Nintendo is slashing the price of its popular Wii game console in Japan and the US by 20 percent, part of a global strategy by game companies to spur sales ahead of the crucial year-end shopping season. Sony also announced a price cut.
In Japan, the Wii’s price will be cut to ¥20,000 (US$220) from ¥25,000 on Oct. 1, the company said yesterday. In the US the day before, Nintendo said the console’s price would be lowered by US$50 on Sunday to US$200.
Prices in Europe were also expected to be lowered by about the same amount.
Hours after Nintendo’s announcement, Sony Corp announced a price cut in Japan for its PlayStation Portable model called PSP-3000 by 15 percent to ¥16,800 (US$190) from ¥19,800 (US$220) starting Oct. 1. The price had already been cut in the US to US$169.
The latest reductions follows similar moves by Sony for its home console PlayStation 3, as well as by Microsoft Corp, which makes the Xbox 360.
The announcement of price cuts came before the Tokyo Game Show opened yesterday, with hopes that depressed sales of game consoles will enjoy a holiday resurrection.
Hurt by the global recession and few blockbuster releases, the video game industry has been in a slump for much of the year. US sales of video games last month tumbled for the sixth straight month, market researcher NPD Group said.
Console price cuts are customary for the video game industry after the systems have celebrated a birthday or two, because they help lure in mass audiences who don’t want to spend large chunks of cash on them.
In a keynote address, Kazuo Hirai, head of Sony’s games business, touted the immediate impact of the price cut. The company has sold 1 million units over the last three weeks, he said.
Hirai said the industry overall must evolve if it wanted to expand, though he did not announce any new games or specific strategies from Sony.
“If we stick with conventional business, we may not be able to achieve further growth,” Hirai said in front of a standing-room-only audience. “We have to be flexible in thinking and designing new games and business models.”
With the latest round of price cuts, Nintendo Wii, the best-selling home console, maintains a price edge over its rivals on home machines. But PSP-3000 will be cheaper than Nintendo’s DSi, at ¥18,900 (US$210) in Japan and about US$170 in the US.
Nintendo spokesman Ken Toyoda said the company hoped to “spur sales” with cheaper Wii consoles.
“With the price cuts both in Japan and the United States, we want to spur sales during the upcoming year-end shopping season,” Toyoda said.
Launched in 2006, Nintendo’s Wii has sold more than 52 million units worldwide so far, outselling the PS3 and Xbox 360.
In Japan, the Wii controls 65 percent of the game market, worth ¥550 billion, Tokai Tokyo Securities Co data showed. Sony’s PlayStation has 26 percent of the market, followed by 9 percent for Microsoft’s Xbox.
The four-day Tokyo Game Show opens to the public tomorrow and on Sunday. About 180,000 people are expected to attend.
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