IGN has spoken and they are somewhat disappointed with Nintendo’s performance at E3 2006 (See: Wii Not Priced� and Matt’s Thoughts on Nintendo’s Conference).� One of the recurring complaints is the fact that Nintendo failed to release the price of Wii.� According to them, releasing a low price point could have been like going for the jugular and sticking it to Sony who’s PS3 is priced out of the gaming atmosphere.
The question I’d like to raise, however, is whether Nintendo’s move is bad from a strategic standpoint.� As gamers we all want to see the price.� We want all the info.� But let’s think about it from the big N’s vantage point.� � Let’s take a poker analogy for a second: Nintendo now has the upper hand.� For one, they’ve seen both Microsoft’s and Sony’s hand.� � � On top of that, everyone already knows that the Wii will be priced well below both XBox 360 and Playstation 3 (at least at launch).� Isn’t that enough knowledge to whet the consumer’s appetite?� Now, if they withold their price well into the summer, they give Microsoft less time to define a price-cut to match the Wii release price.� That seems very smart.� Microsoft is looking to grab market share and tend to be extremely competitive.� � By witholding the price of Wii, Nintendo is maintaing a strategic pricing advantage and preventing any easy undercutting moves by Microsoft or Sony.