Nintendo cuts Wii Price, announces Nintendo Select budget range

With Nintendo's new home console, currently known only as the Wii 2 drawing ever nearer, and the company having already made official that it'll be showing off the new machine at the gaming expo E3, people may be understandably cautious about buying a Wii, or potentially even buying any games as they begin saving up for the new system. Nintendo, being the cunning devils that they are, however, have responded in suit, by cutting the Wii's price, and discounting some of its greatest games, in an attempt to get one last hurrah out the Wii, as they prepare for the console's successor.


As of the 20th May, people will be able to pick up games in a new discount range, entitled "Nintendo Selects". Consisting of best-selling Nintendo titles, you'll be able to pick up Wario Ware: Smooth Moves, Animal Crossing: Let's Go To The City, Mario Strikers: Charged Football and Wii Sports for an estimated retail price of £19 each. Each and every one of these games is a top quality Nintendo game, now available at a cheaper (if not quite cheap enough to make them an insta-buy) price.

The eagle eyed amongst you will have noticed that having Wii Sports in the list seems a slightly strange decision, as this will mark the first time Wii Sports has actually been sold on its own - this, being the same game that's been bundled with every new Wii since the beginning of time. Of course, there's a very good reason for this, and that's the decision by Nintendo to launch a brand new bundle.

With a typically Nintendo Ronseal name of the "Mario Kart Wii Pack", the bundle includes a white Wii and Wii Remote Plus, Nunchuck, Wii Wheel, and a copy of Mario Kart, for a reduced price of £129 - down from the £179 that these bundles usually go for. Notable by its absence is Wii Sports, which presumably explains its inclusion in the Nintendo Selects range. Of course, if you're still more of a sporty person than a, er, karter, you can still pick up the Wii Sports Resort Pack, including a black Wii, Wii Remote Plus and Nunchuck, along with Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort on a single disk, all for the newly discounted price of £129.

If you haven't already got a Wii, or are perhaps looking for a cheap replacement, there's never been a better time to get involved. With the Wii 2 on the horizon, Nintendo are clearly interested in making way for their new machine - which may suggest an earlier launch in 2012 than has been anticipated.