14 DAY TRIAL // The Nintendo Wii is certainly the biggest selling console of the current generation, managing to sell more than the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 combined on a regular basis. It's even moved more units than the PlayStation 2 managed at the same moment in its life cycle. Now, there are suggestions that Nintendo might even be prepared to reduce the price of its platform in order to make it more attractive.
Koya Tabata, who is an analyst working with Credit Suisse, has said that the costs associated with manufacturing the Nintendo Wii have fallen quite clearly since the console was initially introduced on the market. The various components and the process itself is now 45% cheaper. This means that the gaming device might get a price cut of 50 dollars in the coming months, in order to boost sales in a period when they are seen as lagging, after the shopping rush that dominated the final months of 2008.
Such a price reduction could also be seen as necessary because of the rather disappointing performance that the Nintendo Wii is seeing in Japan in the recent weeks. Data from Enterbrain shows that the PlayStation 3 has been outselling the Nintendo home gaming console for the last four weeks, with sales slumping by more than 63%. A Nintendo spokesman commented on the numbers for the Financial Times, saying that “It is still the first few months of the year when sales are slow for the industry, so we are not particularly concerned,” before adding that Nintendo is preparing a strong line up of videogames for its platform.
A reduced manufacturing price for the Nintendo Wii means that the company is making more money on each console it sells, so falling numbers are not yet a concern, especially if North America, the biggest market for videogames, is not affected. But if sales go down spectacularly, then we will certainly see a price drop from Nintendo.