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Nintendo has 'no plans' for Wii U Ambassador program
Nintendo has said there are "no plans" to implement a 3DS-esque Ambassador program on the Wii U, according to a statement made to Wii U Daily. Nintendo recently announced a $50 price change on the Wii U deluxe bundle, which made Wii U Daily question if the company might offer an Ambassador program, as they did when the 3DS dropped from $250 to $170. According to a Nintendo rep, however, the Ambassador program is "only available to any Nintendo 3DS owner who purchased their system before August 12, 2011 and there are no plans for a similar program for Wii U." The representative also apologized, stating that, "I know this isn't what you were hoping for." Oh well, at least there's that snazzy-looking The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD Wii U bundle coming soon! Update: The text of this post has been edited for clarity and flow.
Wii U deluxe price cut to $299, Wind Waker HD coming to eShop Sept. 20 [Update: Trailer!]
Nintendo has slashed the price of its deluxe version of the Wii U to $299 effective September 20, Nintendo announced. The deluxe version, featuring 32 GB of storage, will now match the same price as its basic, 8 GB counterpart. Additionally, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD will launch digitally first on Nintendo's eShop September 20, with the boxed version coming October 4. The Wind Waker HD Wii U bundle will include a download code for a copy of the game, and yes, will now be the same price as other Wii U systems, $299. News of the Wii U's price drop comes after Nintendo President Satoru Iwata said earlier this month that the Wii U's price wasn't the issue in regards to the system's underwhelming sales. While the company posted a profit in Q1 2013, it moved just 160,000 Wii U systems during that three-month span. Nintendo also announced an entirely new system today, the Nintendo 2DS. Update: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD will not launch earlier on the UK's eShop like it will in North America, Nintendo told VideoGamer. The European release date for the game, both digital and retail, is October 4.
PS Vita memory cards now cheaper in North America
In addition to knocking $50 off the price of a PS Vita in North America, Sony has also announced memory cards for the device are now cheaper. 4GB cards are now $15, 8GB cards are $20, 16GB cards are $40 and 32GB cards are $80. These updated prices should be reflected at all North American retailers starting today.
Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight gets another $20 price drop, undercuts competition
Looking for a new e-reader? Barnes & Noble is trying to get your attention. The bookseller has knocked a solid $20 off the price of its Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight reader, underselling its competitors by the same amount. This is actually the device's second major price reduction-- the first drop, late last year, matched its price to Amazon's Kindle Paperwhite. Although price cuts often lead up to a device refresh, earlier this year Barnes & Noble was rumored to be stepping back from new hardware launches. Either way, we won't scoff at a cheaper Nook, considering how versatile it can be with a little encouragement.
Rumor: Leaked Target ad shows Vita for $200
The PlayStation Vita's price may be coming down in the near future, providing a leaked Target ad by the Blu-Ray Forum is accurate. The ad, a snippet of which can be seen above, shows a $200 price point for the system. The standard retail price for the WiFi-only Vita is $250, while the 3G-enabled Vita is $300. Japan received a price cut for the system in February, which was followed by Sony Worldwide Studios head Shuhei Yoshida saying that North American players would not see the same price drop. Whether this ad indicates a permanent price drop is on the way is unclear, though it's just a matter of time before we know for sure; the ad is reportedly for the week of August 18 through August 24.
Defiance drops to $10 for PC version
Are you currently wallowing in regret that you didn't pick up Defiance when it was on sale for $13.59 on Steam earlier this month? Your hesitation has paid off, my friend, as Trion Worlds is now offering the game for even cheaper. The studio has the standard digital PC edition of Defiance on sale for $9.99 through its website. The deluxe digital PC edition is also marked down from $44.99 to $24.99. Both editions come with several in-game goodies, although the deluxe edition has more. [Thanks to Dengar and Jose for the tip!]
