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To: froland who wrote (4622)	6/15/1998 10:45:00 PM
From: froland	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 93625

Nintendo Drops N64 Console Price To $129 (06/15/98; 3:24 p.m. ET) By Kristen Kenedy, Computer Retail Week Nintendo of America quietly dropped the wholesale price of its Nintendo 64 video-game system by $22 this month. Although Nintendo has made no formal announcement, the company is offering retailers a $22 rebate per system sold through September, retailers said. The move responds to Sony Computer Entertainment of America's price protection of existing PlayStation systems. Sony will begin offering Tuesday a force-feedback joystick in a new PlayStation package, and has priced its older 5000 series PlayStation so retailers can offer it for a $129 price point, said Jack Tretton, vice president of sales at Sony. The new PlayStation packages with the Dual Shock Analog Controller will be priced at a wholesale of $139, he said. Sony has a long-standing MAP of $149 on PlayStation systems. Peter Main, executive vice president of sales and marketing at Nintendo, said the rebate is a response to consumer demand and the changes in Sony's pricing strategy. "Coming out of E3 [Electronic Entertainment Expo], we got such a great response to the quality lineup of titles we'll be launching from now through the end of the year, we figured this was a good time to offer a price allowing as many consumers as possible to buy an N64. Plus, with Sony's recent new system configuration and pricing, our competitive spirit told us we had to do it," he said. The company's action has left the industry wondering whether N64 prices can actually be increased again later this fall. "This is simply Nintendo's way of saying as long as [Sony] is at $129, we will be at $129," said Sean McGowan, an analyst at Gerard Klauer Mattison, in New York. But, he said, it will be difficult for the company to raise the price back to $149 in the fall, after consumers become accustomed to the $129 price point. A sales manager at a video-game specialty store said Nintendo's price drop was not accompanied by the usual promotions and signage, suggesting it is indeed a temporary move. He said, however, Nintendo will have a competitive advantage over Sony if it keeps the lower price. "The ratio of sales between PlayStation and N64 is about 3-to-1 at our store. They may be able to step up sales by keeping the price down," he said. froland