If you’re holding out for the Nintendo Wii to get a good honest, credit crunching price cut, you may be waiting a while. Nintendo president, Satoru Iwata has said that he thinks price cuts are a “mistake”.
Nintendo hasn’t been forced into the price-war that Sony and Microsoft are currently embroiled in (well, Sony’s refusal to make cuts this year was seen as a major blow to potential sales), mainly due to the Wii and DS’ phenomenal, broad-reaching appeal. However, with the lowest priced Xbox now significantly undercutting even the low-priced Wii, shouldn’t we be expecting one soon?
Not according to Iwata – he’s told a recent interview that he’s not in favour of cutting prices as it give consumers the wrong signals:
“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,” he told Touch-DS.jp.
This year, the changes to price structures in the PS3 and Xbox 360 have been fairly predictable and have left some consumers disappointed when they don’t arrive. The massive surges in sales when one does comes along is perhaps not a sign that the console makers are intelligently refuelling consumer interest, but are just pandering to those sat waiting in the wings.
However, as time goes by, the manufacturing costs are steadily reduced, so it seems only fair to pass some of the savings on to consumers. Iwata’s statement is a pretty clear indication that there won’t be any cuts ahead of Xmas (not that they were expected) but it could be seen as an indication that Ninty will be choosing to upgrade the hardware and keep to the same price point once Wii sales start to flag. Assuming that ever happens.
