Nintendo Not Happy With Wii Bundles
With the holiday season coming into full swing, the huge demand for Wiis has caused a large shortage of the coveted console. The Wii is so scarce, Nintendo is actually considering pulling out their TV advertisements in selected areas. The huge demand has prompted some opportunistic retailers to jack the console price by sometimes double the original price by forcing users to purchase the console along with some predetermined selection of games.
The widespread bundling of the Wii has gone to the point that in some areas, there is no option to purchase the Wii without games. At on UK based site, some of the bundles start at around $400 and includes the game Sonic and the Secret Rings. That bundle is currently out of stock, and the next cheapest available bundle costs $500, which includes the console, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, and The Golden Compass.
Gamestation has even more expensive Wii bundles starting at a hefty price of around $600 and include Billy the Wizard, a 1GB SD card and any three selected Wii titles. Some combos go up to about $765. The Wii when bought alone has a recommended retail price of only $250. In comparison, the PlayStation 3 can be bought starting at $399, while the Xbox 360 is available at a starting price of $349.99
The president of Nintendo of America Reggie Fils-Aim has expressed disdain over the widespread proliferation of these bundles. In a statement to Reuters, he said:
Retailers have already been given feedback that we are not big fans of that. We think it masks some of the price advantage we have versus our competition and, frankly, the consumer should decide what they want. We don’t have to remind retailers of the strength we have right now. We are simply making an observation and that reinforces our point quite nicely with retailers.
Pooch: You can’t blame the retailers for capitalizing on the phenomenal success of the Wii. However, some of these bundles really does take away one of the Wii’s main advantage in the market and that is its price. At those price ranges, the other consoles seem a lot more attractive. Even the bundled games are average at best… and Billy the Wizard?!? Geez! Oh wait! I get it! Some of these games won’t sell at all, so now you want to force people to buy them! Genius!
[Source: Reuters]