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Nintendo raises prices in the UK
LewieP
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Registered User regular
Nintendo has confirmed to MCV that it is to increase the trade price of its Wii console for UK retailers, a move that could lead to the console’s price rising on the UK High Street.
However, retail will decide whether the machine's current £179.99 price point sticks, or whether consumers face paying more for the machine in the future.
MCV understands that retailers are being told that trade prices for Wii will increase by around £16.50, or around £19 including VAT. As a result retailers face making virtually no money on each machine sold if they stick to current pricing.
“Due to the severe and continuing depreciation of the pound, we are, unfortunately, having to raise our trade price to UK retailers of Wii hardware,†a Nintendo UK spokesperson told MCV.
“The price that they then offer to consumers is, of course, up to the retailers. We are only – reluctantly – raising our trade price now to retailers due to unprecedented and sustained depreciation of the pound. This is a problem brought about by extreme currency fluctuations that are a symptom of the global economic situation.â€
The move puts increasing pressure on UK indies, who will face the choice of swallowing the sharp drop in profit per machine or upping their prices – something that national retailers and supermarkets are unlikely to do.
The move follows similar price hikes from the likes of Apple and Dell.
Also:
Nintendo has not ruled out a rise in prices for new software releases in the UK, due to the depreciation of the pound.
Although trade prices for titles currently on the market will not change, there is a possibility of new releases being hit with a price hike.
"The final price in the shops is always up to retailers but we will not be increasing the trade price of existing Wii or DS software," offered Nintendo.
"However, the trade prices for new titles yet to be released may rise as a result of the depreciation of the pound."
Wii hardware trade prices are already set to rise in the UK, "due to unprecedented and sustained depreciation of the pound," said Nintendo.
However, the DSi – due for release early next month – and the current DS model, will not be affected, said the company.
"The present exchange rate was taken into consideration when we announced the trade price of DSi to retailers across Europe."
"At this time, we do not expect to have to change the trade price we charge to retailers for the DSi or DS price in the UK in the foreseeable future."
I think, now that my Wii is region free via homebrew, I will be importing more Wii games.
LewieP on
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Perhaps Nintendo has the momentum to get away with this but it's going to be a tough sell for Joe public who wanders in to Game, sees the Wii now gives a penny change from £200 and the games cost whatever they are being increased to (already £39.99 for pretty much all new releases in my local store). How many are going to "settle" for the cheaper xbox 360 now?
I seem to remember people speculating that the Wii cost less than £150 to produce at launch. I would not be surprised if it was sub-£100 now.
@gamefacts - Totally and utterly true gaming facts on the regular!
I don't understand why they don't increase the price of the DS.
Do we know when these prices are taking effect? I was thinking of being a cool uncle and offer a Wii to my nephews.
PSN: Kylogue
Nintendo probably expects the DSi to fully replace the DS eventually, and the DSi's already priced with consideration to the weak pound.
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Wow.
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Haha, I got one for my nephews on launch day. I'm a cooler uncle. Nyah.
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The supplier will charge what the market will bear
Nintendo is in the business of making money, not being great people, so if they want to sell it for more they can, and should, being that that's profit maximization
I'm indifferent
Man...
Screw you! I'm paying more for their Wii than what you paid at launch... So yeah... Take that!
PSN: Kylogue
What are you, some sort of Sat-AM cartoon hero? "You won't get away with this, your greed shall be your undoing!"
They can't keep the price the same if the pound isn't as valuable.
Well, obviously it is because Nintendo has a long-running history of hating these shores, but entertain me with some answers.
Nintendo will charge what they know they can get. If they ask for a few extra bucks, odds are they'll get it. People want their product badly enough that they'll cringe at a slight price increase and yet still set their wallets on the table. It's basic economics.
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Not sure but the pound took quite the blow these past months. At least when compared to the euro...
While...
If you compare it to the rest of europe... In the UK we still get cheaper Wiis. 200 pounds = 216.32~ euros
Amazon.de lists a Wii costing 238,95 euros.
What's my point? I dunno...
PSN: Kylogue
Don't worry about it, if it was Sony raising their merchant pricing he'd be on board.
I doubt most retailers will raise prices to counter this - many people are already watching their spending more than usual, and if games rise too much they will no longer be worthwhile luxury. Like was mentioned above, this really hurts the small shops the most.
well DUH
You don't really get what the point of a business is do you
Hint: It's to make money, not to sell their products less than what the consumer base will bear
So...yeah
Then again, games in general have seen a trend towards price increases.
It's only going to get worse now that the UK's started to print money. We've studied the problem for a while now and came to the conclusion that Zimbawe has the right idea.
Grief, at this stage I honestly feel it's better to let the system fall over now and then recreate it, than struggle desperately against the recession and only dig a bigger hole that we still need to get back out of later.
I'd like to believe that measure is going to work like they think, but all I can think is that currency is going to craaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaash.
Consumers to be hit by Wii price rise
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/consumers-to-be-hit-by-ii-price-rise
Retailer complains of "no margin" following Wii price hike
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/Retailer-complains-of-no-margin-following-Wii-pricehike
It's no surprise that retailers are upset, nor should it be unexpected that the increase will be passed onto consumers. It'll be interesting to track how UK sales of the Wii are over the slower summer months, compared to previous years.
There was another article as well that mentioned that while Nintendo isn't going to increase prices for older titles, they are leaving that door open for new games. The cynic/conspiracy theorist in me thinks that Nintendo is essentially testing the waters for pricing their games at the same level as 360/PS3 titles. After all, do we really think that $10 more dollars (or whatever the equivalent is in pounds) is going to stop folks from buying Wii Mario Kart? Plenty of folks are buying up Wii Fit and other bundles (like music packs) which are plenty expensive.
Of course, they can't simply raise prices without reason. Blaming the recession isn't enough, since it isn't affecting them that much (especially compared to other companies). But include the currency problems and bingo, you have a scapegoat!
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I'm sure that this will be their next step.
Also, I wonder if this is going to set something of a precedent for Microsoft and Sony to increase their console prices.
PSN: Kylogue
Might change next generation though, I doubt MS and Sony are going to leave it alone now that Nintendo have cracked that market wide open.
I think I should transfer all my savings into something more secure than Sterling, like perishable fruit or something. Tulip bulbs maybe.
Or possibly Wiis.
Well the price is still lower than in the rest of the EU.
And in a weak economy prices should be lower in order to keep a steady stream of revenue, even if profits might be slightly reduced. Would you rather have 10 families being able to buy a product, or just 1 by increasing the price by 50%.
I don't think the price hike will affect most people though. I mean, the target market for the Wii doesn't exactly keep tabs on the costs of game consoles.
PSN: Kylogue
The point of a business is indeed to make money and Nintendo are free to charge a million pounds per wii and £100k per game if they like.
I seriously question if the consumer base will bear this price increase though, either suppliers increase the price and the Wii costs more than an xbox elite or they swallow it and take no margin, in which case I expect they will work a lot harder to push consumers into buying a different console.
Wii games are already overpriced for what they are in the vast majority of cases and an increase is simply going to push them out of many Wii owner's price range or past the point where the purchase can be justified as value for money.
In the long run I expect this move will cost Nintendo money not make them any. I'm glad I bought my Wii and I pick up plenty of games for it (only when they go on sale mind you) but with these price increases if I started over again my money would be going Microsoft's way. I expect a lot of other people will be thinking the same.
Cameras, TVs, games consoles and other electronic gadgets set to soar in price... because of weak pound
Well, see ya.
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