Nintendo: Wii Price Cuts Get 'Very Strong' Response

The recent $50 Wii price cut has given Nintendo’s console a notable sales boost ahead of the holidays, especially paired with the recent launch of Wii Fit Plus. Although it's too soon for specific figures, "The consumer response has been very strong to the price reduction," Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime tells the Financial times. "There are literally millions of consumers out there who want a Wii and had been on the sidelines," he says. "They’d been waiting for that little nudge to go out and pick it up - the price decline, the sampling, the launching of key software like Wii Fit Plus - we believe it’s what’s pushing them over the edge to get into the category." The "sampling" refers to Nintendo's ongoing marketing campaign across multiple markets to hold events where consumers can check out the products. According to the FT, Nintendo's targeting the "fence-sitters" -- some 50 million Americans who are interested in video games but don't own a home console. Fils-Aime told the publication that this potential market expands to 150 million on the global scale, and Nintendo has invested heavily in reaching them. Fils-Aime notes that the Wii and Wii Fit Plus lead online retailer Amazon's Top Ten, and pre-orders for New Super Mario Bros. are making the charts regularly ahead of the game's November 15 launch.