No More Price Cuts For The Wii
Reggie Fils-Aime declares innovation will attract consumers
There was no denying that the past few years have been ultra successful for Nintendo, and specifically the Wii. For the first few years of the Wii's lifespan, it had remarkable sales that had no signs of stopping. That all changed recently, as sales of the Wii began to slow. This led Nintendo to issue the first price cut in Wii history, and recently Reggie Fils-Aime stated that it will be the Wii's only price cut.
Recently Nintendo's President and COO sat down with CNBC and discussed not only the reasons behind the price cut, but also how Nintendo foresees this holiday season.
One key point that Fils-Aime stressed was that this price cut was not because of competitors (the Xbox 360 and PS3) cutting their prices, but rather it was a timed strategic move, to coincide with one of Nintendo's big releases, Wii Fit Plus. Nintendo is hoping that with the Wii's new price of $199, the users who were reluctant to buy the Wii previously, will finally invest, because of its higher value. Fils-Aime went on to explain by saying, "We define value as what you get for what you pay. With Wii - with the USD 50 price drop - you're getting a lot more value."
When also asked about whether or not another price cut would be needed to corral consumers, Fils-Aime responded by saying "absolutely not." Reggie would go on to explain that instead of relying on more price cuts, Nintendo will rally more consumers behind the console by continuing to innovate, and stay ahead of the curve.
He also dispelled any thoughts of shortages this holiday season, as has plagued Nintendo in the past. "We're prepared. We have a tremendous amount of product in inventory, we've been flowing product in for retail. We do not expect to have shortages on our products."
Via Gamesindustry.biz and CNBC