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Wii

Wii Price Drop and Budget Line Imminent?

by Jared Rosenberg - May 3, 2011, 3:59 am EDT
Total comments: 10 Source: (Kotaku), http://kotaku.com/#!5797802/and-so-we-enter-the-wi...

Before the month is over, Nintendo may be lowering the price of the Wii and reissuing select titles at bargain prices.

A factory fresh Nintendo Wii will be retailing for a MSRP of $150 before the month is out, according to anonymous retail sources in contact with Kotaku.  Along with the price cut, Nintendo will unveil a line-up up of budget titles, falling under the banner “Wii Select.”

Games in the “Wii Select” line will be $19.99 if early retail listings are indeed factual. The first games slated to be reissued at budget prices include The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and Mario Super Sluggers.

In addition to a price a drop, the retail sources say that each Wii system will no longer be bundled with Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort, but instead include a copy of Mario Kart Wii. Those new Wii owners who desire some tennis and boxing will have the option of buying a “Wii Select” copy of Wii Sports. The new Mario Kart Wii combo will supposedly go on sale on May 15.

If these rumors prove to be true, it will be the first Nintendo system in North America to garner a budget line-up since a handful of Game Boy Advance titles received the Player’s Choice branding.  

Talkback

Nin10do-FanMay 03, 2011

Well I guess it's fair. Nintendo doesn't really have a choice at this point until the 3DS picks up or the Wii's successor gets done  :'( . I wonder what other titles are in the "Wii Select."  :-\

AVMay 03, 2011

Everything but the Mario Kart part seems legit. Wii Sports / Resort package should be $150 and mario kart should be $20 game.

MiyamotoMay 03, 2011

I-mailed the RFN crew suggesting this last week, only I said it should be closer to $100 and the budget line should have a HUGE library all at $20. $150 is OK but it needs to be way more drastic if Nintendo want to see a huge turn around.



Chozo GhostMay 03, 2011

It should have been Wii Sports AND Mario Kart. I think bundling Mario Kart is a positive move, but why take Wii Sports out? There's no reason both can't be included. Whatever it cost Nintendo to develop Wii Sports has already been recouped a billion fold, and since the disc is just a 20 cent piece of plastic its not like adding it  with the system significantly increases manufacturing costs. It would have been better to just leave it there and just add Mario Kart together with it.

Oh well... that's just my 2 cents on the matter.

CericMay 03, 2011

Quote from: Chozo

It should have been Wii Sports AND Mario Kart. I think bundling Mario Kart is a positive move, but why take Wii Sports out? There's no reason both can't be included. Whatever it cost Nintendo to develop Wii Sports has already been recouped a billion fold, and since the disc is just a 20 cent piece of plastic its not like adding it  with the system significantly increases manufacturing costs. It would have been better to just leave it there and just add Mario Kart together with it.

Oh well... that's just my 2 cents on the matter.

But this is a brilliant move that should have come a long time ago.  Wii Sport is THE game to own for Wii.  Unfortunately it had been packed in.  Mario Kart is universally loved but is more of a traditional game.  People will want Wii Sport for their Wii.  As I said as soon as it was found that Wii Sports was the defining game of the Wii they should have stop bundling it and released a slightly expanded version, more golf or something.  Because people would buy it because they knew it.

BlackNMild2k1May 03, 2011

haha I posted about this in the rumor thread sometime last week I think.


edit: Nintendo Select = $19.99 Players Choice line?
but I had no source. it was leaked from Target's internal retail listing

Mop it upMay 03, 2011

I can see why they would take out Wii Sports Resort to add Mario Kart Wii, but it makes no sense that they would take out Wii Sports when the European bundle still includes it (plus the Donkey Kong arcade game). Seems like a way to make it seem cheaper than it really is.

As far as I can tell, Animal Crossing City Folk has been $20 at most places for months now, so the only thing to change there is the packaging is now awful. I hope these versions have the original cover on the back of the insert, like the New Play Control games do.

BlackNMild2k1May 04, 2011

Wii price drop is now Official
http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/04/nintendo-drops-wii-price-to-150-from-may-15th-throws-in-a-free/

Quote:

Nintendo Unveils New Wii Package at $149.99, Launches 'Nintendo Selects' $19.99 Wii Games

Having Fun with Family and Friends Just Became More Affordable than Ever With New Suggested Retail Pricing

REDMOND, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nintendo is dropping the suggested retail price of its Wii™ system to $149.99 and including a Mario™ game with the Wii hardware. Starting May 15, the newly priced Wii system will come in either black or white with the Mario Kart™ Wii game and a matching colored Wii Wheel™ accessory, replacing the previously included Wii Sports™ and Wii Sports Resort™ games.

Also on May 15, Nintendo launches the new Nintendo® Selects collection of Wii games, a set of popular games that millions of people have already experienced, at a suggested retail price of $19.99. The four must-own games in this collection are The Legend of Zelda™: Twilight Princess, Animal Crossing™: City Folk, Mario™ Super Sluggers and Wii Sports, which is available for the first time as a separate software purchase. Parents and video game fans can now easily expand their library of fun, family-friendly Wii games.

"From the day it launched, Wii has let players of all ages and experience levels have fun with one another," said Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime. "The new suggested retail pricing for both the hardware and select games will help create more of these magical moments for even greater numbers of people."

With Mario Kart Wii now included with the Wii hardware, players will be able to enjoy fun go-kart racing with Mario and all his Mushroom Kingdom pals right out of the box. The Wii Remote™ Plus controller, Nunchuk™ controller and Wii Wheel included in the package will all match the hardware, meaning they will be either black or white. The new black Wii Wheel will also be available separately at a suggested retail price of $9.99.

Remember that Wii features parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about this and other features, visit http://wii.com.

About Nintendo: The worldwide pioneer in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its Wii™ home console, Nintendo 3DS™ and Nintendo DS™ family of portable systems. Since 1983, when it launched the Nintendo Entertainment System™, Nintendo has sold more than 3.5 billion video games and more than 577 million hardware units globally, including the current-generation Wii, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo DS, Nintendo DSi™ and Nintendo DSi XL™, as well as the Game Boy™, Game Boy Advance, Super NES™, Nintendo 64™ and Nintendo GameCube™ systems. It has also created industry icons that have become well-known, household names such as Mario™, Donkey Kong™, Metroid™, Zelda™ and Pokémon™. A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo's operations in the Western Hemisphere. For more information about Nintendo, please visit the company's website at http://www.nintendo.com.

SilverQuilavaMay 04, 2011

Oh, thank god. I have been craving Super Smash Bros Brawl ever since I sold it over a year ago. I've been going through Smash Bros withdrawal. heh X)

ShyGuyMay 04, 2011

This Wii price drop and value line rumor is ridiculous, it will never happen.

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