14 DAY TRIAL // The Nintendo Wii could get its second price cut this year, dropping its tag to $150, severely undercutting its rivals like the PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360.
The Nintendo Wii was a sales phenomenon for many years, but now, due to aggressive marketing and pricing from its rivals, has seen its advantage slip, being beaten almost every month by the Xbox 360.
Now, according to a report from Engadget, the Wii might see its price drop to $150, with the Japanese company rumored to implement a $50 price cut on May 15.
Citing a "trusted source," the website claims that Nintendo is finally getting ready to slash the price in an effort to keep the Wii competitive until the inevitable announcement of a successor, whether it will be called a Wii 2 or Wii HD.
Nintendo, faced with decreasing Wii sales, hinted on multiple occasions that it still has a few marketing tools at its disposal in order to keep the console relevant.
Among them, as you can imagine, is a price cut, which would see the current $200 tag drop to $150, undercutting all of its rivals, including the $200 Xbox 360 or the $250 PlayStation 3.
The previous price cut was made in September of 2009, when the Japanese company discounted its console from its initial price of $250 to $200.
The newly priced Wii might also see an attractive bundle be made, as the website is also claiming that a copy of Mario Kart will be included with the device, in order to attract late adopters.
At the same time, Nintendo is also rumored to be preparing the announcement of a Wii 2 at this year's E3 conference, as both games industry analysts as well as big publishers and developers are demanding a new console that will be more powerful and high-definition ready, as opposed to the current Wii.
As of yet, however, Nintendo declined to comment on the rumor, so we can only wait and see what marketing measures the company will use in the next few months.