No, Nintendo is not dropping the price on the Wii or DS

Waiting for a price drop on the Nintendo Wii or DS? Don't hold your breath. Nintendo's Satoru Iwata told analysts on Friday that there are no price drop plans for the hot-selling units. Iwata insisted this is because Nintendo doesn't want to annoy those who already paid full price, but it's pretty clear that there's also just no need to drop the price on something that's already selling like mad.

[Via Joystiq]

[Sachin @ Apr 27th 2008 6:36PM]

IPHONE RIPOFF

[AJ in the East Bay @ Apr 27th 2008 8:07PM]

Er...no. To be an iPhone rip-off the price would've dropped 63 days after launch.

[HB @ Apr 27th 2008 10:05PM]

what they need to do is raise the price and slap an apple logo on it

[DeoWulf @ Apr 27th 2008 6:36PM]

Yeah, there's really no reason to drop the price at the moment. Although they easily could, as they're actually making money off each system as-is.

[Chuckles McGee @ Apr 27th 2008 7:16PM]

Wiis are still on the shelves about an hour before they're sold. Econ 101..supply and demand...

[Pochi @ Apr 27th 2008 8:12PM]

@Chuckles

...

Oh.

Cool.

[Darkroom @ Apr 27th 2008 9:07PM]

they're still very hard to find here in Canada... i managed to buy one last week at Futureshop as eastern canada seemed to get a huge shipment of them... but when i went to the store they didn't have any on the shelves, i had to ask and have them bring me one from the back... and by even doing that they still sold out within a few days.

[Jamar @ Apr 28th 2008 5:33AM]

Come to China; there's never been a shortage here and they're region free right out of the box.

[ryan @ Apr 27th 2008 6:37PM]

nintendo = crack for kids as it is, a price drop would make it even harder to find a wii(which I still havent found)

[Ignatius @ Apr 27th 2008 7:55PM]

How about you stand outside for a few hours at your local retailer the day the ad breaks with the Wii in it?

You'll get a Wii, it's not that hard.

[Carl Vitullo @ Apr 27th 2008 9:07PM]

unfortunately, most people have lives and aren't going to hang around a video game store for a few hours.

[Bizam! @ Apr 28th 2008 11:36AM]

If you don't want to take the time from your life to get up early and wait at a video game store, you don't want a Wii that badly....

[PenisBoy @ Apr 27th 2008 6:38PM]

I think this is a fair argument. Remember the iPhone price drop backlash? Nintendo would be wise to avoid this, especially considering many people already bought their Wiis at a premium due to the short supply. Plus, the things are selling like hotcakes, so there's really no reason to drop the price to encourage people to purchase them.

[Carl Vitullo @ Apr 27th 2008 9:08PM]

it's a TERRIBLE reason.
i agree they don't need to, but that's the most bogus answer ever. if it had com out in january, it would've made sense, but it DIDN'T.
it's been out for over a year, if the price were higher people would expect them to.

[Tehseen @ Apr 27th 2008 9:52PM]

I agree this reason has no valid point.

[kev @ Apr 27th 2008 6:45PM]

And petro keeps going up anyway...

[Jonathan @ Apr 27th 2008 6:54PM]

Also, given the weak dollar, Nintendo is already looking a thinner profits on systems sold in the US than they are on systems sold in the EU or Japan. An unnecessary price drop wouldn't do anything to help that, obviously.

[Ihar `Philips` Filipau @ Apr 28th 2008 7:40AM]

Despite stronger than ever €, Nintendo charges premium in Europe too.

If you take into the account current price of Wii on eBay.com (~$350 average, $400 "BuyItNow" price) and compare it to European price, you in US have pretty fair market price. In EU/UK it is 250€/£180 respectively $390/$360.

Most importantly, do not forget also that games in EU/UK cost much much more. We here have never seen new game at $29.99 - they all start at 50-60€ with price dropping... well I have seen probably one or two launch titles (1+ yo games!!!) dropping prices. Only several shovelwares here go for 29.99€ - the shovelware which most gaming sites do not even consider worth reviewing.

At least in Germany, Wii fares pretty bad. From consoles I believe PS3 was on top. But of course in overall gaming market DS/DS games wee pwning everybody hard.

