Target Drops Wii U Price Ahead of Xbox Unveiling

Is the timing coincidental or a sign of things to come? Target.com TGT has lowered the price of Nintendo's NTDOY latest console, Wii U, from $299.99 to $239.99. According to GameSpot, Target has only chosen to reduce the price of the basic 8GB version. That is not the only Wii U-related item that Target has decided to discount, however. New Super Mario Bros. U, the console's most successful game, has been reduced from $59.99 to $39.99. These prices may not be permanent; the product pages for both items contain a "sale" icon, indicating that this is a limited-time offer. However, neither the Wii U basic console nor the Mario game are listed in Target's weekly ad. In any case, the timing of the price cut (temporary or not) is very unfortunate. Target reportedly started the sale on Monday, just 24 hours before Microsoft's MSFT highly anticipated press conference. During the media event (which is scheduled to take place today at 10:00 a.m. PT / 1:00 p.m. ET), Microsoft will introduce the third-generation Xbox. By reducing the price of the Wii U this week, it could send the message that Target has lost faith in the console and is eager to move on to the next Xbox. While other retailers have yet to follow suit, it is not out of the question to think that Target is frustrated with the response Wii U has received. Global sales plummeted more than 85 percent during the March quarter, at which time Nintendo sold a mere 390,000 units. Nintendo has tried to make up for its shortcomings by apologizing for the lack of software (the primary source of Wii U's lackluster sales). The company also promised to correct the problem in August with the release of Pikmin 3, which has been delayed three times since the game was announced. This is very similar to the problems Nintendo faced when the 3DS was released in March 2011. The handheld sold so poorly (again due to the lack of quality software) that Nintendo was forced to lower the price from $249 to $169 a mere five months after the device was released. This was one of the fastest price cuts ever seen within the industry. After enduring losses, game developers have decided to pack up and leave. Many small studios have chosen not to develop any games for Wii U. Electronic Arts EA, the world's second-largest game publisher, has said that it is not currently developing any new games for the console. Louis Bedigian is the Senior Tech Analyst and Features Writer of Benzinga. You can reach him at 248-636-1322 or louis(at)benzingapro(dot)com. Follow him @LouisBedigianBZ