Nintendo Cutting Wii Price

Nintendo’s making sure it stays well ahead of its pricier game console competitors by following their lead and slashing prices.

The company plans to cut prices on its Wii console by 20 percent, to $199.99, a drop of $50 in the U.S. It’s the first time Nintendo has cut the price on its game-playing system since its introduction in 2006, Bloomberg reports.

The price cut follows similar moves by Microsoft, which has cut prices on its Xbox 360, and Sony, which has done the same with its PS3.

The prices for the Xbox 360 and PS3 are now about $300.

The Wii has dominated its competitors since its release, thanks to its lower price and the intuitive, simpler games for the console than for those of its competitors. But Wii sales have dropped for five straight months, while price cuts have bolstered sales of both Xbox 360 and PS3 consoles.

“The timing of the price cut was very good since Wii sales were slowing down,” Etsuko Tamura, an analyst at Mizuho Investors Securities Co. in Tokyo, told Bloomberg. “Combined with upcoming game titles, sales will probably increase toward the end of year.”