Nintendo Says "No" To Price Cuts

Recent reports have suggested that Nintendo has cut the manufacturing costs of the Wii by as much as 45 percent since its launch. In spite of these reports, and the recent drop in overall sales numbers Nintendo has said there was no plan to cut the price of the immensely popular Wii.

Nintendo Co. president Satoru Iwata said. "The current condition in the Japanese market is not the one we want." But a price war with rivals was not the answer as Nintendo is already the market leader, he said.

"A price cut in a difficult economy cannot really excite the market and drive up sales. As of now I really don't think that a price cut is a good option for us," he told a news conference.

Recent analyst reports from publishing firm Enterbrain Inc said Japanese sales of the PS3 surged 80 percent in the five weeks to March 29 from a year earlier to 146,948 consoles, while demand for the Wii plunged almost 63 percent to 99,335.

In their response a Nintendo spokesperson commented: "It is still the first few months of the year when sales are slow for the industry, so we are not particularly concerned."

Nintendo has sold 50 million Wiis to date, so it would appear as though the company isn't concerned of a small dip in the numbers. And why should they be, more than 10 million Wiis were sold in the United States in 2008. Which was a new industry record.