Wii can still hold its own

Unless Microsoft and Sony move to lower the RRPs of Xbox 360 and PS3 the Wii should still be able to maintain its position in the video games market well into 2011, analyst Michael Pachter has stated.

As far as the Wii’s current position, they’re holding their own,” he told Industry Gamers. They had such a phenomenal start that nobody should have expected them to sustain it for more than four years.

I don’t think that Nintendo has the resolve to cut the price of the Wii heading into the holidays. Recent sales levels have been weak by Nintendo standards, with monthly Wii unit sales averaging just over 300,000 per month in the US. However, that’s still on par with Xbox 360 sales, and until Microsoft or Sony cuts price further, the Wii should be able to hold its own.

With all that said, I think we’ll see Nintendo maintain price until early next year.”

MCV reported earlier this week that the PS3 had overtaken Wii to become the best selling console of 2010 in Japan. Furthermore, Microsoft recently claimed that Xbox 360 has now claimed market leadership in this generation of machines.

However, Pachter did concede that he still believes the time is right for Nintendo to release an HD version of the console.

Nintendo are definitely behind the technology curve, and with $500 flat screen 1080p TVs out there,” he added.

I think that a greater number of households are ready for a full-HD experience. Again, playing the broken record, that’s why I thought we would have seen a Wii HD by now – consumers are ready for it, and slowing Wii sales reflects that.”