Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has admitted that "the Wii is in the most unhealthy condition since it hit the Japanese market," but has ruled out a price cut for now.
"A price cut in a difficult economy cannot really excite the market and drive up sales,"
Iwata said at a conference at the Foreign Correspondent's Club of Japan. "As of now I really don't think that a price cut is a good option for us."
Despite continuing strong sales in the West, the PlayStation 3 has been outselling the Wii for more than a month in Japan, with Wii titles starting to perform poorly in the software charts.
"The speed with which people get tired of any new entertainment is faster in Japan than in overseas markets," said Iwata.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Iwata
commented in general on the Japanese market -- which, overall, is also in decline. "The Japanese market is not very strong right now overall," he said. "So we need to do something to re-energize it."
Nintendo currently has few major first party Wii titles in its pipeline the most prominent being the delayed
Wii Sports Resort - which Iwata announced would be released in June in Japan and in July in the West. The company is expected to announce a number of new products at E3 in June.
