Fils-Aime Touts "Very Strong" Response To Wii Price Cut News

In the wake of a $50 price cut for Nintendo's Wii in the US, Nintendo of America's President has stated that while it's too early to release precise sales figures, the response from consumers to the reduction has been "very strong".

"The consumer response has been very strong to the price reduction," Fils-Aime told the Financial Times before adding, "There are literally millions of consumers out there who want a Wii and had been on the sidelines."

These sidelined Wii consumers (also referred to as "fence sitters" by Fils-Aime) number approximately 50 million people in the US according to Nintendo's market research, which is aiming to coral people who have an interest in gaming but do not yet own a console.

"They'd been waiting for that little nudge to go out and pick it up - the price decline, the sampling, the launching of key software like Wii Fit Plus - we believe it's what's pushing them over the edge to get into the category," explained Fils-Aime.

Nintendo now has key titles New Super Mario Bros Wii and Wii Fit Plus lined up for the incoming Christmas period, which are poised to buoy the Wii's impressive lifetime sales figures after a year of relative stagnation in key territories.

The company has also implemented a price cut in the UK for its Wii console, although the effect has been much more subtle. Although the platform's RRP had quietly increased to £199.99 earlier this year, most retailers continued to sell the system at £179.99.

The latest price cut, which came into effect at the start of this month, saw the RRP officially come down to £179.99 with the addition of Wii Sports Resort and a MotionPlus adapter to the standard Wii console bundle. In effect, UK gamers are paying the same price for a much better bundle.