Nintendo unveil Wii Gift channel plans

By Mike Bantick
Sunday, 28 October 2007 09:39

Entertainment

At a recent press conference Nintendo President Satoru Iwata ruled out a price cut for the popular console, but hinted at yet more innovative Wii channels to come, and a push into China.

"We're still focusing on how to meet booming demand," Iwata said Friday. "We're absolutely not considering a price cut."  Confirming Nintendo is not feeling the heat from rivals Sony and Microsoft as they engage in price cuts to their respective consoles.

Iwata said Nintendo is concentrating on squeezing out 1.8 million Wii consoles per month as the important Christmas sale period looms.

Nintendo also plan to launch a version of the Wii for the immense Chinese market, yet to be exploited; "We barely have enough Wii's to meet global demand this year. But next year, we can bring the Wii to China," Iwata said.

Nintendo is rightly still feeling confident in the market, banking on the release of Wii Fit - incorporating a balance platform that measures weight and movement to enhance even further the game controlling abilities of the Wii.  Wii Fit is due before the end of the year in Japan.

Nintendo also unveiled plans for a new function of the Wii Shopping Channel.  The ability for users to select, pay for and send as a gift, Virtual Console games.  When the recipient accepts, the Wii automatically launches the shopping channel and begins the download.

"We think this will be a breakthrough in encouraging customers to spread news of fun games word of mouth," Iwata said. "We also hope to spur more users to connect their Wiis to the Internet," he said. 

There were also some hints on a possible TV guide service being introduced to the Japanes market in 2008

With demand still outstripping supply, Iwata was quick to confirm no change in retail price for the Wii, remaining at US$249.99 for the foreseeable future.