Nintendo drops Wii console price before Wii U release

Console will now cost $130, and come with a bundle that include Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort

In anticipation of the new Wii U console that is coming out next month, Nintendo has decided to drop the price of the original Wii console by $50.

The suggested price of the Wii will now be $129.99, Nintendo announced Monday, and it will be configured with a black console, along with Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort on a single disc. It will also contain a black Wii remote and a Nunchuk controller. 

It will replace the current configuration, which includes New Super Mario Bros. Wii, and will be available on October 28.

Nintendo says it is lowering the price in advance of the busy holiday season.

“Nearly six years after it launched, people are still attracted to the pure, inclusive fun of the Wii console,” Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing, said in a statement.

“A new suggested retail price and the inclusion of two great games make it an easy choice for families looking for a great value this holiday season.”

The Wii was first introduced in 2006, and was immediately seen as a giant leap forward for video games; one that would finally motivate kids to get off the couch.

The system was a big success, selling over 600,000 consoles in its first eight days. It became the worldwide leader in sales less than a year after being released.

The Wii U

In the last few years, though, handhelds have begun to outpace traditional game consoles.

In 2011, Nintendo handhelds outpaced sales of the Wii. Nintendo sold 4 million Nintendo 3DS systems and 3.4 million Nintendo DS systems sold in the U.S., for a total of 7.4 million handhelds, compared to 4.5 million Wii consoles.

Even so Nintendo is still set to release its latest Wii console, the Wii U, in the United States on November 18.

The Wii U will come in two versions: a Basic Set and Deluxe Set.

The Basic Set will come in white, and is going to sell for $299.99, while the Deluxe Set will come in black, will retail for $349.99, and will come with more storage capacity, extra accessories and the new Nintendo Land video game.

Each version comes with touch-screen controller called the Wii U GamePad, and it will play games made for the original Wii.

Even more important than the Wii U was the unveiling Nintendo Tvii, an app that will integrate with the Wii U, and will essentially become the users entertainment platform. Nintendo Tvii allows users to bring all of their video content, including streaming, live TV and recorded shows, together into a single interface.

Nintendo also announced over 50 games for the Wii U,  including New Super Mario Bros. U, LEGO City: Undercover, BAYONETTA 2, The Wonderful 101, Capcom’s Monster Hunter  3 Ultimate and Call of Duty: Black Ops II.

Nintendo sales

In January, the company projected its first annual loss in 30 years. 

In its most recent earnings report, Nintendo posted net sales of 84.8 Billion Yen, down 9.7% from the 93.9 Billion it reported in the same quarter last year. Nintendo’s net income was a loss of 17.2 Billion Yen, though that was an improvement over the 25.5 Billion Yen loss the company posted the year before.

Nintendo is seeing loses, but the video game industry overall is not doing any better.

Last month, NPD Group reported that sales of new video game hardware, software and accessories in the United States fell for the ninth straight month in August. Overall sales fell 20 percent from the year before to $515.6 million.

In addition, the hardware sector dropped 39 percent year over year to just $150.6 million, indicating a big loss in the number of consoles sold.

(Image source: https://www.gamershell.com)