Nintendo’s David Yarnton On Wii’s European Pricing and Release

The Kikizo people managed to wrangle the Nintendo UK General Manager down for an interview (you know he’s been a busy bee lately – check out the hair in the video). They put him on the spot to answer questions about the Wii’s European release and pricing.

He was asked about the considerably higher pricing of the Wii in the European region: 179 Euros. According to David, the company wanted the people to experience the game immediately, so they opted to include the Wii Sports title. He was also asked about the huge difference in prices of the console among the American, Japanese, and European territories. David said that factors such as fluctuation and region – among other things – must be taken into consideration when setting the price. By the end of the day, retail dictates the price.

The next question was about the rather later Wii release in Europe compared to that in Japan and in the U. S. David said that December 8 was a great date because that would already be 19 days after the American release. The sheer logistics of releasing the Wii all in one day would be just too tough for them. By that time, there won’t be any stock problems as they will be selling 4 million units from the initial release until December on a global basis.

If you want to watch the entire video, you can download it and see and hear him talk about the Wii Channel and WiiConnect24.

Download: [David Yarnton Interview]

The Kikizo people managed to wrangle the Nintendo UK General Manager down for an interview (you know he’s been a busy bee lately – check out the hair in the video). They put him on the spot to answer questions about the Wii’s European release and pricing.

He was asked about the considerably higher pricing of the Wii in the European region: 179 Euros. According to David, the company wanted the people to experience the game immediately, so they opted to include the Wii Sports title. He was also asked about the huge difference in prices of the console among the American, Japanese, and European territories. David said that factors such as fluctuation and region – among other things – must be taken into consideration when setting the price. By the end of the day, retail dictates the price.

The next question was about the rather later Wii release in Europe compared to that in Japan and in the U. S. David said that December 8 was a great date because that would already be 19 days after the American release. The sheer logistics of releasing the Wii all in one day would be just too tough for them. By that time, there won’t be any stock problems as they will be selling 4 million units from the initial release until December on a global basis.

If you want to watch the entire video, you can download it and see and hear him talk about the Wii Channel and WiiConnect24.

Download: [David Yarnton Interview]