The Secret World at half price on Steam
The Steam Summer Sale is a hard time for any gamer to save money. There was a time when MMOs were at least somewhat safe, since a discounted MMO still requires the full subscription price. But right now The Secret World is on sale for half price, and those of you who have followed the game for a while know that this is a buy-to-play title. Once you've purchased this game, you can play for free forever. Need a little time to think this over? That's understandable. The sale is running for 48 hours (well, 47 hours as of this writing), so you don't have to decide right now. But if you've been waiting for a chance to get into this modern horror and conspiracy game, $15 isn't a bad price to start in. And the game did just get a secret agent-themed update, if that floats your boat. [Thanks to Zach for the tip!]
Special Forces: Team X getting price drop after going on sale on Steam
Special Forces: Team X, the third-person shooter from Blacklight: Retribution developer Zombie Studios, is taking its price down to $5 on Steam from May 6 at 10 a.m. PT, through May 13. After the sale, Special Forces: Team X will get a permanent price drop to $10, forever and ever, or until Zombie Studios, publishers Atari and/or Microprose decide to change that number again. Before 10 a.m. PT today, Special Forces: Team X costs $15. Special Forces: Team X is a cel-shaded, cover-based shooter with more than 100 possible map combinations and five multiplayer modes. When it first hit Steam in February, the game had a bug that could randomly reset character XP, but that issue has been resolved via a series of patches, Microprose says in a press release. A Title Update for the XBLA version is in testing now. "We are hoping that this price drop will bring players into the game that may have been scared away by the initial launch problems," the press release reads.
Amazon UK follows suit with Wii U price drop
Amazon is the latest major retailer in the UK to drop both SKUs of the Wii U by £50. Like Shopto and Asda before it, Amazon is chopping 20 percent off the 8GB Basic Pack's launch price, placing the console at £199 ($297), while the 32GB Premium Pack with Nintendo Land bundled in is down to £249 ($372).While sales reports haven't made great reading for Nintendo of late, likely prompting the price drops in the UK, the company enjoyed a dramatic stock bump earlier this month, put down to the weakening yen and a boom in the US jobs market.
Yoshida: No Vita price cut for North America
"No, it's not," Sony Worldwide Studios head Shuhei Yoshida told Joystiq, when asked if the Vita will see a price cut like the one just announced in Japan. Yoshida cited the exchange rate as a reason for the lack of price drop – an issue that has plagued Nintendo in recent earnings releases.
Nintendo Wii console drops to $130 in two-game bundle
With both the holidays and the Wii U fast approaching, Nintendo has decided to drop the price of its older Wii console to $130 when sold with Wii Sports Resort and Wii Sports. The cheaper package should arrive in the States by October 28th and will ship in black (alongside black Wii Remote Plus and Nunchuk controllers), thereby replacing the current New Super Mario Bros. bundle that sells for around $150.
Xbox 360 holiday bundles get $50 price cut
Microsoft cut the price of its 250GB and 4GB Kinect Xbox 360 bundles by $50. All holiday bundles included in the deal can be picked up at GameStop, Best Buy, Kmart, Target and Amazon.Each bundle is priced at $250 except for the standard and holiday 250GB Kinect bundles, which are $350. Most of the bundles have games and DLC codes packed in, including Forza 4, Kinect Adventures, Kinect: Disneyland Adventures, Fable 3, Halo: Reach and a digital copy of Skyrim.We've called GameStop and still have yet to find an end date for this offer, but we'll update as soon as we find out.
Sony UK: Vita price cut timing 'still under discussion,' not this year
Leading into a holiday season against an increasingly successful 3DS and even a new iPhone, Sony still isn't considering cutting the price of the PS Vita. PlayStation UK managing director Fergal Gara told Eurogamer that while Sony is considering a price cut, it won't happen until next year at the earliest."We always aim to establish price cuts," he said. "So the question is not so much if, but when." Rather than drop the price, Sony is opting for bundles in the UK, "for example wi-fi Vita plus LittleBigPlanet at the £200 price point. There's the wi-fi product again plus FIFA 13 plus Uncharted Golden Abyss plus LittleBigPlanet at not much above the £200 price point."Timing on an official price cut, and not just an effective one that throws more things into the box, is "still under discussion," Gara said. According to statements made by Worldwide Studios head Shuhei Yoshida at Gamescom, Sony is working on reducing the cost to produce the Vita, and will only drop the price once that is achieved.