[Murda @ Apr 27th 2008 6:58PM]

Ever thought that the US dollar is now worth pants???? The price has been implicitly dropped.

[Murdarer @ Apr 27th 2008 6:59PM]

Hmmm beaten by the faster man.

[Ryan @ Apr 27th 2008 7:03PM]

in related news, various media outlets are reporting that the world is indeed still round...

seriously, is this news?? did anyone expect a system that can't even be found on a store shelf to receive an price drop?? (and no, i am not a wii fanboy, im an xbox guy, but its still impossible to deny how hot the wii is selling)

[Reader @ Apr 27th 2008 9:44PM]

I just want to know who asked if Nintendo was dropping the price in the first place...

[Nate @ Apr 28th 2008 9:33AM]

Agreed, the real news is that Captain Obvious struck early this week.

[Montusama @ Apr 27th 2008 7:11PM]

A price drop right now won't happen but give it about 6 more months, but with the way The wii is selling, you might have to wait for its 2nd year

[Jake E. @ Apr 27th 2008 8:29PM]

Dude, it already IS in its second year.

[Saffy @ Apr 27th 2008 7:13PM]

OK, here's a crazy idea that might make sense all the way around.

Instead of lowering the price and pissing people off, include more in the box. A second set of controllers seems to make the most sense. The social aspect of the Wii is one of its strongest selling points, so ho about making it possible right out of the box, instead of making every Wii buyer who isn't stranded on a desert island fork over extra cash for another controller.

Seems to me that facilitating more two-player play would also help Nintendo sell more product, so long as they could actually keep it on the shelf.

Same goes for the DS. You know, including a game like Mario Bros. in-box wouldn't add much to Nintendo's cost, and might make more parents consider buying a DS, knowing their kid can actually do something with that hefty $150 purchase, other than plugging it in to charge and whining about getting a game.

And if Nintendo is still worried about a backlash, they could offer a mail-in program where providing proof of a console purchase going back x-amount of months can get you the game or controller new purchasers get.

The kind of PR that kind of generous program would get would also likely help sell more product, giving Nintendo the kind of brand reputation that parents and kids both could get behind.

Of course, there's no real reason why the big N needs to do something like this. They're once again riding high on two immensely successful consoles. To me, though, this seems like it might be a smart investment in the future profitability of the company beyond the current generation of consoles, in case their next console is another Virtual Boy.

Just a thought.

-Matt

[AJ in the East Bay @ Apr 27th 2008 8:04PM]

"Of course, there's no real reason why the big N needs to do something like this. They're once again riding high on two immensely successful consoles."

Which is why they won't do all the stuff you're asking for. Do you see Microsoft and Sony throwing in extra controllers or freebies? Why should Ninty do it?

[mabhatter @ Apr 27th 2008 11:05PM]

Nintendo does throw in deals from time-to-time at the holidiays. They usually bundle the coolest games like mario kart or Zelda with special DS systems for a good price at the right times. That's good enough for parents to bite. Also, the used market for DS and Wii games is pretty good and prices for the systems and games are $20 lower than the other guys. They are competing on price, just not coming off as "cheap".

The biggest concern I see is that Nintendo isn't doing a good job of keeping the hits coming, keeping the "wow" factor going. They have great potential, but the cool AAA stuff takes plain too long.

[Pochi @ Apr 27th 2008 7:14PM]

Screw a price drop. Give me a different color! Black, silver, SOMETHING! Nothing in my entertainment center is white. I guess the Super Nintendo is kind of a light gray...?

[tekdroid @ Apr 28th 2008 7:36AM]

black and silver are evils that need to be banished from consumer electronics. Non-matching stuff is great.

Regards,
tekdroid

[Pochi @ Apr 28th 2008 8:24AM]

@tekdroid

I can only imagine your wardrobe resembles that of Screech's from Saved By The Bell.

[tekdroid @ Apr 28th 2008 8:37AM]

Pochi,
I had to look that up.

Screech seems to embody the kind of "there are different colours in the world, use them" mentality that I'm talking about.

Screech on brother.

I just fail to see how, after all these years mankind deems black and (plastic painted) 'silver' and gunmetal grey as the only acceptables. Sure, each colour or non-colour has some uses in some contexts (not acting as a reflecting light source with some cameras, etc) buttttttt c'mon.

