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Nintendo: No Wii price cut in the near future

Nintendo's Wii might still be leading the gaming console market, but sales are slumping. Regardless, Nintendo has no plans to cut the price of the Wii to drive more demand for the console.

Don Reisinger
CNET contributor Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has covered everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Besides his work with CNET, Don's work has been featured in a variety of other publications including PC World and a host of Ziff-Davis publications.
Don Reisinger
2 min read
Nintendo

As Nintendo endures slumping Wii sales, the company is becoming even more committed to maintaining the console's price point and luring customers with bundles.

"Of course, we cannot say [a Wii price cut] will never happen, but we are not thinking of it for the near future," Nintendo President and CEO Satoru Iwata told the Associated Press today. He went on to say that his company's focus is on attracting buyers who might have thought about picking up the Wii "but never got around to buying it."

Iwata believes offering bundles is the best way to achieve that goal. Aside from the company's basic white and black bundles--which include the console, a Wii MotionPlus Remote, the Nunchuk controller, Wii Sports, and Wii Sports Resort for $200--Nintendo is also planning to sell a limited edition bundle that commemorates the 25th anniversary of Super Mario Bros.

That bundle, which will retail for $200 when it goes on sale on November 7, includes a "Mario-red" Wii, the Wii Remote Plus, Wii Sports, and a red nunchuk. It comes with a copy of Super Mario Bros. Wii and Wii Sports.

Whether it's a price cut or bundles, Nintendo needs to find something that will help jump-start slumping Wii sales. Between April and September, Nintendo sold 4.97 million Wii units. During the same period in 2009, it shipped 5.75 million units of its console. The decline of the Wii, as well as its DS and software sales, forced Nintendo to post a $24.6 million loss over the six months ended on September 30.

Nintendo's issues stand in stark contrast to the success Microsoft is enjoying right now with its Xbox 360. According to market research firm NPD, the Xbox 360's sales are up 34 percent year-over-year. September proved to be the console's "best month of unit sales."