Nintendo Increasing Price of Wii in UK

[modeps]

VG247 (http://www.vg247.com/2009/03/11/nintendo-wii-to-rise-up-to-20-for-uk-trade/) has something that we haven't seen before. They're reporting that Nintendo is actually going to be increasing the price of the Wii for the UK trade because of the economy, specifically that the pound has depreciated.

Thanks to the depreciation of the pound, Nintendo’s said it’s to raise the price it charges the UK trade for Wii hardware by £18-20.

The machine has a recommended retail price of £180.

“We are only – reluctantly – raising our trade price now to retailers due to unprecedented and sustained depreciation of the pound,” Nintendo told VG247 in a statement today.

A further clarification (http://www.vg247.com/2009/03/11/nintendo-we-hope-consumers-understand-wii-price-rise-is-for-reasons-beyond-our-control/) states that they are leaving it up to the retailers if they increase the price as well, basically trying to pawn this off as "its not our fault you're going to have to pay more!"

VG247 - Won’t this force retailers to raise the price of the British Wii?

Nintendo UK: That’s entirely up to retailers. it is illegal for ANY manufacturer to set or fix retail prices. 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.

Nintendo has gone batshit crazy.

[divinechaos]

Yeah, 'cause they obviously NEED the money after all the Wiis they haven't sold.

Jackasses.

[Earth Djinn]

This is insane.

I cant wait to see how this turns out.

[drakkarim]

i would LOVE to see microsoft say this with a straight face :) and i'm sure Sony would love to say it as well, except they WOULD say it with a straight face and actually believe it.

[thenumber5]

So it is crazy to think "We sale x item for xxx, But xxx only buy xx% now, so we will need to add xx% to xxx"

Ya that is complete out of the question

[Rafer]

I'm suprised this hasn't happened in Canada, the Canadian dollar has fallen a lot the past year, it used to be worth the same as the U.S. dollar but now it's fallen so now you can get a Wii for $218 U.S. Dollars ($279 Canadian) PS3 for $312 U.S. dollars ($399 Canadian).

And the price did go up on Canadian PS3s in 07 then fell back down again.
http://www.engadget.com/2007/01/26/ps3-price-quietly-jacked-up-in-canada/

[net7runner]

Hai economics? Why is this surprising?

[DarkDaY]

Nintendo has gone batshit crazy.

No, the yuppies and moms of the world have gone wii sports crazy, and there is a lot of them out there. 100 to 1 to normal gamers, hell probably even more than that.

[DeuceMojo]

Nintendo has shown that they're amazingly adept at foisting this kind of garbage on unsuspecting douchebags.

Gotta afford those Skylines somehow, gaijin.

[Froggy]

The price of the whopper went up. Nobody's crying about that...

[DeuceMojo]

The WHOPPER!?!?! This is an outrage!

[modeps]

In case anyone is curious about the exchange rate and how much its fallen, here's some approximations:

Aug 2008: 1£ = $1.85 USD (Cost of the Wii (180£) = $333.00 USD)
Mar 2009: 1£ = $1.45 USD (Cost of the Wii (180£) = $261.00 USD)

Mar 2009 US price of the Wii ($249.00 USD)

Yes, its fallen 40 cents in 8 months, but they're still getting more per unit than in the US.

[Phades]

What I think is the most irritating about this is that even with the falling value of the pound, the profit Nintendo has to be making per unit is probably pretty high. I doubt they were starting to lose money since the Wii uses such old technology. They probably are just trying to maintain their profit margin.

[Cutter99]

The Pound depreciates in overall value = you're going to make less money selling your product to people who use the Pound. Increasing the price is only going to drive down demand.

Everyone looks at their personal expenses in terms of their own currency - nobody cares how much it depreciates or appreciates vs foreign money. Consumer X still has the same income, and still has the same expenses. This price hike is just that to the people that have to pay more money for it - they will never in a million years care that they're effectively shilling out the same number of *Yen* that they were a year ago.

Great time for Microsoft or Sony to call in a price-cut airstrike and look real friendly.

[LilAbner]

Guess I'm the only one who agrees with Nintendo doing this, as long as they can get away with it.

No one's holding a gun to these parents' heads and forcing them to buy a Wii....if they are willing to pay more, why not charge more? Simple economics and it's what a capitalist society is all about.

[DarkDaY]

Guess I'm the only one who agrees with Nintendo doing this, as long as they can get away with it.

