Nintendo: Wii U Price Will be "Reasonable"

[The Wooster]

Nintendo: Wii U Price Will be "Reasonable"

Nintendo is not going to make the same mistake twice, says president, Satoru Iwata.

Though the Wii U launch is drawing close, Nintendo still hasn't announced a price for the system. According to an interview with Nintendo president, Satoru Iwata - as translated by Adraisang - the console won't break the bank. At least, not the consumer's bank.

"We won't make the same mistake that we did with the 3DS, which was considered relatively high by consumers," he said.

The 3DS had a famously rocky launch, largely attributed to its hefty $250 retail price. Nintendo responded to plummeting sales with a drastic, $80 price-cut, delivered only a few months into the console's lifespan. It worked - the 3DS went on to sell more units in the following 8 months than the ridiculously-successful DS did in its first year. It did however, prompt a lot of fan grumbling, eventually prompting Iwata to apologize to fans for the price cut.

Nintendo is trying avoid the same poor start with the Wii U, largely because the company can't afford another screw up. This fiscal year, the company posted its first loss since it went public back in 1962.

"We've fixed the 3DS profitability issue," Iwata concluded, "and pledge to turn profitable by the end of this fiscal year."

Source: GameIndustry.biz [http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2012-06-26-wii-u-will-have-a-reasonable-price]

Permalink

 

[Evil Smurf]

First off, great avatar!

Second, I agree with this, I plan to get a Wii-U once there are some good games for it, but I doubt it will be a day one purchase.

what about the zombie game? I plan on getting it for the Zelda titles. A Pokemon title would also be worth it. Another Pokemon Stadium?

 

[subtlefuge]

Well, I had some reservations about purchasing one and then the price immediately falling, but this very slightly relieves those. If it comes out and seems reasonable, I'll likely buy it once Pikmin 3 or something comes out. If the price comes out to be incredible, I might be an early adopter.

 

[Xanthious]

I'm thinking it will launch at 250 but I wouldn't be surprised to see it as much as 300. If I had to bet though I'd say 250 which puts it right in line with the PS3. Releasing at a higher price than the other two consoles will be a really bad idea for the Wii U.

 

[Torrasque]

First off, great avatar!

Second, I agree with this, I plan to get a Wii-U once there are some good games for it, but I doubt it will be a day one purchase.

what about the zombie game? I plan on getting it for the Zelda titles. A Pokemon title would also be worth it. Another Pokemon Stadium?

Pokemon Stadium with the Wii U's pad control thingy would be absolutely wonderful.

OP: I am just hoping they will ship enough of them so I can actually get one without having to get my mom's friend who works at Walmart to reserve one for me because they sell way too fast, even with pre-ordering it =|

 

[Meight08]

Bullshit.

If it was actually reasonable, they'd have said it at E3. Every day they delay announcing the price means they are trying more and more to get people invested in the console before they learn the cost, in the hopes people will already have their hearts set on buying one and overlook the staggering price.

If the price was in any way a selling point, they'd have announced it.

Not really it's common practise to only announce the price a few months before launch,So they can get the best hardware for when they start manufacturing.
The xbox 360 price was announced mid august 2005 and came out in november.
Example:If they wait a few months they could get more Ram for the same production costs than if they started building them now.

 

[Clearing the Eye]

They could give them away and I wouldn't want one, lol. This will be another Wii all over again, but worse; loads of people will buy into the gimmick, sales will start good and then totally drop off when everyone realizes there's fuck all games, most of them are mini-games and the majority of them are crap.

I call it.

 

[Meight08]

Bullshit.

If it was actually reasonable, they'd have said it at E3. Every day they delay announcing the price means they are trying more and more to get people invested in the console before they learn the cost, in the hopes people will already have their hearts set on buying one and overlook the staggering price.

If the price was in any way a selling point, they'd have announced it.

Not really it's common practise to only announce the price a few months before launch,So they can get the best hardware for when they start manufacturing.
The xbox 360 price was announced mid august 2005 and came out in november.
Example:If they wait a few months they could get more Ram for the same production costs than if they started building them now.

And as a consequence, the 360 was slapdash and shoddily manufactured, resulting in one of the most unreliable and failure-prone gaming devices of all time.

No it was because the graphics chip dissipated allot of heat, that when combined with the wrong type of non-lead based solder used in the console, which when exposed to the heat caused by the graphics chip became brittle and developed hair-line cracks that are almost irreparable.

 

[BlueJoneleth]

They could give them away and I wouldn't want one, lol. This will be another Wii all over again, but worse; loads of people will buy into the gimmick, sales will start good and then totally drop off when everyone realizes there's fuck all games, most of them are mini-games and the majority of them are crap.

I call it.

There is the risk of that.

However Nintendo consoles are usually worth it for the First Party Nintendo Games (well if you like them, if you don't like their games skip the console ^^), so I'll probably get a Wii U eventually.

 

[The.Bard]

You're dealing with a casual crowd, Nintendo, so your definition of reasonable is prrrroooobably not the same as Grandma's.

Considering how much those little tablet screens are gonna cost, you really need the answer to be about $200.

That would make console + screen + game at around 300. At that price, people who know the new Sony/MS consoles will be better than WiiU MAY opt to try you out as an interim purchase before shoving WiiU into a closet next to their dust-gathering Wii.

If you go above $300 for just the console, you will probably send your company into a tailspin.

Whoa-eee-aaay, Tailspiiiiin, Whoa-eee-oooh, Tailspiiiiin, WiiU goes into my trashbiiin, and another tail-a spin!

 

[Terminate421]

First off, great avatar!
.

Just noticed his Gengar. It's Bitchin'.

Anyway, I'm guessing we're gonna avoid another 599 US dollars. Is it just me or does Nintendo not know how to handle the industry. They seem like the "nice guy" of the group of developers, then our "Dark, Angry" industry attacks them.

Its like Reggie when he said we ask for quite alot.

 

[TheProfessor234]

If it's all 250 or under, great. Will take some time to save up but by then hopefully games will be out.

Anything more and I wont be so sure. Ever since the Wii Fit came out, I've always been a on the side Nintendo fan. I just hope no one gets mugged.

 

[Hazy992]

Well you can preorder it at Shopto [http://www.shopto.net/WII%20U/VIDEO%20GAMES/WIIUHW02-Nintendo%20Wii%20U%20Console%20Black.html] for £280 which is nearly $440. If that's the actual price and Shopto aren't just making it up then I can't see this doing all that well.