Nintendo Wii U Price Drop 2013: $50 Price Cut Announced For September 20, Nintendo Competes With Xbox One, PS4 Releases This Fall

The Nintendo Wii U 32GB Deluxe Model is getting a price cut; a $50 drop in price, to be exact. This will put the Nintendo Wii U game console at $100 cheaper than PS4 and $200 cheaper than Xbox One.

Nintendo announced the Deluxe version of the Wii U will sell for $299.99 starting September 20, USA Today reports. The bundle includes a black Wii U console with 32 gigabytes of storage, the tablet-style Gamepad controller and a copy of the game "Nintendo Land."

"It was critical for us to have a strong software lineup to support Wii U," said Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime, who is confident in a rebound for Wii U. "With that in place this holiday season, we believe providing consumers that extra incentive in terms of a $50 price cut is really going to help drive momentum."

The Wii U cost $349.99 before the price cut, but the drop in price is most likely a move made in response to Nintendo's huge slump in sales for the Wii U. As of late July, global Wii U sales reached 3.61 million, with the company only selling 160,000 during its first quarter, USA Today reports. The company predicts it will sell 9 million Wii U consoles during its fiscal year, which ends in March.

The official release date of the PS4 is November 15 and Xbox One's rumored release date is November 8. Nintendo could be using the price drop as a preemptive move to compete with the Xbox One and PS4.

Despite trying to be more competitive, some think Nintendo is taking a very risky and unexpected plunge that will either turn around sales or set them up for a deeper flop, The Latin Post reports.

"It's negative for Nintendo shares. The price cut will affect earnings directly. Nintendo is counting on a weaker yen to help absorb the impact from the price cut," says Eiji Maeda, an analyst at SMBC Nikko Securities Inc. in Tokyo in a report by Bloomberg Business Week.

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Nintendo
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