Wii for £90?

August 16th, 2006, 17:25 Posted By: wraggster

Nintendo's Wii could be nestling under your telly for a lot cheaper than you think, according to a financial report from the Tokyo-based Nikko Citigroup.

In-between the financial jargon, the financial institution forecasts that the Wii could carry a Japanese price tag of 19,500 yen, down from original estimates of 25,000 Yen, because of cheaper CPU costs, which, through current exchange rates roughly translates to around £90.

But before you start doing Mario cartwheels on your computer desk, keep in mind that console prices rarely ever convert according to exchange rates, and we can probably take this report to indicate a more likely price-point around £130.

Nikko Citigroup's previous forecast for the Wii was 25,000 yen (about £114), but the firm lowered its price estimate based on its expectation that Nintendo will be able to produce the console's CPU for lower than expected.

Up to now the official word from Nintendo has been that the Wii will retail for under 25,000 yen in Japan and under $250 in the US. While we don't expect the console to debut at the sub-£100 price-point this report suggests, the surprisingly-low £130 introductory price of Nintendo's Gamecube has us hopeful that the company will still surprise us with a really competitive entry into the market. It could even creep up towards the £150 mark and still be damn good value.

We'll be looking out for good news at Nintendo's Leipzig press conference next Wednesday.

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