Wii bundles do not make Reggie a happy bunny
See that look? Yeah, well jerk, that's the exact look Reggie Fils-Aime is giving you right now, should you happen to be one of those retailers forcing consumers to buy bloated Wii bundles.Chatting to Reuters, Reggie stated that Nintendo was "not [a] big fan" of the practice, and pointed out that bundling the Wii in such a manner "masked" the price advantage enjoyed by the console over its rivals. Not that high prices seem to be putting many people off, but we certainly see his point.
Reggie also said that retailers had been informed of Nintendo's displeasure over the matter, before ominously adding "We don't have to remind retailers of the strength we have right now. We are simply making an observation and that reinforces our point quite nicely with retailers." You tell 'em, Reginald.
[Via Go Nintendo]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Tristan @ Dec 18th 2007 2:23PM
Interesting, it is kinda the only way to get a console is to buy these bundles for these cutt-throat high prices. Like I said once before, people will just have to bite the bullet and buy these if they want a console. If only there were consoles that were sold with "Billy the Wizard: Rocket Broomstick Racing", then it would be better.
NutMac @ Dec 18th 2007 2:34PM
We should all complain to Nintendo over these unfair bundling. It's one thing if these stores give you freedom over the games you must buy from them. In most cases, these bundles amount to nothing more than a Wii, extra controller, crappy battery pack, and selection of games nobody would buy in the first place.
TurboFool @ Dec 18th 2007 2:55PM
I love Reggie, as we all do. This statement's fantastic. It makes it quite clear in friendlier terms that, "this makes us unhappy, and trust me, you don't want to make us unhappy." Nintendo's got clout they haven't had since the late 80s/early 90s now, and they have the ability to make demands like this.
Nate @ Dec 18th 2007 3:22PM
I sure as hell don't want to see Reggie turn into the Hulk. Stop bundling now!
comtar @ Dec 18th 2007 3:36PM
Seems to me a split between retailers and Nintendo... In one perspective, I don't feel like the consumer should be forced to buy a bundle and spend more then needed. At the same time, I think bundles are best for the Wii at this point to prevent E-bay hogs from selling the system at a profit by itself. To me there's good reason for both scenarios... it's hard for me to pick a side on this.
MemphisNET @ Dec 18th 2007 3:39PM
Re-allocate those systems to honest retailers. I'd be pretty pissed buying a package to begin with, let alone one with throw-away games.
Larz @ Dec 18th 2007 8:12PM
Certain bundles are good if they can save you a bundle (heh, see what I did there?) of money on things you'd buy anyways. But I could see stores taking advantage of the Wii situation and just unloading crap they can't sell, instead of bundling stuff people actually want.
James @ Dec 19th 2007 2:24PM
Dammit, this is America -- they should just charge what the market will bear. And I don't mean the retailers, I mean Nintendo. If your systems are selling out much, much faster than you can make them at $250, start charging $300. Hell, charge $350 -- I'd far rather make more profit for Nintendo than let some asshole (and Ebay) make an extra hundred bucks because he happened to find the last one of the shipment. I said the same thing last year, and I mean it.