Nintendo desperate move to cut the price of their newly released handheld gaming device, the 3DS seen as one step above to rival the price of the upcoming PlayStation Vita. But, should we just factor that only equation?
It has often become a traditional feat by Nintendo to make a profit on each device they’ve made, and the drastic action to drop the price of 3DS has cost them to lose the profit. It has been reported by Bloomberg Japan Nintendo will make a loss on every 3DS sold after the announcement of their massive discount.
Now, with that in mind, should we expect Nintendo to do the same to their upcoming home console, the Wii U? I think we can very much put our hopes on that after another big news hit the platform holder where their stock down 40% at Nikkei.
The future of the company is indeed relies on how Wii U performs, and to make sure of that, Nintendo need make it much more affordable or we can just say it as ‘selling at a loss’ to the mass market when it debuts. They’re also need to keep attracting AAA titles to their launch lineup so that people can have more reason to buy Wii U. The second sentiment need to be written down by Nintendo as it has been voiced up by one of the most popular video games publisher, Square Enix.
The Wii U is expected to hit the shelves next year, in 2012. No exact release date has given out just yet by Nintendo.
SteveDOF
Aug 01. 2011
I agree, that an affordable price is important to initial sales, but I think far more important is that the machine has a steady supply of quality titles. Games sell consoles, as we are seeing with the 3DS, even at it’s initial price-point.
I’m hoping this will drive home to Nintendo that they cannot be complacent about third party support. No doubt the machine could survive with minimal third-party involvement, but to win back the mature gaming crowd, they will need to court third party devs like never before.
It’s early days yet, but the number of big name developers saying that they have no plans to develop for the Wii U is very worrying. Gamers are going to be cautious about buying a machine they are told will not have some of the biggest multi-platform games.
Brian L.
Aug 01. 2011
I’ve never been wrong on a prediction for a Nintendo gaming system’s launch price. I’m hoping I’m not wrong here as I predict the launch price for the Wii U will be $349.99 USD. It’ll be just $50 more than a PS3′s current price of $299.99 USD while being a more powerful and unique console. I figured that the console itself is worth about $250, and the controller is at about $100. The Wii launched at $249.99, and Nintendo said the Wii U will cost more, so I think we’re looking at a sure $350 price tag.
I expect games to remain about $50 to $60 USD, thanks to the Wii U’s cheaper/faster/easier development compared to PS3′s game development, and I expect the digital item transaction prices to be reasonable as well. Whenever Nintendo does start selling individual Wii U controllers (because I DO expect them to eventually release Wii U controllers for sale to allow at least 2-player local multiplayer support with Wii U), I figure that the controller might drop down to $80 each.
I sincerely doubt Nintendo’s going to ask for more than that for their console, especially with the recent price drop on the Nintendo 3DS and their current rough time (which I think will pass by this holiday season). I think $350 is a smart and reasonable price for the Wii U, and I’m already saving for that amount to buy it first day. As both a gamer and an indie game developer, I’m personally excited about the Wii U. I was right about GameCube, Nintendo DS, Wii and Nintendo 3DS’s launch prices. I hope I’m right on the money again.