Wii U Possibly Released @ USD $249.99

[Crimson Phantom]

So that's £230 for me.

Yup, same thing as 3DS at launch.

 

[LightyKD]

Didn't we have a situation like this with the 3DS two years ago where people were debating whether or not the 3DS would be above 250? Eventually, Nintendo caved in and went for $249.99. Maybe we need to stick it to Nintendo and make it known that we are willing to get the WiiU at $249.99. You can't beat public opinion.

The difference is, normally Nintendo tries to profit off of its systems, and the 3DS only costs about $100 to make; thus, they would make a great profit off of each 3DS sold (they still do). The Wii U, on the other hand, costs a lot more to make, what with the console, the tablet, the controllers, and the advertising (and various other aspects), thus, $250 would net them a lot less (if at all) for the Wii U than the 3DS did.

Agreed but this is Nintendo "After the Earthquake". Remember that for the first few months of the 3DS price drop, Nintendo was selling the console at a lost. I think that Nintendo has learned the value of selling at a loss temporarily to gain a customer base.

 

[machomuu]

Didn't we have a situation like this with the 3DS two years ago where people were debating whether or not the 3DS would be above 250? Eventually, Nintendo caved in and went for $249.99. Maybe we need to stick it to Nintendo and make it known that we are willing to get the WiiU at $249.99. You can't beat public opinion.

The difference is, normally Nintendo tries to profit off of its systems, and the 3DS only costs about $100 to make; thus, they would make a great profit off of each 3DS sold (they still do). The Wii U, on the other hand, costs a lot more to make, what with the console, the tablet, the controllers, and the advertising (and various other aspects), thus, $250 would net them a lot less (if at all) for the Wii U than the 3DS did.

Agreed but this is Nintendo "After the Earthquake". Remember that for the first few months of the 3DS price drop, Nintendo was selling the console at a lost. I think that Nintendo has learned the value of selling at a loss temporarily to gain a customer base.

That makes sense, but what I worry about is how much of a loss it would be in this case. If it were big enough and they were to sell it at this price, Nintendo could take a big hit.

 

[LightyKD]

Didn't we have a situation like this with the 3DS two years ago where people were debating whether or not the 3DS would be above 250? Eventually, Nintendo caved in and went for $249.99. Maybe we need to stick it to Nintendo and make it known that we are willing to get the WiiU at $249.99. You can't beat public opinion.

The difference is, normally Nintendo tries to profit off of its systems, and the 3DS only costs about $100 to make; thus, they would make a great profit off of each 3DS sold (they still do). The Wii U, on the other hand, costs a lot more to make, what with the console, the tablet, the controllers, and the advertising (and various other aspects), thus, $250 would net them a lot less (if at all) for the Wii U than the 3DS did.

Agreed but this is Nintendo "After the Earthquake". Remember that for the first few months of the 3DS price drop, Nintendo was selling the console at a lost. I think that Nintendo has learned the value of selling at a loss temporarily to gain a customer base.

That makes sense, but what I worry about is how much of a loss it would be in this case. If it were big enough and they were to sell it at this price, Nintendo could take a big hit.

Agreed but I think that it would only be a metter of really high profile games for Nintendo to bounce back.

 

[PolloDiablo]

maybe it would be something like this:

$249/$299 with just one tablet

or if you want....

$299/$349 with two tablets

 

[chris888222]

maybe it would be something like this:

$249/$299 with just one tablet

or if you want....

$299/$349 with two tablets

Actually this price is quite acceptable. Lol:

 

[Midna]

Uh, Bloomberg's made a miscalculation
Nintendo never launches their consoles at a straight Yen-USD conversion rate. Both the Wii and the recent 3DS launched at 25000 JPY, and $250USD
if it's 20000JPY, it's probably $200. if it's 25000JPY, it's probably $250.

 

[machomuu]

Uh, Bloomberg's made a miscalculation
Nintendo never launches their consoles at a straight Yen-USD conversion rate. Both the Wii and the recent 3DS launched at 25000 JPY, and $250USD
if it's 20000JPY, it's probably $200. if it's 25000JPY, it's probably $250.

I doubt they'd sell it for $200, that's a big risk they'd be taking.

 

[Midna]

Uh, Bloomberg's made a miscalculation
Nintendo never launches their consoles at a straight Yen-USD conversion rate. Both the Wii and the recent 3DS launched at 25000 JPY, and $250USD
if it's 20000JPY, it's probably $200. if it's 25000JPY, it's probably $250.

