Wii price cut to $199.99 USD

Nintendo has finally decided that a price drop is in order, putting its Wii home console system in the familiar position of being the cheapest one on the market. Starting Sunday, Sept. 27, Nintendo will lower the suggested retail price for the system by $50 to $199.99. The new $199.99 Wii price point includes the same content as the original including 1 Wii Remote and Nunchuck, and Wii Sports.

“Wii has reached more video game players than any game system before because it attracts everyone—both men and women, and people of all ages,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “Our research shows there are 50 million Americans thinking about becoming gamers, and this more affordable price point and our vast array of new software mean many of them can now make the leap and find experiences that appeal to them, whatever their tastes or level of gaming experience.“

This is the smartest move Nintendo could have made given that both Sony and Microsoft have already cut the price of their home consoles. 

Naturally this will open up new players to already popular franchises like Wii Fit, Wii Sports Resort, Metroid Prime Trilogy - and new stuff like New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Nov. 15), and Wii Fit Plus (Oct. 4). Nintendo also announced that it will run some in special events in select cities called World of Nintendo. Kicking off in Long Beach, Calif., World of Nintendo will show off the latest Nintendo Wii and DS games and give consumers hands on time with the likes of New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Wii Sports Resort, Wii Fit Plus, Punch-Out!! and WiiWare titles as well as DS/ DSi games like The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story, Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box and Nintendo DSiWare titles. A full list of dates for the month of Oct. after the break.

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Madden, Batman surprise in August software sales

In what can be considered a bit of a non-shocker, Madden NFL 10 managed to move 1.75 million units in August, followed by Wii Sports Resort and Batman Arkham Asylum. The Xbox 360 version of Madden raked in 928K in unit sales, while the PS3 version managed to sell through about 665K units, followed by the PS2 version which moved about 120K units.

Batman: Arkham Asylum did pretty well on the PS3 and Xbox 360; 303K units of the Xbox 360 version were sold in August followed very closely by 290K units on the PS3. No doubt hardware price cuts that kicked off in August probably helped Batman: Arkham Asylum than Madden did. Full list below:

August 2009 Software Sales:

Madden NFL 10 for Xbox 360, EA - 928,000 units

Wii Sports Resort for Wii, Nintendo - 754,000 units

Madden NFL 10 for PS3, EA - 665,000 units

Batman: Arkham Asylum for Xbox 360, Square Enix - 303,000 units

Batman: Arkham Asylum for PS3, Square Enix - 290,000 units

Madden NFL 10 for PS2, EA - 160,000 units

Dissidia Final Fantasy for PSP, Square Enix - 130,000 units

Wii Fit for Wii, Nintendo - 128,000 units

Mario Kart Wii for Wii, Nintendo - 120,000 units

Fossil Fighters for DS, Nintendo - 92,000 units

Fight Night Round 4 tops UK retail charts

EA Sports’ Fight Night Round 4 debuted as the top selling game in the United Kingdom for the week ending June 27, 2009 - according to ELSPA’s ChartTrack. EA’s boxing title pushed Prototype, The Sims 3, and Wii Fit down the charts by one spot. UFC Undisputed managed to move up one spot to number 5 while the new Transformers game debuted at number 6, Call of Duty World at War fell from the number 5 spot to number 7, and Ghostbusters took a hard dive to number 10 from the number four spot. The top twenty can be found below:

CHARTTRACK WEEKLY CHARTS

1 FIGHT NIGHT ROUND 4

2 [PROTOTYPE]

3 THE SIMS 3

4 WII FIT

5 UFC 2009: UNDISPUTED

6 TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN

7 CALL OF DUTY: WORLD AT WAR

8 VIRTUA TENNIS 2009

9 EA SPORTS ACTIVE

10 GHOSTBUSTERS: THE VIDEO GAME

11 GRAND SLAM TENNIS

12 PROFESSOR LAYTON AND THE CURIOUS VILLAGE

13 RED FACTION: GUERRILLA

14 CALL OF DUTY 4: MODERN WARFARE

15 FIFA 09

16 MARIO KART WII

17 OVERLORD II

18 GUITAR HERO: GREATEST HITS

19 POKEMON PLATINUM

20 WII PLAY

Leisure software charts compiled by Chart Track, (C) 2009 ELSPA Ltd

Prototype dominates UK sales charts

Prototype was the top selling game in the United Kingdom, according to ELSPA’s Chart Track for the week ending June 20, 2009 - up from the number two spot the week prior. The Sims 3 was knocked out of the top spot by Activision’s super hero action game, while Red Faction: Guerilla was pushed out of the number three spot by Wii Fit and the debut of the new Ghostbusters game, falling all the way to number six.

Meanwhile, UFC 2009 Undisputed fell two spots to number seven, while Call of Duty World at War rose from number seven to number five. EA Sports Active was down two spots to number eight, while Virtua Tennis 2009 cracked the top ten at number nine and Grand Slam Tennis managed to land at number ten.

