Nintendo has made a tough decision in the wake of a continuous fall in the international value of British Pound to increase the trade price of Nintendo Wii. British Dollar touched a 26 year high against US Dollar when in November 2007 it rose to $2.1161. But the global financial crisis has seen a steep fall in the value of British Pound; it fell to its 24-year-low on 23rd January 2009 and is currently valued at around $1.38.
Company said,
Due to the severe and continuing depreciation of the pound, we are, unfortunately, having to raise our trade price to UK retailers of Wii hardware, the price that they then offer to consumers is, of course, up to the retailers.
What makes this difficult for retailers is the fact that Nintendo is not making any changes in the retail price, leaving that to the retailers to decide. This will leave Brit retailers either loosing on their profits or else they’ll be alienating their customers by passing on the increased price. Currently Nintendo Wii’s recommended retail price is £179.99 and an increase of £18 to £20 in trading price is in order. It is tough to say if Nintendo is doing this to avoid losses or to avoid loss in profits but they’ll surely be criticized for the move as the rival companies have not increased prices for Xbox 360 and PS3.
Via: kotaku
