The rumors were mostly right. On May 15, Nintendo will cut the price of the Wii from $200 to $150, but it’s not a straightforward price drop.

Instead, Nintendo will replace Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort with Mario Kart Wii as the pack-in game. Nintendo will also throw in one Wii wheel to enhance the kart racing experience. Wii Sports, which had been bundled with the console since the beginning, will join a handful of other games — Animal Crossing: City Folk, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and Mario Super Sluggers — in a “Select” (read: budget) collection for $20 each. Wii Sports Resort will sell on its own for $40.

I’m happy to see the change for entirely selfish reasons. My Wii Sports disc went missing years ago, and it’d be nice to get a boxed copy as a replacement without spending too much money.

But for everyone else, this price cut isn’t necessarily a great deal. If you want Wii Sports and Sports Resort, you’ll pay an extra $60, bringing to total price to $210. Meanwhile, most retailers are selling the current Wii Sports and Sports Resort bundle for $170. If you’ve been eying a Wii but have no interest in Mario Kart, you might consider the current bundle while supplies last.

Or if you’re really patient, you can wait until 2012, when Nintendo will launch its next console.

 
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