I doubt they'd sell it for $200, that's a big risk they'd be taking.

Well if they'd sell it for 20000¥, then they'd sell it for $200.
Suspect Bloomburg, not me.

 

[machomuu]

Uh, Bloomberg's made a miscalculation
Nintendo never launches their consoles at a straight Yen-USD conversion rate. Both the Wii and the recent 3DS launched at 25000 JPY, and $250USD
if it's 20000JPY, it's probably $200. if it's 25000JPY, it's probably $250.

I doubt they'd sell it for $200, that's a big risk they'd be taking.

Well if they'd sell it for 20000¥, then they'd sell it for $200.
Suspect Bloomburg, not me.

Ah, that was just a general statement, I didn't mean it towards you specifically.

 

[ShadowSoldier]

You guys know that's based on an article from last years E3 right? Just keep clicking their sources and the bloomberg one is from 2011.

 

[Nathan Drake]

Considering the Wii U is supposed to be the most powerful thing around, and it comes with a tablet controller (which is likely to cost at least $60 to $75 all on its own [tablets aren't cheap] - ie: never ever drop it), I wouldn't expect this thing to go on sale for less than around $300, though I'd place it closer to $350. Anywhere above that though, and they won't be moving systems. Anywhere below $300, and they'll probably be taking a loss for at least the first year until the tech in the Wii U becomes cheaper.

Nintendo is throwing themselves into this one. Expect the system to cost as much as a next gen system would.

 

[triassic911]

I seriously doubt the Wii U will sell for anything less than $300. That controller alone looks pricey. If it is as powerful as various sources claim it to be, it will not be sold so cheaply. I would buy it at launch if at max the price was $400.

 

[shakirmoledina]

if its going to go for 250 then dont drop it, its gonna shatter

 

[chris888222]

I personally think that the Wii U will be priced at $299.99. Nintendo hardly bombs up the launch price by $100. Even the largest increase by the DS -> 3DS was only $80.

 

[Eerpow]

It's says more than, that means it's probably within a $300 to $350 price range.

If it were within the $300 to $350 range then they probably would have said "More than $300".

Okay, but $250 is ridiculously low, I'm expecting 30 000 yen for Japan just like what Nikkei said last time.

 

[Hielkenator]

It's says more than, that means it's probably within a $300 to $350 price range.

If it were within the $300 to $350 range then they probably would have said "More than $300".

Okay, but $250 is ridiculously low, I'm expecting 30 000 yen for Japan just like what Nikkei said last time.

That's what they said when the Wii came out...

 

[chartube12]

I keep seeing post claiming the gamepad looks expensive. But why? You can get cheap (non-china) tablet PCs for 50-75 USA dollars. Last I looked this thing lacks an os, a cpu, gpu and sound processor. Look at how much Nintendo charges for the Wii-mote and it's attachments. Yet they are including in the Wii when it sells for 150, originally 250. I can see Nintendo selling the gamepad separately at a ridiculous price, making more then double the cost like the wii-mote.

Factoring all these in and stuff I see the price being possibly 250 usa for the Wii-U. I'm betting the Wii-U only comes with the Wii-U Gamepad though. No other controllers.

 

[LightyKD]

I keep seeing post claiming the gamepad looks expensive. But why? You can get cheap (non-china) tablet PCs for 50-75 USA dollars. Last I looked this thing lacks an os, a cpu, gpu and sound processor. Look at how much Nintendo charges for the Wii-mote and it's attachments. Yet they are including in the Wii when it sells for 150, originally 250. I can see Nintendo selling the gamepad separately at a ridiculous price, making more then double the cost like the wii-mote.

Factoring all these in and stuff I see the price being possibly 250 usa for the Wii-U. I'm betting the Wii-U only comes with the Wii-U Gamepad though. No other controllers.

EXACTLY! The Wii-U's tab is a resistive screen semi tablet. If there is a cpu and behind the scenes OS it's not going to be a high end one.

 

[DiscostewSM]

The gamepad will obviously cost more than a Wiimote+ w/ nunchuk, which sells for ~$50. It has to have the capacity of decompressing a video/audio stream within 1/60th of a second (which is what Nintendo claims it does), so it has to have the hardware to accomplish that, including a CPU, RAM, and decompression hardware (not necessarily a GPU). Add that, the touch screen, speakers, and basically a Wiimote+ w/ nunchuk into one package, and I'd say you're looking at a price within the $80-$100 range.