Nintendo comments on Wii manufacturing costs, not planning price cut

Following Credit Suisse analyst Koya Tabata's estimation that Wii manufacturing costs are down 45 percent, Nintendo has come out from its corner swinging, ready to put down any and all speculation that a price cut for the console is due soon. In speaking to Edge, Nintendo said the depreciation of the U.S. dollar and British pound is also a factor, as from "launch in December 2006 to December 2008, the value of the pound fell by 43 percent against the yen," and, in the same period of time, the U.S. dollar and euro fell against the pound 22 and 18 percent, respectively.

Ed Barton, analyst for Screen Digest, thinks that if Nintendo is to cut the console's price, it could first happen in Japan if "supply has truly equaled demand." Barton points to Nintendo's next financial earnings report, where any and all reduction in manufacturing costs should be evidenced in the company's operating profits. Though trying to gauge an improvement in Nintendo profits is kind of like finding a giant needle in a stack full of giant needles.