Pachter calls for unbundled Wii drop to $199

Wedbush Morgan's Michael Pachter has suggested a Wii priced at $199 without a bundled Wii Sports could help keep the console competitive in 2009.

"The console has a price advantage over the Xbox 360 and PS3 that can be maintained if Nintendo chooses to un-bundle Wii Sports from the console," he said. "I think that if Nintendo were to do so and cut the price to $199, it would still sell a piece of Nintendo software to 80% of new Wii purchasers, and would end up effectively lowering revenues per console by only around $10. At that price point, the Wii should be strong again in 2009."

Pachter went on with warnings to Nintendo regarding keeping Wii in a position of dominance in the mid-term.

"The long-term health of the Wii should not be impacted until Wii households decide to buy one of the other consoles as a second console," he added. "Because of the high-definition video features offered by the Xbox 360 and PS3, those consoles are more likely to end up in the living room, which could relegate the Wii to the playroom. If the Wii is not at the center of the home entertainment system, software sales could suffer as a result."

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