice in itself, but the manufacturer could have also introduced the Motion Plus as part of the package, to make sure that all the players who picked the console up from then on could enjoy the better motion tracking, or it could have opted to replace Wii Sports with the newer and more interesting Wii Sports Resort. Still, the new price point of 199 dollars means that the Wii will get a boost in sales beginning with late September, probably holding its lead on the PlayStation 3 Slim and the Xbox 360 Elite, which both retail for 299 dollars.