David Yarnton, general manager of Nintendo in the UK, has confirmed that there will be no price cut for the Wii or DS before Christmas, despite significant cuts to the Xbox 360's RRP.
Talking to
MCV, Yarnton explained, “In terms of Nintendo’s business, we feel that Wii and Nintendo DS already represent great value for money.”
He followed that in a wonderfully media-trained manner, stating, “This combined with our focus on market expansion and bringing people of all ages to our products through making them smile and helping to enrich their lives means that we currently see no need to drop the price on either of our formats this year.”
Following Microsoft's hardware
price cut, it's now possible to get a 360 for £50 less than the Wii (with the £129.99 Arcade) or a tenner less with a 60GB hard drive (with the £169.99 premium console). The Wii's price of £179 has remained unchanged since launch.
Similarly, Nintendo doesn't seem concerned that potential DS buyers might hold off until after Christmas for the
DSi.
Discussing the UK market in general, Yarnton went on, “As retailers continue to try and maintain footfall and secure share in the current difficult economic climate, this Christmas should see some interesting and very competitive retailer-led promotions.” Translation: 'if retailers want to cut the price of our hardware to shift more units, that suits us just fine'.
Source: MCV