Gaming Wii U sells for a loss but only needs to sell one game to become profitable

Lurker2

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With Gamestop claiming they had a decent game attachment for each Wii U it is good to know Nintendo probably won't lose much money at launch or any. I wonder if it will end up like this generation where the Xbox and Playstation prove to just be money pits with profit returns at the end of their life.
 
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Lucifer666

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That's some crappy pricing right there. The Wii U, for what it can do, is extremely cheap. They could've priced it just a little higher, at least to have minimal profit. Selling it at a loss is seriously risky.
 

Deltaechoe

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That's some crappy pricing right there. The Wii U, for what it can do, is extremely cheap. They could've priced it just a little higher, at least to have minimal profit. Selling it at a loss is seriously risky.

I hate to sound like a pompous ass, but you are wrong. Most gaming hardware sells for a loss, the real money has ALWAYS been the software. Besides do you honestly think the market would bear a console that sells for over 400 dollars? Microsoft hit the very edge of average consumer acceptability when they priced their top package at 400 dollars, and if the wii is sold on a profit it would end up being more than that considering what is inside of the system. Sony tried to sell for a profit on the PS3 and the result was low sales and reduced revenue.

If a gaming company prices their consoles in the range that Nintendo just did, then more people buy the console which means more people buy the software
 

Arras

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I hate to sound like a pompous ass, but you are wrong. Most gaming hardware sells for a loss, the real money has ALWAYS been the software. Besides do you honestly think the market would bear a console that sells for over 400 dollars? Microsoft hit the very edge of average consumer acceptability when they priced their top package at 400 dollars, and if the wii is sold on a profit it would end up being more than that considering what is inside of the system. Sony tried to sell for a profit on the PS3 and the result was low sales and reduced revenue.

If a gaming company prices their consoles in the range that Nintendo just did, then more people buy the console which means more people buy the software
Nope, the original PS3 sold for a MASSIVE loss if I remember correctly. It's just that the thing took so much money to make at launch.
From Wikipedia:
"The PlayStation 3's initial production cost is estimated by iSuppli to have been US$805.85 for the 20 GB model and US$840.35 for the 60 GB model.[275] However, they were priced at US$499 and US$599 respectively, meaning that units may have been sold at an estimated loss of $306 or $241 depending on model"
 

Deltaechoe

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Nope, the original PS3 sold for a MASSIVE loss if I remember correctly. It's just that the thing took so much money to make at launch.
From Wikipedia:
"The PlayStation 3's initial production cost is estimated by iSuppli to have been US$805.85 for the 20 GB model and US$840.35 for the 60 GB model.[275] However, they were priced at US$499 and US$599 respectively, meaning that units may have been sold at an estimated loss of $306 or $241 depending on model"

Oh hell, you're right, I had my information mixed up. Still my point remains somewhat valid, the reason that the Wii U is priced as it is is to sell consoles which does present the incentive to buy software and accessories.
 

PolloDiablo

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Nope, the original PS3 sold for a MASSIVE loss if I remember correctly. It's just that the thing took so much money to make at launch.
From Wikipedia:
"The PlayStation 3's initial production cost is estimated by iSuppli to have been US$805.85 for the 20 GB model and US$840.35 for the 60 GB model.[275] However, they were priced at US$499 and US$599 respectively, meaning that units may have been sold at an estimated loss of $306 or $241 depending on model"
Now that I read that, I cant believe how Sony pull that out without going straight to bankruptcy.
Well, I guess only a big multibillion dolar company could do that. For a game only company like Nintendo, that would be like suicide.
 

Deltaechoe

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Now that I read that, I cant believe how Sony pull that out without going straight to bankruptcy.
Well, I guess only a big multibillion dolar company could do that. For a game only company like Nintendo, that would be like suicide.

I believe their business value took a massive hit after the PS3 release, but I haven't done any recent research so my memory might be foggy
 

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I kinda wonder what they mean with "only needs to sell one game". Does that mean nintendo is actually making a profit of the premium and deluxe versions, as they come bundled with one?
Or is it only in the green if you buy an additional game on top of that? And does it matter whether it's a first or a third party title?

That's some crappy pricing right there. The Wii U, for what it can do, is extremely cheap. They could've priced it just a little higher, at least to have minimal profit. Selling it at a loss is seriously risky.
I disagree to this for a different reason Deltaechoe mentions (though I do agree with him on those points).

How is it risky if you only need to sell one game to make it profitable? Despite all the other features, people will buy games for it. I don't have figures for how much, but I'm willing to bet my head on it that the average will be more than one (yes, there will be people speculating on a shortage and buying a whole bunch for resale, but they're exceptions).

No...the main risk for loss is in unsold devices. And that's more likely to happen with a price that's too high. When nintendo said they learned their lessons from the 3DS...I think they really meant it.
 
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