It is no secret that the British pound is spiraling down the long scary road of depreciation, but when Nintendo gets involved, one of Japans most profitable companies, you know times are tough.

Therefore, Nintendo announced today that it will raise its offering price of the Wii to UK retailers, who then have the unpleasant business decision to make of whether or not to pass the hike in price onto customers.

“We are only – reluctantly – raising our trade price now to retailers due to unprecedented and sustained depreciation of the pound. This is a problem brought about by extreme currency fluctuations that are a symptom of the global economic situation,” said Nintendo.

Across the pond the Wii currently retails for ‚£179.99 ($247.93) and with Nintendo imposing a ‚£18-20 ($24.87-$27.63) increase in price, retailers will certainly feel the pinch on profits made per Wii if a hike in selling price is not incurred, hardly something any merchant wants to do amidst this economic turmoil.

Historically, consoles turn small profits as it is, and instead see large profit margins the sale of software and bundled goods, so it will be interesting to see how the UK’s major video game retailers, HMV, GAME and others tackle the issue.

Full story at GamaSutra

About The Author

Eddie Makuch is a Blast staff writer. Reach him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @EddieMakuch.

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