SEPT. 23, 2009 • After seeing a 50% dip in U.S. sales since the first quarter of 2009 (NPD Funworld data), Nintendo of America lowered the MSRP of its Wii console to $199. The system will still be bundled with Wii Sports, as Nintendo believes that game is the most suitable entry point for new Wii owners. The price change leaves a $100 difference between current Nintendo and competing platforms from Sony and Microsoft. Nintendo also hopes the lower price will boost sales of Wii Fit Plus (Oct. 4) and New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Nov. 15).

Impact: Nintendo essentially had no choice but to drop the price of the Wii.  Sales were way off and the price/value proposition of the competition was starting to look far better.  Nevertheless, Nintendo was able to hold the price of the Wii at $250 for longer than expected.  At that price point the Wii, in 2008, set the record for most unit sales ever in a single year for a home video game console.  The price drop gives the Wii a new potential boost, but we still expect the competition from Sony to really start heating up.