Nintendo Co. has cut the price of the top-selling Wii for the first time since the game console's debut in 2006 to maintain its lead after Microsoft Corp. and Sony Corp. reduced the cost of their systems.
The motion-sensing Wii's price will fall by $50 to $200 in the U.S. starting Sunday, Nintendo said. Prices will be cut in Japan on Oct. 1 and in Europe the following day, Ken Toyoda, a Nintendo spokesman, said Thursday.
The reductions are a victory for game publishers and retailers, who have been calling for cheaper hardware prices to revive growth in the industry. Nintendo, which last quarter reported its first drop in global Wii sales, was the only one of the three console makers to sell fewer machines in August in the U.S., according to research firm NPD Group Inc.