Lately walking by the shelves at Wal-Mart, the Nintendo Wii is stocked full to the back of the case. Sure, Microsoft and Sony are laughing at the fate that has finally hit Nintendo with their overstock on shelves, but is it time to lower prices?
Not right now, according to Nintendo. The Wii, although selling less than previous months, is still far outselling the Xbox 360 or PS3. The current price of $250 for the console, one controller and an included game, is still cheaper than the PS3 by $150 and $50 cheaper compared to an Xbox 360 with a hard drive. In a down economy, people are choosing to cut back costs, and the entertainment industry is no exception. People are already choosing the Wii because of its price point. To lower the purchase price would only suggest that the Wii is an inferior console or that the company is having trouble moving its products. So for the time being or until a new generation of video game consoles is announced and all manufacturers shift prices downward to clear out inventory, $250 Wii consoles will be the norm. And why should Nintendo change its strategy? They are the most profitable video game console producer - Sony still loses money on every PS3, and Microsoft just recently started turning a profit on its consoles. Not to mention that Microsoft and Sony often compete head-to-head targeting typical video gamers and Nintendo goes for non-competitive family gamers these days - their differentiation makes them successful.
http://www.thetechherald.com/article.php/200915/3416/Nintendo-president-won-t-rule-out-Wii-price-drop
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