This is getting very interesting. Sales of the Wii have slowed down a lot and so Nintendo, who have resisted price drops because of the previous huge demand, will now be forced to bite the bullet. With the HD Super Wii on the way it will not be long before they are back with an offering at a premium price point.
Sony have their back to the wall because the PS3 has cost them billions. However sales are stalling purely because it is far too expensive to buy. They have no option but to drop the price if they are to survive in the market. So another platform holder will be biting that price bullet pretty soon.
Which brings us to Microsoft. The Xbox division is nice and profitable and Microsoft have enough money in the bank to buy a country, or two. Already they have made the Xbox 360 the cheapest home console in the market, as well as being the machine that brings its users the most features and benefits. So will they respond to what the competition do to maintain their price advantage? They easily can if they want to.
Microsoft have a number of options. They can bring the price of the base, Arcade, model down to $149 or even $99. This would get them nice headlines. Or they could take advantage of low hard drive prices to bring down the prices of the Pro and Elite models. Or they could just instal far bigger hard drives. Or some combination of the above.
My guess is that there will be a price move from Microsoft in response to what the competition do. Consoles are a bait and hook business model and they will soon get their profit back as the owners buy games and subscribe to Xbox Live. Which means I will finally be going to the shops and buying one.
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I don’t think Wii’s price will come down. Sales are dropping off because there aren’t many households left that haven’t already got one.
Considering the price for retailers has gone up because of the recession (did they back down on that?) I don’t see them dropping the price any further.
I see Nintendo putting a bit more backing behind the Wii Motion Plus when Sports Resort comes out because it’s the next must buy do-dah like the Wii Fit before it.
I don’t even think a price drop would help that much because it’s always been a “keep up with the jones” must have item that people would pay any price for.
As for Sony, yeah the price will drop with the new slim. I’m just wondering if it will be out this year now or they will hold it back to release with the camera and wand, to be more like the natal.
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You mean you write about games for a living but don’t own an Xbox 360?! Call me surprised.
As a Wii and 360 owner, I’m waiting for the price drop before I pick up the PS3. Like many people, I expect, I won’t buy one otherwise.
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How long’s that you’ve been predicting an imminent Wii price cut for now, Bruce? Two years?
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@BC
“Sales are dropping off because there aren’t many households left that haven’t already got one”
Probably not the case, considering the one PS2 sold 140million units while the wii is currently selling 50million units.
@Bruce
“However sales are stalling purely because it is far too expensive to buy.”
True. Your Blog entries are getting fairer. Most people fail to realise that the PS3 was actually a cheaper or value for money proposition, given the inbuilt bluray and wireless adapter.
The price drop will surely sell the console real fast. But once exclusive games are out, consumers will also be compiled to take up the system. Thats the second event the PS3 can hope for.
The closest one will be Ninja Gaiden Sigma II(1st October), prepare to see a spike in PS3 sales.
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News: PS3 new bundle, 80GB+MGS4+Killzone 2 for $400 same as Xbox360 Elite Bundle with Halo 3+Fable 2.
Is equivalent to a PS3 price drop?
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The time is near for a Wii price cut, but not quite yet. They should ride out their current pricing a little longer and then make a surprise move that will ignite sales all over again. Perhaps additional pack-in content is all they need (a la Super Mario Galaxy).