The rest of the top twenty can be found below:

UK Retail Sales - June 20, 2009

1 PROTOTYPE
2 THE SIMS 3
3 WII FIT
4 GHOSTBUSTERS: THE VIDEO GAME
5 CALL OF DUTY: WORLD AT WAR
6 RED FACTION: GUERRILLA
7 UFC 2009: UNDISPUTED
8 EA SPORTS ACTIVE
9 VIRTUA TENNIS 2009
10 GRAND SLAM TENNIS
11 PROFESSOR LAYTON AND THE CURIOUS VILLAGE
12 FIFA 09
13 INDIANA JONES AND THE STAFF OF KINGS
14 MARIO KART WII
15 CALL OF DUTY 4: MODERN WARFARE
16 POKEMON PLATINUM
17 GUITAR HERO: METALLICA
18 INFAMOUS
19 ARMA II
20 RESIDENT EVIL 5

Leisure software charts compiled by Chart Track

UK Charts - Week Ending April 25, 2009

Wii Fit topped the UK All Formats charts for the week ending April 25, 2009 - according to retail sales data from Chart Trak released this morning. The latest game starring Vin Diesel debuted at the number 2 spot, pushing The Godfather II and FIFA 09 down a couple of spots, while Resident Evil 5, Professor Layton, and the rest of the top ten managed to hold onto the positions they held last week. Mario and Sonic at the Olympics was the biggest loser this week plummeting from the number 4 spot all the way out of the top ten to the eleventh spot. Full All Formats chart below:

1 - WII FIT
2 - THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK: DARK ATHENA
3 - THE GODFATHER II
4 - FIFA 09
5 - RESIDENT EVIL 5
6 - PROFESSOR LAYTON AND THE CURIOUS VILLAGE
7 - MARIO KART WII
8 - WII PLAY
9 - CALL OF DUTY: WORLD AT WAR
10 - CARNIVAL: FUNFAIR GAMES
11 - MARIO & SONIC AT THE OLYMPIC GAMES
12 - DR KAWASHIMA’S BRAIN TRAINING
13 - GUITAR HERO: WORLD TOUR
14 - MY FITNESS COACH
15 - SEGA MEGA DRIVE ULTIMATE COLLECTION
16 - CALL OF DUTY 4: MODERN WARFARE
17 - RAYMAN RAVING RABBIDS TV PARTY
18 - GRAND THEFT AUTO IV
19 - BEN 10: ALIEN FORCE
20 - LEGO INDIANA JONES: ORIGINAL ADVENTURES

Resident Evil 5 Dominates March Software Sales

Capcom’s Resident Evil 5 outsold every other video game in March, according to software and hardware sales data for the month from NPD Group. Resident Evil 5 on the Xbox 360 managed to move 938,00 units, while its PS3 counterpart did a respectable 585, 000 units. Pokémon Platinum Edition managed to move 805,000 units in March, followed by Halo Wars for Xbox 360 with 639,000 units, Wii fit with 541,000, MLB 09 with 305,000, Killzone 2 with 296,000, and Wii Play with 281,000.

1. Resident Evil 5 - Xbox 360
2. Pokémon Platinum Edition - DS
3. Halo Wars - Xbox 360
4. Resident Evil 5 - Xbox 360
5. Wii Fit - Wii
6. MLB 09: The Show - PS3
7. Killzone 2 - PS3
8. Wii Play - Wii
9. Mario Kart Wii - Wii
10. MLB 2K9 - Xbox 360

NPD group noted that video games sales for March were down by about 17 percent from the same  period last year.

Top Selling Games of February

While Wii Fit moved 644,000 units in February, it was Street Fighter IV the truly topped the retail in North America for the month, according to retail sales data from NPD Group. Combined sales of the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of Capcom’s latest beat ‘em up were 849,000 units during the month beating out everything else in the month’s top ten. Also having a good showing in February was SCEA’s Killzone 2 for the PS3, Wii Play and Call of Duty World at War. Despite some stand outs, Nintendo continued to dominate most of the top ten with various first and third-party DS and Wii titles. Here’s the list:

Top 10 Games, February 2009

1. Wii Fit w/ Balance Board - (Wii) 644,000 Units
2. Street Fighter IV - (Xbox 360) 446,000 Units
3. Street Fighter IV - (PS3) 403,000 Units
4. Wii Play w/ Remote - (Wii) 386,000 Units
5. Killzone 2 - (PS3) 323,000 Units
6. Wii Mario Kart with wheel - (Wii) 263,000 Units
7. Call of Duty: World at War - (Xbox 360) 193,000 Units
8. Mario Kart DS - (DS) 145,000 Units
9. New Super Mario Bros - (DS) 144,000 Units
10. Guitar Hero World Tour - (Wii) 136,000 Units