EA: $99 Wii would "explode" at retail

If Nintendo cut the price of the Wii to $99 (around £63) sales would go through the roof, EA has claimed.

Questioned about declining Wii sales by IndustryGamers, CEO John Riccitiello said, "I would say they did exceptionally well in '07 and '08, started tapering in '09 and '10, and... I think if they were to price down to $99, they would explode.

"I think they've now got competition, in the form of gesture-based gaming from Sony and Microsoft. If they were to find ways to promote third party content better, as opposed to first party content, and would hit pricing, I think the platform would see new life."

Both the Wii and DS have been in decline this year, though Nintendo has refused to drop the price. It currently retails for £179.99 in the UK and $199.99 in the US.

Later in the interview, Riccitiello went on to complain further about Nintendo's hands-off approach to third-party promotion on its platforms.

"I think it's a frustration for all third-party publishers, when a platform holder does less to promote third party content," he said.

"A great third-party company is Apple, a company that's all third party content. There's often tension in a company between first and third party content. Nintendo's unique in the world. They're a great company because of the blend of first and third party content.

"First party hardware, first-party content is what makes [Nintendo] great," he explained, "but it's actually pretty tough. I can come up with a dozen titles in the last decade, but it's really tough to come up with a dozen great titles that have been platform-defining for them that weren't their own. I don't care whether it's Mario or Twilight Princess or GoldenEye; it was their own content.

"I'm going back to N64, and I can go back to SNES if you want, but they've never really been a heavy third-party supporting system. It's not lack of trying; they start the morning thinking what's best for their own intellectual property."