UPDATE: Slow Wii Sales Pressure Nintendo To Cut Prices
13 6월 2009 - 8:10AM
Dow Jones News
Sales of Nintendo Co. Ltd.'s (NTDOY) Wii game console have
slipped in recent months, prompting speculation the once
difficult-to-find console is in line for a price cut.
Since debuting in late 2006, the Wii continued to sell well. Its
unique motion controller and casual games gobbled up market share
and posted industry-leading sales gains even during traditionally
slow stretches of the year, like April through June.
Now that appears to have changed. On Thursday, NPD Group Inc.
reported Wii sales posted a 57% year-on-year drop in May, the third
straight month of significant declines. The falling sales came
despite ample supplies of the once hard-to-find videogame system in
retail stores.
Analysts say the slipping sales suggest pent-up demand for the
device has finally ebbed, which could put even more pressure on
Nintendo to consider cutting the machine's $250 price to be more in
line with Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT) Xbox 360, which retails starting
at $199.
A Nintendo spokesman said the company has "no plans to reduce
its prices at this time."
On Friday, Nintendo American depositary shares fell 2.4% to
$32.20.
Lower sales suggest Nintendo might not meet its forecast for
shipping 26 million Wii units for the fiscal year ending March 31,
2010, noted Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter. That could lead
to a price cut to boost sales.
"We expect Nintendo to cut the price of the Wii before the
holiday," Pachter noted. He advocates a new $199 price, which would
bring the device in line with Microsoft's least expensive Xbox 360
console.
The Wii remains the only next generation console not to have cut
its pricetag.
BMO Capital analyst Edward Williams suggests in a note to
clients Friday that the Wii "is selling in a more traditional
seasonal pattern."
The second calendar quarter is usually a quiet one for the
videogame industry, which sees most of its sales come in the latter
part of the year and especially during the holiday gift-buying
season. Wii sales in the U.S. fell 16% year-on-year in March and
52% in April.
-By Ben Charny, Dow Jones Newswires; 415-765-8230;
ben.charny@dowjones.com