No one's holding a gun to these parents' heads and forcing them to buy a Wii....if they are willing to pay more, why not charge more? Simple economics and it's what a capitalist society is all about.

ha, no no. I agree with you completely. If fools want to pay extra its there choice.

[TeeCakes]

I remember increasing the price of admission in Theme Park by thousands of dollars, and laughing manically as the stupid little lemmings still ponied up the extra cash because of the ultra-high demand of my cool rides.

So basically, Nintendo thinks their customers are stupid enough to keep buying the Wii at prices approaching the PS3 console. Sad thing is they'll probably be proven right when all's said and done.

[DarkDaY]

I remember increasing the price of admission in Theme Park by thousands of dollars, and laughing manically as the stupid little lemmings still ponied up the extra cash because of the ultra-high demand of my cool rides.

So basically, Nintendo thinks their customers are stupid enough to keep buying the Wii at prices approaching the PS3 console. Sad thing is they'll probably be proven right when all's said and done.

Its fuked up too that people would actually buy the wii over the ps3 even if it goes at a higher price.

Stupid people. O well:)

[silv]

In case anyone is curious about the exchange rate and how much its fallen, here's some approximations:

Aug 2008: 1£ = $1.85 USD (Cost of the Wii (180£) = $333.00 USD)
Mar 2009: 1£ = $1.45 USD (Cost of the Wii (180£) = $261.00 USD)

Mar 2009 US price of the Wii ($249.00 USD)

Yes, its fallen 40 cents in 8 months, but they're still getting more per unit than in the US.

You are comparing apples and oranges. The only comparison that makes any sense is the below, and it may make more sense to convert it into Yen instead.

Aug 2008: 1£ = $1.85 USD
Mar 2009: 1£ = $1.45 USD

In general sticker prices at UK stores already include tax, and you are also assuming that the cost of getting the consoles on shelves is the same as the US as well.

Your currency goes down, prices go up for goods being imported. Why is this shocking or surprising.

[automaton]

In this tough economy and day of shrinking profits/margins, NINTENDO GOTS TO GET THEIRS!

[DeuceMojo]

In this tough economy and day of shrinking profits/margins, NINTENDO GOTS TO GET THEIRS!It's hard out there for a pimp. Nintendo just tryin' to get paper. Don't hold out on big daddy Nintendo.

[modeps]

In general sticker prices at UK stores already include tax

I did not know this.

http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w274/willzweigart/the_more_you_know.jpg

[Cutter99]

You are comparing apples and oranges. The only comparison that makes any sense is the below, and it may make more sense to convert it into Yen instead.

Aug 2008: 1£ = $1.85 USD
Mar 2009: 1£ = $1.45 USD

In general sticker prices at UK stores already include tax, and you are also assuming that the cost of getting the consoles on shelves is the same as the US as well.

Your currency goes down, prices go up for goods being imported. Why is this shocking or surprising.

If any given currency depreciates the cost of imported goods does not necessarily increase. Trying to maintain the same net profit per unit sold could very easily drive down demand. The average UK customer doesn't particularly care that the currency depreciated a bit globally - just that they're having to shell out more now to get a Wii. It's anyone's guess, but my money is that Nintendo will lose money on fewer Wii's sold.

[Zecon]

So... is Nintendo the new Sony?:p

[Anenome]

This is ridiculous. If currency prices change enough that a company is willing to take the P.R. hit to change its price, that means a pretty major fluctuation.

This shouldn't be surprising. Projections are that Nintendo only made like $50 on the Wii console, such a large currency change as we've seen would've nearly wiped out all profit. I'm not surprised and neither should anyone else be.

[karaokequeen3]

I did not know this.

Would also add (nitpicking) that the UK has a standard VAT on goods of 15%, and it means that the prices doesn't vary county by county...

[Mantooth]

So... is Nintendo the new Sony?:p

I don't think that Nintendo has been any more consumer friendly than Sony or Microsoft. I think you could make a case that they have been less consumer friendly in some ways.

[oldjadedgamer]

I don't think that Nintendo has been any more consumer friendly than Sony or Microsoft. I think you could make a case that they have been less consumer friendly in some ways.

Call Nintendo's customer support line, then call Sony's or Microsoft's customer support line and you won't type the same thing.

[serioustommy]

So they increase the price when the rate goes down, but did they decrease the price when the pounds were strong against dollars? didn't think so. fuckers.

[lost]

Fucking nonsense.

We used to get gouged because our economy was so strong but now that you can't do it you will just do it another way? Nintendo can suck a dick.

[Virtuoso]

http://evavhost.com/i/news/ds-it-prints-money.490.jpg