It was just announced by Nintendo that the Wii will drop in price to $199 beginning on September 27, 2009. This marks the first time that the company has dropped the price of the Wii since it launched in November 2006, an exceptionally long period of time for any console to go without a drop in price. Nevertheless, the price cut is a much needed boost to a system that for the first time feels pressure from its rivals.
Recent announcements by Sony and Microsoft put pressure as Wii sales have faltered in recent months. The PS3 dropped in price to $300 with the introduction of the PS3 Slim, while Microsoft dropped the price of the Xbox 360 Elite to match Sony at $300. The cheapest version of the Xbox 360, which does not come with a hard drive, is now the same price as the Wii.
