150°

Retail Calls For Wii U Price Cut And New Strategy

James Batchelor: ''UK games retailers want Nintendo to revitalise Wii U sales with a fresh marketing push and a price drop.

Console sales have slowed since its December launch. Last week, it lost exclusive rights to Rayman Legends and Ninja Gaiden 3, and Activision boss Bobby Kotick said the publisher is “disappointed” in Wii U’s performance so far.

In January, Wii U’s second month on sale, the console only accounted 1.6 per cent of UK game sales. In the US, Wii U has sold 38 per cent less units than its predecessor at the same stage of its own launch.

But retailers, including members of MCV's Retail Advisory Board, have said they believe Nintendo can turn this around if the platform holder acts now.''

Jackhass4079d ago

A price cut after one slow month -- has everybody lost their minds? Does nobody know how business works anymore?

Dylila4079d ago ShowReplies(3)
Just_The_Truth4079d ago

It's because the beast is coming.

xursz4079d ago (Edited 4079d ago )

Needs to clear shelf space. Jk.

No but seriously. It wouldn't surprise me if retailers are still holding hardware from the launch period.

porkChop4078d ago

The PS4 is about to be announced, and both the PS4 and Xbox 3 will be released this year. The Wii U, with it's crap hardware, simply cannot compete with those systems. Nintendo needs to do a price cut now to get systems out the door, they need to ensure a healthy fan base before the proper next gen systems release or they WILL be left behind. Retail chains know this, that's why their calling for a price cut. They don't want to be stuck with a product that won't sell.

PopRocks3594079d ago

Perhaps in the UK it's not unreasonable. The platform is weakest in that region in particular. I still don't think a price drop is necessary just yet, especially if the Vita has gone this long without one. Just some more games please.

StanSmith4078d ago

No it is unreasonable.

The UK retailers set the price tag here in the UK. They are the ones charging UK consumers £10 more than PS3/360 for the games. What they are asking for here, is for Nintendo to drop their price (therefore losing more money) while it doesn't effect their profit margins.

Typical UK businesses. Ripping people off. If they want to cut Wii U's price, then they have more than enough room to do so. The burden shouldn't fall onto Nintendo.

PopRocks3594078d ago

I'm guessing that's what I received 8+ disagrees for? Because I do think a price drop would be necessary in that region at least. Didn't know the retailers were that sketchy with prices though. How long has that been a common occurrence?

OccludedGamer4078d ago

@PopRocks

Lets just say I paid more than the you probably did for Sonic the Hedgehog 3

grassyknoll4078d ago

The WiiU is far far too expensive, there is no way Nintendo is making a loss with those specs & a cheap low resolution resistive tablet controller added on. It needs to be 199 pounds to make significant inroads in the UK.

corrus4078d ago

Nintendo love to suck money that's why they selling their junk on high price and about the specs that's why they didn't tell anyone what the specs is but no one can keep the secret when the console is already out

grassyknoll4078d ago

Nintendo are a great software company, but with the WiiU they are being cheap & it shows. Poor resolution on the tablet, terrible specs (nevermind graphics, no ethernet port!) & the online side is a mess. Nintendo have brought this mess on themselves.

MikeMyers4078d ago (Edited 4078d ago )

Considering the Gamepad is going to retail for $150 I think they are losing money. The PS3 and Xbox 360 sell for roughly $200-$250 and the Wii U has better specs in some areas.

What Nintendo should do to counter all the hype about the upcoming PS4 and Xbox 720 is to drop the price a few months before those systems launch, not now. That way they will have a better idea of their pricing. You can't counter those hardcore gamers who will buy the new systems no matter what but you can try and convince those siting on the fence.

grassyknoll4078d ago (Edited 4078d ago )

I'm not attacking you, but you're wrong on a number of counts. Firstly, controllers are massive money makers for console companies, If European/Chinese companies can make tablets that cost £50(around $75) & make a profit with RAM, CPU, higher resolution etc, then it's definitely not costing Nintendo more than £30 ($45) to make.

Secondly, it may have slightly better specs than the older consoles, but newer, higher spec chips are probably just as much to buy. Nintendo seem to have focused solely on energy efficiency rather than specs (a massive mistake this time round). Under your logic, the PS4 should cost $2000.

MikeMyers4078d ago (Edited 4078d ago )

I'm sorry but I will tend to agree with Nintendo and other analysts out there who have suggested they are losing money.

http://arstechnica.com/gami...

http://www.newser.com/story...

There is also technology that the PS3 and Vita combo represent and that in itself would cost well over the price of the Wii U. Yes the Vita is more portable but there is an added cost indeed to have that feature built into every Wii U.

There really is no benefit for the analysts nor Nintendo to suggest they are losing money when you suggest they aren't. They have to show financial reports on all of this stuff. There are also added costs to manufacturing, shipping and so on.

Darth Stewie4078d ago

I wonder what gets a price cut 1st Vita or Wii U?

Ju4078d ago

Vita. But then, Vita is a handheld, WiiU is Nintendo's flagship console. Hardly comparable. It's quite bad that it can't really pull ahead of Sony's "bye product". I can see the cry for a price cut when the numbers actually drop below Wii sales...

Gamer-404078d ago (Edited 4078d ago )

Why need price cut 3 months old console?
Man, WiiU "Doomed" articles very boring.

Look Vita, one year old, 4 million sells. No price cut.
WiiU 3 months old, 3 million sells. Need price cut?

This illogical.

Ddouble4078d ago

It's because things can only go down from here if you take into account how sales are this time of year.

The launch and holiday period has passed which is why it dropped from selling 450K in December to 57K in January in NA. It's not going to magically get better in the coming months and the fact that it's game lineup is barren means things are going to get pretty ugly if they don't do something quick.

Gamer-404078d ago

This logical.
But WiiU need more AAA games and little time, only 3 months old.

Show all comments (30)
80°

Nintendo's Massacre Of The 3DS And Wii U Is Finally Complete, Regrettably

Hanzala from eXputer: "The cruel hammer of Nintendo has fallen. Farewell, 3DS and Wii U, you surely brightened my life and many others; you won't be forgotten."

60°

8 of the most useless amiibo figures ever released

A new list goes over eight of the the most useless amiibo, ranging from the Shadow Mewtwo card to the Qbby figure.

Read Full Story >>
nintendoeverything.com
80°

Looking Ahead: The Lingering Questions About the Next Mario Kart

VGChartz's Mark Nielsen: "10 years. It’s been almost 10 years since the last mainline release in the Mario Kart series. Mario Kart 8 came out for the Wii U in 2014 and became the best-selling game for the system by a sizeable margin, and later pulled the same magic trick on the Nintendo Switch under the stage name Deluxe. All in all, it's sold nearly 70 million copies over the last decade and is still selling like hot cakes to this day, so it’s no wonder Nintendo has been in no rush to replace it. However, with rumors of a new system being just around the corner, and reports a few years back that a new Mario Kart is indeed under way, it seems the era of 8 might very well be drawing to a close. It’s an exciting prospect to be sure, but after two Nintendo systems with Mario Kart 8 at their heart, a lot of questions remain about how Nintendo will choose to follow it up."

Read Full Story >>
vgchartz.com
Yi-Long5d ago

I hope they just keep building on Mario Kart 8; Add a track-creation tool, and probably open it up to more Nintendo IPs with new tracks and characters, so Metroid, Punch Out, Starfox, Animal Crossing, etc etc.

gold_drake5d ago

there wont be a new one until the switch 2 comes out.

nintendo needs their bangers early on