193w ago - Update: The official response from NOA, as expected, is "Nintendo does not respond to rumors and speculation."

Advance retail listings forwarded to Kotaku indicate that Nintendo is planning to issue its first price drop on the Wii, with a less expensive version of the console--currently priced at $249--coming the first week of October.

To quote: "That listing comes from an early version of a Walmart ad that loosely dates, but does not price a "rollback" for Nintendo's console. While the ad is not official confirmation of a price drop, the timing makes sense, as the Wii is about to enter its fourth holiday shopping season at its original price.

Should Nintendo announce a price drop prior to October, it has a venue at which to do it. The company will be participating at the Kyoto Cross Media Experience 2009, a multimedia event that runs September 26th to October 4th, overlapping with the Tokyo Game Show.

With Microsoft and Sony recently issuing their own price cuts on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, Nintendo may be wisely following suit.

Due to the unofficial nature of the price drop info, we're labeling this rumor for now. We've been in touch with Nintendo of America and Walmart to get comment, but...

195w ago - With its new price tag and leaner form-factor, the PS3 Slim clearly offers great value.

Unfortunately Sony had to strip Linux support, backwards compatibility, and some memory card ports in order to get the price down.

But consumers still get a great gaming machine, free online support, and a competent Blu-ray player. There are also some intriguing services unique to Sony such as Home and PSP connectivity, which might entice some users.

The Xbox 360 Elite, even with a price drop to $299, still struggles to compete feature-for-feature. The most glaring omission is the lack of on-board wifi adaptor. Microsoft currently sells its own, expensive adaptor as an extra accessory.

If gamers want to go online using their Xbox 360, they will have to pay for Xbox Live Gold, at a cost of around $49 per year. Silver members still get access to game demos, achievements, and Avatars, but little more.

Finally, the Xbox 360 still relies on DVD disks for content, which is fine for games but may disappoint videophiles who want the HD capability of Blu-ray movies.

On the other hand, Microsoft is the only manufacturer to allow users to stream Netflix movies from their console, which is ultra-convenient. Zune users can also connect their devices to Xbox Live to access multimedia...

196w ago - According to an analyst with EEDAR, the Xbox 360 price drop will happen within a week.

That's right, the Xbox 360 price drop will no longer be rumor or speculation seven days from now, says EEDAR's Jesse Divnich.

Instead, the Xbox 360 price drop will be reality within one week's time - and maybe within the current week.

To quote: "EEDAR is pleased to see that the PlayStation 3 has finally dropped in price. The new PlayStation 3 pricing scheme finally makes the Sony console a much more competitive product, relative to its closest rival, the Xbox 360.

In terms of value, the PlayStation 3 is a superior hardware product in comparison to the Xbox 360; however, this is not to suggest that hardware sales will suddenly shift to Sony's favor -- a superior hardware system is only one variable in the equation for next-generation success.

Nevertheless, the PlayStation 3 price cut will act as a positive catalyst that will close the sales gap between the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. This price drop also places the PlayStation 3 at a competitive price to the Wii (retail MSRP $249).

While the target audience for the two platforms varies greatly, some consumers will face a tough decision to purchase the Wii with outdated processing...

196w ago - Today PS3Center.net (linked above) reports that UK retailer ASDA has cut the price of the 80GB PlayStation 3, offering the console and 2 selected games for just £250.

Choice of games included are either LittleBigPlanet and Ghostbusters, Killzone 2 and Resistance 2 or Terminator and InFamous.

Swedish site DiscShop.se is now listing the PS3 Slim... noting that it's expected this fall and potential buyers should keep an eye out for updates on when pre-orders for the console will be available.

Finally, KokuGamer.com is reporting that an image (below) posted on Sony's European PlayStation boards shows a picture of a plastic case with a PS3 flyer in it saying "Pre Order Now. New PS3 Available September 2009. Limited Stock. $50 Despoit Require."

They speculate this is likely a new PS3 SKU, a brand new console altogether or even the rumored PS3 slim. We'll all know for certain this week as GamesCom commences.

197w ago - In a follow-up to our previous article on retailer FYE hinting at a PS3 price drop comes a few pics of an ad sign.

Courtesy of Oswald9599 from CAG (linked above), the ad signs show a PS3 price drop to $299 for the 80GB model and $399 for the 160GB Uncharted bundle.

To quote: "Your pal Oswald went down and got the proof so that the many haters and nonbelievers would get what they need and finally start with the enthusiasm that an announcement like this deserves.

This Pic is from a sign that might be up in some stores near you, but be warned this price drop is not in any way officially announced by SONY.

This price drop will take effect most likely the first week of September or sooner (NOTE: THE EXAMINER LISTED THIS EVENT AS STARTING ON SUNDAY AUG 16, THIS IN NO WAY HAS BEEN CONFIRMED)."