Reggie: Absolutely No More Wii Price Cuts (Ever?)

[Mr. Fister]

*Nintendo "Ohh look that's one of our feet... Quickly shoot it, shoot it!"

I'm curious, how are they shooting themselves in the foot by not dropping the price of their console any further if it's already a good deal lower than the competition?

Because as of the previous generation they decided to make mainly family friendly consoles and games.

They helped do this by working their hardest to keep bringing the price of the Gamecube down. It just seems they're a little too happy with keeping the price up at the moment.

Also I don't really think the Wii is in direct competition with the PS3 and 360, as it offers a whole different game experience. So really, they're in their own kind of league with the capability to make it easier on the customer base.

They've been making family-friendly games practically ever since they got into gaming back in 1981. You'd be hard-pressed to find an M-rated first-party Nintendo title that isn't Eternal Darkness or Geist at any point in their career. That really didn't change when they made the Wii and DS.

And they didn't constantly lower the price of the Gamecube to appeal to families. They did so because the Gamecube was getting horribly destroyed in sales from both the PS2 and Xbox, and lowering the price was really all they could do in order to compete against them. The reason they've been adamant on not lowering the Wii's price is not just because they were already outselling the competition by leaps and bounds at a cheaper price. It's part of the Blue Ocean business strategy, which can be summed up as "Start with lower price and universal appeal to get the large numbers, and then slowly work your way into the smaller audiences."

I love the inane pictures of Reggie...also, doesn't Nintendo make the most profit per console sold as it is?

They're the only company that makes a profit every time a console is sold. Microsoft and Sony lose money on every 360 and PS3 sold.

 

[Amnestic]

I love the inane pictures of Reggie...also, doesn't Nintendo make the most profit per console sold as it is?

They're the only company that makes a profit every time a console is sold. Microsoft and Sony lose money on every 360 and PS3 sold.

Is this still the case? I knew it was when they first came out with the 360s/PS3s, but obviously they're still using pretty similar (or the same) parts as four years ago (in the case of the 360) and as any PC user well knows, parts can get cheap very quickly as new, better ones hit the market.

Are 360/PS3 sales still causing a loss now as they were when they retailed?

 

[stabnex]

No real gamers

Logical fallacy!

See also: No True Scotsman.
And then punch yourself in the face.

Anyway, that is probably the ugliest dude I have ever seen.
And he's also kind of a jerk.

Miss-quoted, now who has to punch himself?

Since you guys are clearly allowing this to dissolve into yet another (if well deserved) Nintendo Flame War let me make a few points.

1) The quote was

No real gamers play the Wii..

And I stand by that opinion.

2) Whenever anyone middle-aged or older comes into my store looking completely lost and don't either make a direct turn toward the Playstation or 360 section I immediately direct them to the Nintendo section and I'm never wrong. They are always looking for either casual DS games or casual Wii games.

3) My store has more copies of Zelda: Twilight Princess than any other Wii game ever because while it's a re-tread of older Zelda games with prettier graphics it's still too complicated a game for your average Wii owner. Of our total inventory of Wii titles, Twilight Princess consists of an entire third of the wall (I think we've got around 30 used copies in right now).

4) Finally, up to half a year ago we couldn't keep a single Nintendo Wii on the wall behind the counter for more than an hour, even at $299.99, because someone would always snatch it up for their mum. Now that everyone seems to realize Nintendo's incompetence and gimmicky appeal we've got frickin' piles of them we can't squeeze out even at $159.99 with a free 10% discount on all games with purchase of system!

What I'm trying to say is that people are basically over the Wii. The people it once appealed to have lost interest in video games and have gone back to watching Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune while drinking prune juice and making quilts.

 

[Towowo2]

Just like your entitled to your opinion, I am entitled to completely hate your opinion.
Just another person that is part of the "OH NOEZ Nintendo is rooning gaming!" Mantra the majority of people have.

P.S That picture of Reggie is rather creepy *shudder*

 

[Pendragon9]

Um... .who cares? To be frank, the Wii doesn't need to be cheaper. It's pretty much got a decent value now.

Or is he trying a Sony double talk maneuver, planning to lower the price even more despite what he says? That would be quite the turnaround.

Either way, I swear this guy is related to Bobby Kotick somehow. Just look at that evil grin.

 

[The Rockerfly]

An opinion doesn't give you a license to ignore logic.
"I think unicorns exist" is an opinion, but it's still stupid.

Yes it does, look at the westboro baptist church, "The Transformer films were good" and most of youtube

OT: I wonder if this man likes money because he's ugly or he's ugly because he likes money?

 

[ae86gamer]

Will it still cost $200 in ten years?

[sup]Also, that picture of him is terrifying.[/sup]

 

[scotth266]

I love the inane pictures of Reggie...also, doesn't Nintendo make the most profit per console sold as it is?

