Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime has said that a $50 price cut for the Wii has given the console a significant sales increase.

“The consumer response has been very strong to the price reduction,” he told the Financial Times, although he said it was too early to disclose exact sales figures.

“There are literally millions of consumers out there who want a Wii and had been on the sidelines. They’d been waiting for that little nudge to go out and pick it up - the price decline, the sampling, the launching of key software like Wii Fit Plus - we believe it’s what’s pushing them over the edge to get into the category.”

While the Wii is the market leading home console this generation, comfortably outpacing Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Sony’s PS3 with over 50 million unit sales worldwide, a drop in Wii sales during the current fiscal year has been reflected in profit and revenue declines for the platform holder.

In September Nintendo cut the price of the console in the US and Japan for the first time since it launched in late 2006. It also opted to reduce the trade price of the system in the UK and introduce a new hardware bundle featuring Wii Sports, Wii Sports Resort and the Wii MotionPlus accessory.