Maxwell M.:
Early this morning, Nintendo announced that it would be dropping the price of the Nintendo Wii in North America from $149 to $129. This is, presumably, to cash in on the bargain hunters during the holiday season and make way for the release of the Wii U on November 18th of this year. This was almost immediately followed by Microsoft's announcement that it would be dropping the price of its Xbox 360 bundles by $50, to $249.
Sony just cannot seem to catch a break. Nintendo has held the total market share in North America for the entire generation, while the 360 has been able to outpace the Playstation 3 console in North America for the last 21 months straight. While the worldwide total puts the 360 and the PS3 neck-and-neck, the PS3 is very far behind in North America. Sony saw an opportunity to release a new, slimmer SKU of the PS3 last month, bundled with the critically acclaimed Uncharted 3 for $269. Armed with a slew of first party exclusives due out this fall, Sony seemed set to take the Wii U head on, priced just under the cheaper of the two Wii U SKU's. But these price drops may prove to be detrimental.
The article discusses a claim by an intellectual property (IP) expert that Nintendo likely does not hold patents strong enough to prevent the game developer Pocketpair from creating Palworld, a game that some believe resembles Pokémon. The expert suggests that Nintendo's legal challenges against Palworld could amount to nothing more than corporate bullying, as the patents Nintendo might be relying on are not robust enough to stand up to legal scrutiny. The situation could be seen as an example of a large corporation trying to exert undue influence over a smaller competitor.
Crazy how far they are willing to go over nothing rather than tell Game Freak to get their shit together and sort the quality of the mainline games out.
Personally I'd drop the two game bullshit, make a full on complete game, and take their time making the best game they can without relying on a silly battle gimmick they'll ditch after one game. Gimmicks out of battle is what they should be focusing on, beauty contests, berry making, secret bases, the underground, Seasons, events during day / night and post game content like travelling to a new location or something.
It's straight up bullying with mooney and using the government laws as a tool to do so. They should be fined.
Entering Q4 and with the impending release of the PS5 Pro and major AAA titles this holiday season, Dragon's Dogma 2 has a golden opportunity for DLC.
Where does the time go?
No, a price drop usually comes when a new system is launching. The Wii U caused the price drop of its predecessor. I'm sure there may have been one with the new PS3 model, if there was no Wii. But, it's due to the Wii U. It's only a $20 drop. blah Not that I need another one. But, it's a good system for Christmas gifts. Also, I didn't care for the George Foreman look of the new PS3 model. Good thing I'm set on the PS3s in my house, as well.
Translation: now is a better time than ever to pick up a new console (if you happen to need one).
Sounds like smart business strategy as usual from the likes of Microsoft and Nintendo. Both corporations are known to hold it down during the holiday season. This will be no different as I expect to see maximum sales from both brands when sales data is released.
A price cut for the Nintendo Wii entertainment system will give the platform a proper send off into the sunset for the remainder of the year. Delivering a fine push to the current generation finish line in the wake of release of the Nintendo Wii U entertainment system.
I see the Xbox 360 delivering strong sales as well with their own 50 dollar price cut. Especially combined with the soon to be released industry leading first person shooter exclusive HALO 4. And the highest rated racing simulator Forza makes a comeback as well to compliment the price cut.
Low affordable pricing strategy is key during the holiday season.
Rated E For Everyone
Oh my god 20$-50$ price cuts what shall Sony do!