They're the only company that makes a profit every time a console is sold. Microsoft and Sony lose money on every 360 and PS3 sold.

Is this still the case? I knew it was when they first came out with the 360s/PS3s, but obviously they're still using pretty similar (or the same) parts as four years ago (in the case of the 360) and as any PC user well knows, parts can get cheap very quickly as new, better ones hit the market.

Are 360/PS3 sales still causing a loss now as they were when they retailed?

PS3s are definitely sold at a loss, though I don't know about 360s.

Anyway, the Wii doesn't need a price cut.

 

[hansari]

Instead, says Reggie, Nintendo is banking on "innovation" to carry it through this holiday season. Innovation such as a device that checks your pulse or something [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/93093-Nintendo-President-Defends-Wii-Vitality-Sensor], apparently.

Innovation = Super Mario games...

 

[mikecoulter]

*Nintendo "Ohh look that's one of our feet... Quickly shoot it, shoot it!"

I'm curious, how are they shooting themselves in the foot by not dropping the price of their console any further if it's already a good deal lower than the competition?

Because as of the previous generation they decided to make mainly family friendly consoles and games.

They helped do this by working their hardest to keep bringing the price of the Gamecube down. It just seems they're a little too happy with keeping the price up at the moment.

Also I don't really think the Wii is in direct competition with the PS3 and 360, as it offers a whole different game experience. So really, they're in their own kind of league with the capability to make it easier on the customer base.

They've been making family-friendly games practically ever since they got into gaming back in 1981. You'd be hard-pressed to find an M-rated first-party Nintendo title that isn't Eternal Darkness or Geist at any point in their career. That really didn't change when they made the Wii and DS.

And they didn't constantly lower the price of the Gamecube to appeal to families. They did so because the Gamecube was getting horribly destroyed in sales from both the PS2 and Xbox, and lowering the price was really all they could do in order to compete against them. The reason they've been adamant on not lowering the Wii's price is not just because they were already outselling the competition by leaps and bounds at a cheaper price. It's part of the Blue Ocean business strategy, which can be summed up as "Start with lower price and universal appeal to get the large numbers, and then slowly work your way into the smaller audiences."

I love the inane pictures of Reggie...also, doesn't Nintendo make the most profit per console sold as it is?

They're the only company that makes a profit every time a console is sold. Microsoft and Sony lose money on every 360 and PS3 sold.

Okay, you're so right. In fact you're sooo right that you win. Not this argument, but life. Well done, please proceed to level two.

 

[Altorin]

I didn't read that as "no price cuts ever"

I read it as I think he heard it "Do you see a pricecut in the future"

and honestly, he has no reason to see a pricecut - they JUST cut the price, and nintendo capitalizes on its price brackets before lowering its prices to a new level.

Why in all holy hell would he say 'Yeah, we cut the price, but eventually we'll cut it again.' Not only does it not make business sense, it doesn't make common sense either.

What I WOULD like to see is a price cut for peripherals. 50-60 dollars for a new controller, even if it IS the most complex part of the system is a bit ridiculous for a 200 dollar system... then you have to pay extra for the nunchucks, and Wii Motion plus for each controller, and I don't think they've released a good battery pack yet, so you have to buy batteries ontop of that.

It's a little ridiculous.. but the system itself doesn't need another pricecut, and I think it's silly to even imagine he'd talk about something like that.

and yeah, the man is very ugly.

 

[hypothetical fact]

I love the inane pictures of Reggie...also, doesn't Nintendo make the most profit per console sold as it is?

They're the only company that makes a profit every time a console is sold. Microsoft and Sony lose money on every 360 and PS3 sold.

Is this still the case? I knew it was when they first came out with the 360s/PS3s, but obviously they're still using pretty similar (or the same) parts as four years ago (in the case of the 360) and as any PC user well knows, parts can get cheap very quickly as new, better ones hit the market.

Are 360/PS3 sales still causing a loss now as they were when they retailed?

I would also like to see the revenue figures on dlc and Micosoft's annual fee for xbox live. In a year or so that annual fee will be equivalent to buying a 360 all over again.

 

[j0frenzy]

1) Would you believe that that is the picture that is on the guy's wikipedia page. Not only is he scary looking, but that is the least intimidating picture they could find of the guy apparently.
2) Not surprised. Its hard to get much cheaper than that in terms of consoles that they aren't planning on replacing in the next year. Not like they are going to that they are cutting it again soon because then everyone thinking about getting a Wii soon will just save their money for the price cut. Plus, he'll get to look like a bigger asshole in two weeks when he announces that price cut, but I highly doubt he'll actually do that.

 

[Flos]

I have a home pulse/Oxygen checker thing for my grandfather. I do not think the Wii Vitality Checker would amuse him.

Also, we'll be seeing the $99 Wii in three years at most. Mark mah words.