Nintendo joins console price war

Rudolph Muller

Rudolph Muller is the editor at MyBroadband and covers telecoms and broadband news. Rudolph comes from an academic background, but left the University of...

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Nintendo said it was lowering the price of the Wii by a fifth in Japan, the United States and Europe, following similar moves by rivals Sony and Microsoft.

It is the first time that Nintendo has cut the price of the family-friendly Wii since it was launched in 2006 with a motion-sensing controller that can simulate guns and swords as well as golf clubs and orchestra batons.

Sony meanwhile launched its own salvo in the console war with an announcement on the opening day of the Tokyo Game Show that it would start selling a motion-sensitive controller for the PlayStation 3 early next year.

With the gadget “the movements of the user can be reflected in the game,” Sony Computer Entertainment president Kazuo Hirai told a news conference.

“The reality of the PS3 can be enhanced and surreal enjoyment can be obtained,” he added.

At least 13 games will be available in 2010 for use with the controller, Sony said.

But some experts said Sony’s new gadget, whose price tag has not yet been decided, might not be popular enough to end the Wii’s dominance.

“I think Sony’s controller is superior in terms of graphics and the system that comes with it, but I don’t think it will be as successful as the Wii,” said video game journalist Hirokazu Kudo with the Tokyosangyo newspaper.

“The Wii is very popular because it targets families, women and young children. PlayStation players … are not used to wielding a motion controller.”

Nintendo has trounced Sony and Microsoft in recent years with the Wii, which aims to appeal to people who do not normally play video games.

But the console’s worldwide appeal has faded recently: Wii sales more than halved to 2.23 million units in April-June from 5.17 million a year earlier.

Nintendo said it would reduce the price of the Wii in Japan by 5,000 yen ($55) to 20,000 yen from October 1. In the United States the price will be lowered by $50 to $199.99 from this Sunday.

In August Sony unveiled a slim version of its PlayStation 3 videogame console priced at $299 in the United States, and cut prices on existing models that have been struggling for momentum in the marketplace.

Sony said on Thursday that global sales of the cut-price PS3 had hit one million in the three weeks since its launch.

It also revealed it would cut the price of its PlayStation Portable in Japan to 16,800 yen ($185) from October 1 from 19,800 yen.

Microsoft is also developing technology that lets people play videogames using natural body movements instead of hand-held controllers.

In June the US software giant behind Xbox 360 videogame consoles revealed a prototype of a project code-named “Natal,” a system that combines cameras and voice and face recognition software to recognise people and their actions.

The Tokyo Game Show runs until September 27 at Makuhari Messe in Chiba City. It will be open to the public on Saturday and Sunday and is expected to attract about 180,000 game fans, according to the organisers.

Nintendo does not participate in the Tokyo Game Show but visitors can play games on the Wii displayed by software developers.

Nintendo Wii pricing discussion