EA thinks Nintendo's Wii will run $170

While many gamers are getting ready to decide whether they want to shell out as much as $600 for Sony's PlayStation 3 this holiday season, one Electronic Arts executive thinks Nintendo's own next-generation console offering, the Wii, will come in at a much more attractive price.

According to GameIndustry.biz, EA vice president and COO David Gardner expects the Wii, Nintendo's unfortunately named console that was previously known as the Revolution, to retail for about $170 in Japan.

Previously, Nintendo had said the Wii would not top $250 in the U.S. market when it launches this holiday season.

"Nintendo has come up with a very clever strategy," Gardner told GamesIndustry.biz, adding that he thinks the pricing would allow consumers to own two consoles. "They've made a choice which is great for the consumer. Now we're going to have a choice whereby consumers can buy a Wii, plus one other console."

Clearly, EA would love such a scenario, since, as the world's largest video game maker, it will be producing titles for all the next-generation consoles, the PS3, Microsoft's Xbox 360 and the Wii.

Microsoft, by the way, charges as much as $399 for the Xbox 360.