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Three's A Magic Number: The Wii Turns 3!

The Wii Gets a Price Cut

by Pedro Hernandez - November 18, 2009, 7:49 pm EST

We look back at some of the most significant events in the Wii's third year.


The Wii Gets a Price Cut

By: Pedro Hernandez, Staff Writer

Ever since its launch in 2006, the Wii had maintained its $249.99 price tag. What's even more impressive is that the system managed to be a best-seller, even when the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 offered tempting bundles and price cuts. Of course, this wouldn't last forever. When Sony announced that the PlayStation 3 would receive a new, slim form factor and $100 drop to $299.99, it acted as a catalyst for both Nintendo and Microsoft to cut console prices. Soon after Sony announced the price cut, Microsoft announced that the Xbox 360 would also receive one. Everyone's eyes then turned to Nintendo, as they remained quiet about any possible price cuts. With both consoles within $50 of the Wii, the system didn't look as appealing despite its strong first and third-party games. Nintendo wouldn't sit idle for long.

Before Nintendo made their announcement, many store fliers like Toys'R'Us and Best Buy had announced an upcoming price cut on the Wii. People still labeled it as rumor, but considering that the PS3 and Xbox 360 were now more affordable it was likely to happen. Wasting no time, Nintendo finally made the price cut official. The Wii received a $50 price cut, dropping it to a $199.99 price point.

Did the decision give Nintendo the results they wanted? Yes and no.

According to the September 2009 NPD numbers, the PlayStation 3 became the best-selling console for the month, while the Wii landed in third. Many noted that the Wii received a price much later in the month, and the results would finally be seen in the October NPD report. The presence of both the price cut and Wii Fit Plus turned the Wii into the number one best-selling console, selling nearly half a million units for the month of October.

In Japan, however, sales were much different. Despite the price cut and the release of Wii Fit Plus, the Wii still sold at a rate below 50,000 units per week. This forced Nintendo's president, Satoru Iwata, to admit that "sales aren't healthy".

The overall outlook for game sales may be bleak due to the poor global economy, but as long as there are good games to play the Wii will keep moving units.

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