Wii price cut set for May?
Price to drop in US to $150 according to report
Nintendo could be set to cut the price of the Wii home console this May, according to a new report.
Engadget suggests May 15 will see the console drop to $150 in the US, although it points out the move would be only weeks before the annual E3 games show, where big price announcements are usually made.
If true, a price drop would fuel speculation of a successor to the Wii, which has been on the market since 2006 and boasts lifetime sales of more than 85 million units.
The console currently retails for $199 in North America.
Update: Go Nintendo has posted what it claims is an internal price sheet from retailer Kmart, also suggesting a reduced price for the system of $149.99.
Don't count the-little-white-box-that-could out just yet. I expect a price cut will pump some short term momentum into the machine, and a good Q3/4 line up topped by Zelda will ensure another bumper festive season for the Wii, leaving E3 2012 for a new home console reveal. At this point Wii is easy money for Nintendo, even if it isn't setting the world on fire--why cut it short and mount another piece of major hardware months after 3DS? 3DS needs time to establish itself on the market, and Nintendo will want to focus on that first, without the distraction of a major home console launch.
I hope they've got some decent first party stuff lined up for the near future though, aside from Zelda. I still think they could or should release The Last Story and Fatal Frame 4 to bolster their release schedule and help keep fans happy.
Given that MS & Sony seen keen to emphasise their consoles have "many years left", this might be the perfect timing for it - at least it would encourage devs that do x-platform PS3/360, to include the Wii II in that list.
Now that has typically been a 5-6 year time frame for most companies since the start of the modern console era. But I believe those factors determine the year...the year doesn't determine those factors.