Wii demand finally easing, but no price cuts on tap

At last, you can waltz into a Toys 'R Us or browse an online retailer and have a reasonably good chance of snapping up the Nintendo Wii. But if you were hoping that falling demand might lead to lower prices, think again—for now, anyway.

Reggie Fils-Aime, president of Nintendo of America, told the Wall Street Journal earlier this week that "we are not considering any type of price change at any point, at this time" for the Wii, which goes for $249.

The Wii is the last of the big three gaming consoles that's still selling at its original retail price. The Xbox 360 has seen a series of price cuts since its launch back in 2005, with the cheapest model—the hard drive-less Xbox 360 "Arcade"—on sale for just $199. And even the relatively pricey PlayStation 3, which originally sold for $499 (for the now-discontinued 20GB model) and $599 (for a 60GB version), now sells for $399 (80GB).

Sony also chopped the price of its old PlayStation 2 console by $30, to $99, back in March.

Of course, until recently, Nintendo had little reason to even consider a price cut for the Wii, which has been selling like hotcakes since its November 2006 launch.

But the Wii feeding frenzy has slowed in the past few months. According to the latest numbers from industry tracker NPD Group (via Bloomberg), about 340,000 Wii consoles changed hands in April—still tops compared to the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3, but down a sharp 52 percent versus a year ago.

And a quick check of the ever-handy Wii Tracker shows something I haven't seen in months—plenty of green "In Stock" labels, with retailers such as K-Mart, Radio Shack, Sears, Toys 'R Us, and Wal-Mart all with the $249 Wii package, ready to ship.

What do you think—is it about time that Nintendo chopped the Wii's price tag to, say, a recession-friendly level of $199 or so?

Related:
Don’t Wait for a Cheaper Wii, Nintendo Says [Wall Street Journal]