A little variety! A little risk! A little fun. How much more drabness can we take? Or maybe it's just me. Quite possible :)

Regards,
tekdroid

[Pochi @ Apr 28th 2008 9:28AM]

"Screech on brother."

I admit defeat.

[tekdroid @ Apr 28th 2008 9:58AM]

LOL.

[Ray @ Apr 27th 2008 7:17PM]

the iphone had a price drop months after its release, the wii has been out for over a year (why are people even mentioning the iphone?!)

if anyone bad mouth nintendo for dropping the price of the wii (if they dropped it) they're complete morons, on a side note i think the wii will be $200 around november

[Zap @ Apr 27th 2008 9:14PM]

yes to eveything but the price drop idea


They'll price drop when sales begin to go down, over a few month period

[Ethan @ Apr 27th 2008 7:52PM]

It's insanely cheap in the u.s. anyway. Or too expensive in Europe. Take your pick.

[RandyFD @ Apr 27th 2008 8:04PM]

This is kind of old news, and I don't think anybody expects the price to drop anytime soon.

[AJ in the East Bay @ Apr 27th 2008 8:06PM]

This news isn't that old. The quote is from Friday and Nintendo hasn't made many official statements about NOT dropping the price anytime soon.

[AJ in the East Bay @ Apr 27th 2008 8:06PM]

That was meant for Randy.

[JohnTitor @ Apr 27th 2008 8:29PM]

O RLY?

[Ryan @ Apr 27th 2008 8:21PM]

OH COME ON! The wii has been out for a year and a half. Saying that you don't want to annoy those who paid "full price" is a BS excuse. There does not seem to be any real reason to drop the price at the rate these things are still selling, but who are they to claim that after a year and a half, people who payed full price will get annoyed by a price drop. I don't complain that my plasma tv i bought a year an a half ago dropped in price significantly, or that the price of the external hd that i bought last year is now half of what i paid for it. It's just the nature of electronics, as technology gets better, prices go down.

[AJ in the East Bay @ Apr 27th 2008 8:39PM]

I agree. That whole "we don't want to annoy those who paid full price" line is pure BS. They're just trying to come out like the nice guys and subliminally remind people they're not that *other* company that shafted their customers last year.

The real reason is that they are printing money with these consoles at $249 and I would have respected them a little more if they'd said just that.

[JohnTitor @ Apr 28th 2008 12:59AM]

wtf, can you people read?
the article clearly said that's not what they are doing
they are admitting outright that the prices won't go down 'till demand does

[dudeInAmerica @ Apr 27th 2008 9:10PM]

Why would anyone ask such a question?

If something is selling faster than you can supply, then you hit the sweet spot. Why drop the price?

Crack dealer 101, if your customers get high, the demand will be high.

[Zuke @ Apr 27th 2008 10:36PM]

How long have these been out now, a year?

I've yet to EVER see a single unit on any shelf in our area. It could drop to $100 and it would be irrelevant here.

[Axton @ Apr 27th 2008 10:57PM]

Was anyone really expecting them to drop the price? The Wii is already the cheapest "next-gen" console (albeit the least powerful but just as fun). I think $250 is an extremely reasonable price for any system and we should just hope that system to come are priced the same.

[Pochi @ Apr 27th 2008 11:26PM]

"...we should just hope that system to come are priced the same."

I also hope that beer becomes 10 cents a can and SSDs drop to $20 a terrabyte.

[Chirag @ Apr 28th 2008 1:04AM]

Dunno about the beer, but SSD's would well hit that price sometime late this century... I seriously doubt you want to wait for that event... :)

[MikeWard1701 @ Apr 28th 2008 2:46AM]

As has already been said by many, you don't lower the price of something that's selling so well. It's elementary economics. Not to mention a price drop would increase demand even further, and given that they're struggling to keep up with demand as it is, it wouldn't be in either Nintendos' or the consumers' favour.

$250 or £180 (this side of the pond) is a very good price for the Wii, true it lacks the muscle of the Microsoft and Sonyoffering but it doesnt really need it, it has innovation as its selling point.

Bundled extras? Why should they, they don't need to, they're selling regardless. I do however think they should make more of an effort to encourage the multiplayer experience. Perhaps bundles with 2 and 4 sets of controllers, bundles with Wii Fit included etc.