Nintendo powerless to up Wii street price

Wii platform holder Nintendo has told MCV that it is powerless to up the street price of the Nintendo Wii – adding to the concerns of many of the nation’s indies.

MCV today exclusively revealed that Nintendo is to up the trade price of the Nintendo Wii by around 19, bringing the trade price perilously close to the selling price.

However, with consumers used to the established price of 179.99, some fear that multiples will swallow the loss and continue selling the machine for the same price – leading indies to choose between losing their profits or selling the machine for more than the supermarkets.

It is illegal for any manufacturer to set or fix retail prices,” a Nintendo spokesperson told MCV. Retail price is always set by the retailer. It is up to them what they then price Wii at following the increase in trade price.

We have absolutely no discussions with or influence whatsoever in what retailers decide to do with price.”