Rival game-console makers may be slashing prices, but Nintendo has no plans to do the same -- at least not in the short term.
Wii game-console maker Nintendo has no plans to cut its $250 price for the game device that has broken records in North America for the number of units sold. As of the end of January, Nintendo's worldwide sales were 44.96 million units, and by March, worldwide shipments for the Wii system surpassed 50 million units.
Consumers make exceptions during a recession when there is something they really wish to own, like the Wii gaming system, according to Satoru Iwata, president of Nintendo, who spoke at the Foreign Correspondents Club in Japan.
But Iwata said that while there are no immediate plans to cut prices, it was not a move he was ruling out completely.
"Price drops are just not needed by Nintendo at this time," said Van Baker, a Gartner analyst. "The console occupies a unique position in the market as a fun game console that is for the whole family."
Increasing Sales
Nintendo may not have to cut prices just yet, but consumers may wonder about price reductions since Nintendo rivals have already made the cut. Microsoft  slashed its Xbox 360 price, and last month Sony cut the price of its PlayStation 2 after 10 years of the device's availability.
"Microsoft and Sony cannot position their consoles in the same way [as the Wii] because it would alienate their core gamer customer ," said Gartner's Baker. "There is little price pressure from either competitor."
The only exception is the PlayStation 2, which will put some pressure on the Wii, noted Baker, adding that the pressure will be minimal because the device is seen as the last generation's console.
Since the launch of Microsoft's Xbox 360, 28 million units have been sold worldwide. The console's figures put it ahead of Sony's PlayStation 3, which has sold approximately 20 million units since its launch in 2006.
Anita Frazier, an analyst with the NPD Group, said price cuts stimulate hardware sales, but said sale numbers show there is currently no need for Nintendo to cut prices.
"In the U.S., the Wii is the best-selling of the next-gen systems and already enjoys a price advantage relative to the other new console systems," Frazier said. "On a monthly basis it has continued to be the top-selling system for quite a number of months, and continues to post year-over-year unit sale increases each month, so there is really no evidence of a need for a price cut."
DS and DSi
Nintendo's handheld devices, the DS and DSi, have also enjoyed high unit sales, and to date have not received any price cuts.
As of March, worldwide shipments for the Nintendo DS franchise were at more than 100 million units, according to Nintendo. And worldwide unit sales of Nintendo DS hardware were 25.6 million units for the first nine months of the fiscal year, reaching 96.22 million units as of Jan. 29.
"The DSi is brand-new and offers new, innovative features that will keep Nintendo on the top of the heap in handheld gaming," Baker said. "My assumption is that the DS Lite will be obsolete with the introduction of the DSi."
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