Nintendo Wii unofficially drops to $170

By Geoff Duncan April 18, 2011

Reports have been swirling that Nintendo of America has been getting ready to drop the price of its popular Wii console in the United States from $199.99. And while there is still no official pricing change from Nintendo itself, major retailers seem to be jumping the gun, knocking $30 off the price of Nintendo Wii systems in the inventory and offering the units for $169.99. Brick-and-mortar retailers like Best Buy, Target, and Gamestop seem to have led the charge, with the likes of Amazon almost immediately on their heels.

Nintendo Wii (black) — Image used with permission by copyright holder

The consoles are the current standard black NIntendo Wii starter pack, with a single Wii Remote Plus controller (with MotionPlus technology), a nunchuck controller extension, the original Wii Sports game collection plus the MotionPlus-enabled Wii Sports Resort. Just like other Wii consoles, the system can connect to a home broadband connection via Wi-Fi, and gamers can download WiiWare and Virtual Console games, and Netflix subscribers can stream standard-definition movies to their television via the Wii.

The still-unofficial price drop comes on reports that Nintendo is getting ready to announce a HD-capable update to the Wii in June, although the reports don’t have the possible new console reaching consumers until the 2012 holiday buying season.

On the official news front, Nintendo has announced that it’s offering a bundle of Wii Sports Resort and Wii Party for a combined price of $39.99 starting April 25, and the Super NES classic Mega Man X will be available this week for the Wii’s Virtual Console for 800 Wii Points.

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