Nintendo is set to announce a US price cut this week, to coincide with the Tokyo Game Show, though no word as yet on any plans to cut the price in the UK and Europe.
The price cut news comes at the same time as heightened rumour and speculation about the possibility of a Wii 2 (or a 'Wii HD') being released in 2011, sparked off by comments from none other than the CEO of that other major Japanese gaming giant Square Enix earlier this month.
"Although a price cut is expected in the short term for the Wii, there will likely remain considerable scope for additional price cuts which will help extend the shelf life of the console well beyond what Nintendo has historically achieved with its TV consoles," opines games industry analyst Nick Gibson from Games Investor Consulting.
Extended shelf-life
The industry analyst also suggests that Nintendo could even follow a 'dual product strategy' with Wii, something that the company has never done before with its console business.
"This price cutting potential [of Wii] will likely be realised over at least three years and quite possibly longer obviating the need for an early introduction of a new console," says Gibson.
"However, Nintendo may elect to move to a dual product strategy with overlapping TV consoles (as Sony does) targeting different demographic and geographic markets. If it does go down that route then 2011 would appear a reasonable target for a new platform launch."
So there you have it. The hype and anticipation for Wii HD (or Wii 2, or WiiToo, or whatever name you want to start calling it!) begins right here!
The cost of the Wii will be slashed to just $199.99 as of the 27th of September in the US, according to leaked information from major retailer Best Buy.
We hope to see a £50 drop in the price of the Wii in the UK, which would bring it down to a very affordable £129.99. Though Nintendo UK is staying deathly quiet and not commenting on rumour and speculation, as ever.
