Unprecedented Wii sales obviate need for price cut, Iwata says
- November 06, 2008 04:57 AM PST
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Nintendo's Satoru Iwata just doesn't believe in price cuts. When your product outsells the entire competition 3-1, you really don't have to.
Price cut? More like price stable.
The Wii system is in a league of its own for a variety of reasons today, chief among them a unique control scheme and incredible sales numbers that dwarf the competition month over month.
Another differentiating factor in the Wii column is also the fact that price cuts will probably never come to the system, as they have with the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
Chief among the reasoning behind that decision is the fact that price cuts send mixed messages to the customer, said Nintendo president Satoru Iwata.
"This is my personal thinking, but when the model's price-tag drops over time, manufacturers are telling consumers it's better to wait, and I've always thought that was a mistake," said Iwata, in a Nintendo Japan web site interview, translated by Kotaku.
As Wired's Chris Kohler notes Wednesday, this is the Nintendo strategy today. The company finds a price that it can maintain indefinitely, and then rides insane sales numbers and popular public opinion all the way to the bank. It also chooses a price point that allows the company to make money from day on on a system, which runs contrary to the methods employed by other video game hardware manufacturers for the past decade.
Sony and Microsoft, for instance, have adopted a strategy of gradual price cuts. They also recoup losses on hardware (which is sold at a loss) with software licensing. The price cut practice results in sporadic sales spikes, coinciding with the cuts, but thus far has been unable to capture the sustainable magic of Nintendo's little white machine.
That said, with the unprecedented success currently being enjoyed by Nintendo (with both DS and Wii), the Microsoft/Sony strategy for the next next generation could be considerably different.
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- Nov 06 2008 at 06:12:12:AM PST
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I wouldn't be suprised to see the first price cut when the next Nintendo system is about to come out or is officially announced. That might be a while.
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if nintendo decides to dish out more rpgs (mother 4 and fire emblem), an online multiplayer metroid game, kid icarus, and a true wii zelda game the wii would sell a 5 to 1 ratio. we need more hardcore games
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Yes, a price cut will be very dumb from a business stand point, though I'm sure many here wont understand that.
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When sales start to slow down... then they'll consider a price cut. That's pretty obvious!
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Obliviate? Missing some letters there? These are supposed to be professional journalists. Hukt on Phonix wurkt fer mi!
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ESRB_Hater wrote:
Obliviate? Missing some letters there? These are supposed to be professional journalists. Hukt on Phonix wurkt fer mi!
Actually obviate is an actual word, which made sense for the headline. So you failed.
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360 is cheaper than Wii and more readilly available but there are millions of little kids begging their moms and pops for this hi-tech toy which isn't aimed at older gamers
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