Denise Kaigler, Nintendo of America vice president of corporate affairs, has said that the Wii price cut was “not at all” influenced by similar moves made recently by Microsoft and Sony.

“We were not driven by any other factors but our own business decision to do this. As I mentioned, this was timed to take place exactly when we're executing it. The holiday period is the best time for us to offer this great incentive for these consumers on the sidelines,” she told GameSpot.

“We're about to launch a couple of very strong titles. We announced yesterday the launch date for Super Mario Bros. Wii. We just launched Wii Sports Resort. On October 4, we'll launch Wii Fit Plus. With the great content that has already launched on Wii and is soon to launch on Wii, the timing is right to give consumers even more incentive to go out and purchase the industry's best-selling home video console.”

In his analysis of the Wii price cut, EEDAR’s Jesse Divnich also suggested that Nintendo’s move “should not be looked as a reactive strategy towards the recent Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 price cuts, but rather a pre-emptive strategic decision… to capture as much of the mainstream and casual market as possible before Microsoft and Sony can release their mainstream targeted motion capture devices”.

The analyst also spoke of Nintendo’s need to push its new MotionPlus controller, which he said has penetrated more than five million households worldwide. “In order for the Wii MotionPlus to be fully embraced by publishers and further enhance Nintendo’s appeal to mainstream consumers, at least 20 million households worldwide will need to have adopted the hardware.”

Shortly following the Wii price cut, Nintendo announced that it would be packing MotionPlus with UK and Ireland Wii hardware bundles going forward. In the US, beginning on October 12, Nintendo will release a limited-edition Wii Sports Resort bundle featuring two MotionPlus accessories. The bundle will be available for $59.99 “while supplies last”.

Nintendo’s Kaigler also went on to tell GameSpot that the company is working at leveraging the MotionPlus technology into more of its titles.

“The response we've gotten from consumers has been fabulous and phenomenal, so we definitely recognise it's a very powerful, engaging accessory that completely transports you right into the heart of the game you're playing. There's no other motion-sensing controller like it on the market, so we're excited to look at incorporating that experience into other titles. So just like with the Wii Balance Board, yes, our developers are working at leveraging that technology into other games. And as I mentioned with the Balance Board, we also have third parties that are incorporating that technology into many games.”