Surprised? Shocked? No. After weeks of rumors and photo evidence of a Wii price drop, Nintendo finally announced that they would be dropping the price of the Wii to $199 on Sunday, September 27. It will be the same classic Wii package including one remote, nunchuk and copy of the original Wii Sports.

Analyst Jesse Divnich of Electronic Entertainment Design and Research (EEDAR) spoke up regarding the announcement, stating “EEDAR believes Nintendo made this strategic decision to rejuvinate sales of its home console and to maintain its lead as the best selling home platform in all major regions worldwide,” he wrote, saying it should be seen as “not a reactive strategy towards the recent Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 price cuts, but rather a preemptive strategic decision.” He also notes the move may intend to “capture as much of the mainstream and casual market as possible before Microsoft and Sony can release their… motion capture devices.”

Because of this, analysts believe the Wii will maintain its lead over the PS3 and Xbox 360.

Perhaps the most exciting part of the Nintendo announcement was in the inclusion of a November 15 release date for the New Super Mario Bros for the Wii.