Nintendo Cutting Price of the Wii U by $50

This fall users, won’t just be able to get a cheaper mobile gaming experience with the Nintendo 2DS, they’ll also be able to pick up a cheaper deluxe edition of the Nintendo Wii U.

According to a press release from the Japanese gaming titan, on September 20th it will lower the cost of the Wii U Deluxe bundle by $50, giving users the option to have the console’s most expensive bundle at just $299. It appears the deluxe bundle will take the place of the $299 Wii U basic edition that’s already available in stores. Nintendo says that it has no plans to discount it in the near future.

The basic Wii U bundle only includes 8GB of storage, while the Wii U Deluxe edition includes a copy of the Nintendoland game, and 32GB of storage. While the driving reason for the Nintendo 2DS launch remains elusive, the reason behind the pricing changes of the Wii U Deluxe edition is clear.

The price cuts are simply a preemptive response to the impending launches of the Xbox One and PlayStation 4. By lowering the price in early September, Nintendo is hoping users planning their holiday shopping early will keep it in mind as a gift. It’s also hoping to make the console look like a better deal than Microsoft’s and Sony’s consoles, which cost $499 and $399, respectively.

Read: PlayStation 4 vs. Xbox One – Games & Features

Unfortunately, that’s not exactly a slam dunk. While the Nintendo Wii U might be cheaper this holiday season, it costs users less because it’s simply not in the same league as the Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Both of those consoles include hardware components and software features that simply outclass Nintendo’s console on all levels.

Read: Nintendo Refuses Wii U Price

While Nintendo has one of the world’s largest cache of first-party titles, it remains to be seen whether users will accept the device’s limitations just to play the latest editions of Mario and Super Smash Brothers. Although the Wii U debuted last fall, sales of the console haven’t picked up in recent months and with a fall dominated by news of Sony and Microsoft’s entries, that’s not likely to change.