Brit retailers: Wii price hike leaves no margin, will affect sales

As expected, UK retailers have reacted badly to news that Nintendo's to raise the trade price of Wii in the UK, with one saying the proposed rise will leave no margin on the hardware at all.

"It's very bad," ShopTo.net's Igor Cipolletta told GI, admitting: "If it's true that they want to increase it by [at least] £18 then there is no margin for us at all.

"It's very disappointing because we believed that after two years the Wii machine would get cheaper rather than more expensive - I've heard that this is the first time in history that the price has gone up for a machine after two years."

Retailer Chips added that the rise is likely to have an adverse affect on sales, and that the increase will have to be passed onto consumers.

"It will have a negative effect on the sales," said MD Don McCabe.

"I think we'll still end up with shortages come Christmas again, but through the summer it's going to have an effect."

Nintendo said yesterday it's to raise the trade price of Wii in the UK by as much as £20 thanks to a depreciated pound.