Topic: What are Nintendo's options for a Wii Price Drop or increased value?

[Kairon]

Anticipating a price drop of the other consoles, should Nintendo drop the Wii's price even though it's still selling out like no one's business? And how much of a price drop?

Should they drop to $200 with their current configuration (one Wiimote, one nunchuck, Wii Sports)?

Or should they drop even further to $150 or $180 fearing competing with a possible XBox 360 Core at $200?

Or how about unbundling Wii Sports, selling that seperately for maybe $40, and dropping the stand-alone bare console for $150?

Or, should they try to increase the value proposition? Should they throw in a copy of Wii Play (still only 1 wiimote pack-ed in though) in addition to Wii Sports?

Or should they switch out Wii Sports for Wii Music... or even better, just add Wii Music as a bundled game so you get 2 bundled games with the system already!

I'm actually pondering against going the two-wiimote route because retail generally likes to sell wiimotesd spereately, there's larger profit margins on accessories... Or maybe retail doesn't have a choice if they want stock of awesome product like the Wii?

Could we see the return of those N64-esque bundles where you get a bonus controller with the system?

Or should Nintendo NOT price-drop at all even? After all, they're still selling out. What would a price-drop achieve?

AAAAHHHHH!!!! So many options!!!!

[that Baby guy]

Bundles that don't include extra games don't increase perceived value very well, IMO, even if actual value increases greatly.

I think they could cut out Wii Sports and sell it for $30, docking $70 off the price of the system for that in combination with the decreasing cost of production.
Basically, it will give a perceived $70 price drop with an actual $40 drop.

The next drop after that won't be a drop, but instead a bundle, where the buyer gets to choose one of a select number of titles, like they did on the GC.  Probably Metroid, Mario, Smash, and something else, like Disaster: DoC or Project Hammer.  It depends, though.

Then, they'll drop to 150 and cut out the game deal.  Eventually, they'll take it to 120, then do 120 w/ some software deal, then down to 100, after some long time.

That's my guess, we'll have to look back and see what happens.

[Louieturkey]

No price drop is needed this year.  They are still selling out and when Metroid and Mario and Smash come out, more hardcore gamers will pick this baby up.  

Even if the 360 drops, I wouldn't be suprised if they drop the core system altogether and only drop the Premium by $50.  They are making money on these and won't drop again until they would make money on them even with a price drop.  Eventually, the Elite will probably be the only sku in about 2-3 years and it'll be at $300 by then.  Though they may keep the Premium just to be able to sell more $120gig HDs.

PS3 has the best chance of dropping by $100 this fall.  They want to spur sales badly and with other Bluray players going for $500 now, they want to keep this thing selling as a bluray player as well.

[Kairon]

Quote
Originally posted by: Louieturkey
Even if the 360 drops, I wouldn't be suprised if they drop the core system altogether and only drop the Premium by $50.  They are making money on these and won't drop again until they would make money on them even with a price drop.  Eventually, the Elite will probably be the only sku in about 2-3 years and it'll be at $300 by then.  Though they may keep the Premium just to be able to sell more $120gig HDs.

Why do you think that MS will so deliberately avoid having an SKU under $300 when they've just out and said that $200 is a mass market price point they need to hit?  

[BigJim]

MS wants the Core to eventually compete in Wii pricing territory, so while it might make sense on the surface to dump the Core because it is gimped, I don't think they will. Don't be surprised when they are the same price at some point.

As long as Wiis are selling out, there's no excuse to reduce the price from their perspective. I can't imagine a realistic scenario that would require them to go under $199 with the same SKU for a while.    

[Kairon]

That's an interesting scenario... The Wii offers something no one else can: the wiimote, which is perceived as truly next-gen, truly new, and a step closer to virtual reality. It could conceivably be sold at a price HIGHER than the XBox 360 core (especially when you factor in the price of a 360 memory card...ugh).

[Ceric]

Look,  I'll say it again.  Dropping the Price of the Wii would be the stupidest move Nintendo could make.  Its at a low price for a consumer electronic already.  If Nintendo needs to spark sales they can throw in a classic controller or even better yet sell a new color.  I know more than a few people who buy a second Wii for a new color not to mention people who would finally purchase a Wii if it wasn't just white.  Maybe even keep the price the same and up the internal Flash memory.  Wiipoints.

Nintendo has a lot options to explore before a price drop.

[Dirk Temporo]

Are you sh!tting me? The Wii hasn't even been out for a year. They're not going to drop the price any time soon.

[TJ Spyke]

Nintendo can't even meet current demand, they are selling systems as fast as they ship them. Nintendo isn't even thinking about dropping the price yet (nor should they, it would be a stupid thing to do business-wise).

When they do drop the price, it will most likely be dropped to $230 and Wii Sports removed from the package. I don't see this happening until E3 2008. The system definitely won't be $150 for several years.

[KDR_11k]

I wouldn't drop the price, removing Wii Sports would be a bad idea because those discs and cases take cents to make but increase the retail value substantially while also making sure people have their first encounter with the new controls offered by the Wii in a controlled environment so they learn that it works before playing some crappy movie tie-in that is uncontrollable. Letting them play whatever game they bought first would make them believe that it's the fault of the input device if the game sucks.

What I could see is replacing Wii Sports with a newer pack-in if I wanted to demo any new Wii features with it (e.g. online play).

I know Nintendo perceives pack-ins as a bad thing because it means the customer won't buy a new game as quickly but pack-ins like Wii Sports are so simple that they don't really stop sales of other games and the Wii already costs 50€ more than previous Nintendo systems anyway, the pack-in helps justify that.

[King of Twitch]

Dropping the price smacks of desperation this early in the game.  