Target, Walmart list price drop for B&N's Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight to $119
Check those calendars. It's September 29th, which means, for those who follow the world of e-readers, that we're two days from Kindle Paperwhite day. According to Target and Walmart, it also means that Barnes & Noble's own illuminated e-reader, the Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight, is getting a $20 price cut, down to $119. That price puts the reader on par with the entry-level Paperwhite (no 3G, with ads). Let the battle of the front lit e-readers commence! Update: Check out some official pricing update info from B&N after the break.
Sony's PlayStation Portable dropping by ¥3,000 to ¥13,800
Just because Sony's focus during the Tokyo Game Show is on its two newest consoles, the Vita and the PlayStation 3, doesn't mean the company's forgotten about the PlayStation Portable. During its press conference this evening, Sony dropped ¥3,000 (about $40) from the ¥16,800 (about $215) base price of the PSP in Japan, putting the console at ¥13,800 (about $176). It's unclear if any price drop will affect North American or European consumers, but we'll update as we find out more.
Apple discounts iPhone 4S to $99 in the wake of the iPhone 5, iPhone 4 is now free on contract
Not sure if you want to splurge for that newfangled iPhone 5 just yet? Well, the folks in Cupertino are now offering a handsome discount on the previous model. That's right, the iPhone 4S will now set you back $99 (with a requisite agreement, of course) and the iPhone 4 is free on contract. In the midst of the all the excitement, Apple also announced that the 3GS will be discontinued. Check out our liveblog of Apple's event to get the latest news as it happens!
Microsoft permanently lowering Kinect price in the US to $110, slightly reducing it in other parts of the world
Well, it certainly looks like the news of that Xbox Essentials Pack isn't the only thing coming out of Redmond today. As the communicative Major Nelson unequivocally notes, Microsoft's officially dropping down the price of its "You Are the Controller" Xbox 360 add-on in the US to a mere 110 bucks. Additionally, he's also said there's a "permanently reduced" pricing scheme coming to other countries in North America, Latin America and the Asia Pacific regions (save for Japan) where the company's Kinect is available for purchase; meanwhile, folks in the Middle East, Europe and Africa seem to be out of luck for now, since there are no price-slashing plans for the time being.
Kinect price drops to $109.99 in US
The Kinect is now $109.99 in the US, down $40 from its launch price. That's two copies of Child of Eden and change!Microsoft's Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb also announced unspecified price reductions for the rest of North America, along with Latin America and Asia Pacific regions, effective today. The price will drop (again, to an unspecified number) in Australia and New Zealand on October 4.There's no price change for EMEA regions or Japan, though nobody in Japan would notice either way.
Yoshida: 2012 is 'too early' for Vita price drop
If you're holding out on a Vita until the price goes down, you may be holding out for a while. Speaking to Eurogamer at Gamescom, SCE Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida that the price will not go down this year. "It's too early," he said. Sony engineers are working on "cost reduction," which Yoshida said takes time."At a certain point in the future we would like to address the pricing issue for some of the people who are waiting," Yoshida said. "But this year we are trying to add value by creating different types of bundles," like the LittleBigPlanet PS Vita bundle announced at Gamescom. "That's affordable for people who are looking for a good deal."
Barnes & Noble cuts prices across its Nook lineup, vies for your budget tablet affection
In what could be seen as a response to the positive reaction that Google's $200 Nexus 7 has garnered, Barnes & Noble has just cut down the prices on all three of its Android-based, seven-inch Nook Tablets. The 16 and 8GB models have been respectively reduced to $199 (from $249) and $179 (from $199), while the Nook Color is priced 20 bones cheaper than before at $149. Not sure whether those prices too good to be true, even up against the likes of the Kindle Fire? Feel free to peruse our reviews of B&N's reading-focused slates before potentially taking the plunge at its webstore.
