Nintendo Slashes Price of Popular Wii Console by 20 Percent

Responding to cuts in price by rivals Sony Corp. and Microsoft Corp., Nintendo Co. Ltd. will be slashing the price of its popular Wii video game console by 20 percent. The move is designed to bump up sales of the console, and the new pricing will go into effect on Sunday.

Nintendo will reduce the price of the Wii by $50, putting at the enviable price point of $199 in the US. The price will also be cut in Japan, where it will fall from 20,000 yet to 5,000 yen on October 1.

In dropping the price, Nintendo is the last of the popular video game consoles to cut prices. Microsoft took $100 off the price of its high-end Xbox 360 console, and Sony dropped the price of its Playstation 3 console by $100. With these price cuts, both the Xbox 260 and PS3 start around $300. Microsoft does sell a low-end version - called the Xbox Arcade - for around $200.

In the latest incarnation of the video game console wars, Nintendo has far outsold its rivals. Part of their winning strategy has been focusing on expanding the gaming population via intuitive and easy-to-play games. Their rivals, however, have choosen to focus their attentions on life-like graphics.

In recent months, however, sales of the Wii have dropped off. And with Sony slashing its prices recently, the need for Nintendo to reduce its price was very pressing.