Nintendo Preparing to Drop Wii Pricing to $199?

Nintendo hasn't yet said anything definitive, but reports have Nintendo dropping the price of its Wii gaming console to $199.99 at the end of the month.

Nintendo hasn’t changed the price of its Wii gaming console one penny in the nearly three years since it was introduced—and the company hasn’t had to, since for the bulk of that time Nintendo hasn’t been able to make enough Wiis to keep retailers stocked. However, recent price drops on the Microsoft Xbox 360 and Sony’s PlayStation 3 have given both consoles an uptick in sales, where Nintendo has actually seen Wii sales declining—although they’re still leading the console game.

Industry watchers have been speculating for months that Nintendo would lower the price on the Wii console in order to spur sales and continue to reap the benefits of the Wii’s success…and now it looks like the company is planning to do just that, with multiple retailer sources indicating Nintendo plans to drop U.S. Wii pricing from $249.99 to $199.99 beginning this weekend. Two sources and several unattributed industry reports indicate Nintendo plans to make a formal announcement September 25; the price change is expected to into effect September 27.

Some industry sources expect Nintendo to reduce the price of the Wii in the Japanese market as well.

Speculative reports have Nintendo preparing new product bundles for the UK and European markets (potentially including Wii Sports Resort and the MotionPlus peripheral), but there’s no consistent word about price cuts or timing of any pricing changes. Nintendo may introduce new product bundles at the same price point as the existing Wii packages.