[GoldenPhoenix]

I think dropping Wiisports would be a HUGE mistake unless they have a comparable alternative. Wiisports is one of the games that is still selling the system and is the perfect game that shows what the Wii can do, not to mention it provides countless hours of enjoyment.

[Kairon]

Okay, okay, geez... I get the picture already. Don't drop the price, keep Wii Sports packed in.... and release a Black Wii.

[Shift Key]

If it ain't broken, don't fix it.

[BlkPaladin]

There is only two reasons Nintendo would drop the price either if the 360 drop substancailly or there is a slow down in sales.

[that Baby guy]

I disagree, a little bit.  At some point, everyone who buys a Wii will know what Wii Sports is.  At that point, there's no reason to bundle it in anymoire, because the person will most likely plan to buy it.

On top of that, I felt like Nintendo chose a price point to launch with that they were ready to drop at any time.  I think most of us know that big money is being made from each Wii sold, and as time passes, the amount of money gets increasingly large, not to mention that Wii Sports itself has long passed the point where it's pure profit.

If Microsoft crosses into the Wii's price range, Nintendo should retaliate in some way.  They'd still make large profits, and they'd take the buzz away from the 360's drop.  Even if they dropped to $230 or something.  Nintendo doesn't need to take their chances if they want to be sure to get to the top.  They've got to remain an aggressive player, and letting the Xbox drop price unanswered is not the way to do so, especially with Halo 3 on the horizon.

I think the real question is whether or not Microsoft can afford to drop the price or not, relative to those losses they've made in the gaming sector the last six or so years.

[Ceric]

I disagree.  Lets take the extreme case and the PS3 60gig and the 360 Elite both drop to $250 tomorrow.  Does everyone honestly think that people will stop buying Wii's immediately?  At that point the true test comes out.  Is the innovation worth it?  If it is then these two price drops wouldn't phase Wii sells in the slightest.  If it is not then these two price drops will go on to destroy the Wii.

By reading thread like these you would think that the Wii had only the Price going for it.  If that was the case then why did the Gamecube sell out all the time?  As mentioned there are lots of options Nintendo could pursue rather then a price drop.  Unless those don't work and the Wii starts to be very common a price drop would still be fiscally irresponsible.

[KDR_11k]

I agree, even if the competition drops prices Nintendo wouldn't have to, the Wii sells because it's the Wii, not because people can't afford a 360. Also the 360 core won't ever get a pricedrop, the packin stuff in the Premium is probably sold a lot over cost so it has more of a buffer than the core for cutting prices.

[that Baby guy]

But let's imagine the PS3 drops price, and then advertises a graphic-intensive PS3 sports.  What happens then?  What happens when the 360 drops price and offers Halo 3?  At least Halo 3 is a system seller.  Halo 2 sold 8 million copies, and apparently, about half the 360's owners didn't own the original Xbox.  What happens when all those people jump on board.  Yes, I see what you're saying, that the Wii has something no one else has now, but the PS3 could get it soon, and the 360 also has a heavy hitting, fastest-sellling-game-ever powerhouse coming along too.  That's something the Wii can never have.  Now imagine the 360 drops to either $250 or $200.  The Wii now has motion controls over the 360, but it no longer has price, nor does it have something that is the sequel to the fastest selling game, does it?

Haven't we learned from the Playstation and the Xbox that if you cut your competitors some slack, they will take it and use it to surpass you?  Didn't Nintendo lose out in the first place from being too confident?  Then last generation, how did the Xbox surpass the Gamecube?  There had to be mistakes there, right?  So isn't possible that Nintendo's competition is fierce, and is looking for any way to surpass Nintendo's sales and success?

Regardless, a price drop isn't going to hurt Nintendo.  They aren't going to lose money off of the Wii any time soon.  If they can encourage and already hemorrhaging Microsoft to lose more money by forcing them to drop price, which could eventually drive MS out of the industry, shouldn't they do it?  Isn't that a smart decision?  Wouldn't we say the same thing about Sony?  It wouldn't be illegal to do so, because Nintendo wouldn't even be losing money on each Wii sold.

Regardless, I think that if MS drops the 360's price, Nintendo should wait a week, gather up sales numbers of that week quickly, and if supplies outnumber demands for the Wii, Nintendo should follow suit the week after, so they don't lose any ground.  You have to remember this isn't a game, and Nintendo has lost from a similar position they've been in before.  Of course, you also have to wonder whether or not Nintendo is out to make a huge profit or if it is out to make a huge profit.  If they don't care about the numbers of consoles sold, then they might not want to lower prices, either, that just depends.

Also, remember that Nintendo originally wanted to offer the Wii at a price under $250, and that retailers pressured them into something higher, so that the retailers could actually make something off of system sales.  That screams that the Wii has the ability to have the price dropped just a bit, too, and Nintendo wouldn't mind, so long as it was done for good reason.  

[Smash_Brother]

Quote
Originally posted by: thatguy and the 360 also has a heavy hitting, fastest-sellling-game-ever powerhouse coming along too.  That's something the Wii can never have.

Never say never.

Just because the Wii doesn't have that game right now doesn't mean that the game couldn't come out of nowhere and take this generation by storm.

[that Baby guy]

I'm saying the Wii doesn't have Halo.  I do think the Wii could have that kind of game, but the Wii will never have Halo, which is currently the franchise of which the fastest selling game belongs.

[WuTangTurtle]

I'm pretty sure Halo is not the fastest selling game, maybe for xbox though.  As for the Wii cutting it's price, i wouldn't recommend it at this point.  I say let the competitors drop in price to compete first, then wait to see if you even need to make a move.

[that Baby guy]

Halo 2 was.

[Galford]

Nintendo should cut the price only if a price drop on the 360 causes the Wii to stop selling.

[Pale]

May have already been predicted... but my guess is 199.99 for Black Friday of 08.