And We Enter The Wii Budget Age With The Arrival Of ‘Wii Select’

Nintendo will drop the price of the Wii to $US149 in North America this month, according to details forwarded to Kotaku by retail sources. That price drop, pegged in mid-April, will also coincide with a new budget friendly line of Wii software dubbed “Wii Select”.

Price lists from North American retailers indicate that the new $US19.99 Wii Select line will kick off with cheaper versions of Mario Super Sluggers, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, and Super Smash Bros Brawl, according to listings. Nintendo has maintained the original price of some of those titles since their launch.

Also joining to Wii Select line-up, according to retailer listings will be Wii Sports, a title bundled with Wii systems since the console’s launch in North America in 2006. Those same pre-order pricing sheets indicate that Nintendo will soon bundle Mario Kart Wii with the console, selling Wii Sports separately.

That new Mario Kart Wii bundle will sell for $US149, according to those retail listings, and will go into effect on May 15. Those details match up with a report last month that pegged a formal Wii price drop from $US199 to $US149.

With Nintendo planning to announce the Wii’s successor at E3 2011, showing a playable next-generation console, and a thinning 2011 release list, the company’s best strategy may be to let the console coast at an easier to swallow price. Nintendo of America hasn’t followed its “Player’s Choice” budget line strategy with the Wii, as it did with the GameCube and Game Boy Advance.

Contacted for confirmation, Nintendo of America reps reminded us that “Nintendo does not comment on rumours or speculation.”


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