Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime recently beamed in a CNBC interview that their latest Wii hardware price cut was introduced to positive and affirmative consumer response. The company certainly could use some encouragement, faced with the reality of slowing Wii hardware sales compared to the previous year. Despite this, Fils-Aime explains that should the economic downturn be prolonged, the company will prioritize new products as a possible means of getting back on track. One example of this is their upcoming Wii Vitality Sensor, first announced in June at E3.

In other words, Nintendo isn't in a hurry to lower Wii pricing even further. According to Fils-Aime, Nintendo's solution to tackling the "current economic enviroment" is product innovation, rather than sheer hardware price cuts. It certainly wouldn't do to devalue the Wii that quickly anyways. Fils-Aime elaborates:

"What we've seen is that if you give the consumer great value in terms of what they get for what they pay, they're willing to spend and we say that based on the experience of launching the Nintendo DSi this past April. We've already sold 2.2 million units so we're feeling very good about the holiday and we've got a great software line-up coming out.

"The way we define value is what you get for what you pay. And certainly with Wii, with the $50 price drop, you're getting a lot more value... We lasted 34 months in the marketplace without having to cut the price, but the reality is we were able to reach over 20 million consumers here in the US at $249. The next group of consumers we will get at this $199 price point, and we've already seen very strong results after just one week on the marketplace with the $199."

The good news is that Nintendo is better prepared than ever to welcome the new batch of Wii owners. Fils-Aime is confident the Wii will not suffer from stock shortages this holiday shopping season.