5 Reasons Why Nintendo Must Price The Wii U Below $300

Nintendo is preparing as a company to once again show why they are the leaders of the gaming industry, as they gear up to release the successor to the highly-popular Nintendo Wii, the Nintendo Wii U. Nintendo has many hurdles it is facing though with the Wii U, and we have highlighted our top five reasons why we believe Nintendo has to keep the price point below $300 at launch for it to truly be a success right out of the gate.

[Khordchange]

I agree with all the points. Just look at before and after the price cut for the 3DS. Not selling well, then all the sudden breaking sales records.

and do you mean 299 or less? Because 299 would be a nice price point

[morkendo23]

199 or 239 is a great EXCELLENT start.
competing with ps4, 720 that is.

[Tenkay23]

I like your reasons but Nintendo does not share your sentiments. When they say the Wii U won't be cheap, that says $350 or more to me. An expensive console to me is &400+. Let's just say between $350-$400 for the Wii U.

[bergoo]

Do you think people will expect a price drop in a few months no matter what the launch price? Since the 3DS price drop was such big news, I wonder if, no matter what the WiiU launch price, people will expect a price drop in a few months after release.

[vicbomb5]

I feel as if $350 - $400 is too much for the Wii U, they need to establish an installed user base quickly to gain an edge on the PS4 / Xbox 720 before they come out at likely similar price points.

A $299 price point would be best here.

[Sano64]

If they have a strong enough launch linup along with a great game bundle I can see them getting away with selling it for $400-450 USD. There is no way this thing should cost less then an ipad

[Shackdaddy836]

Considering they started the 3ds at $250, it's EXTREMELY unlikely that it will be less than $300. I'm thinking anywhere between $350-$450 depending on what type of console this turns out to be.

[PopRocks359]

Nintendo never sells at a loss. Not unless they absolutely need to.

[vicbomb5]

very good point that is true, Nintendo is not known for taking a loss on consoles.

[matey]

its got more tech than ipad3/4/5/6 but it will sell less because consoles make money off games ipad sells games but there rubbish and 70% of the games sold are 99p not AAA.

[ChickeyCantor]

I think many people will wait for a price drop. Like the 3DS did. I think this could damage Nintendo and force them to lower the price eventually.

[PopRocks359]

Keep in mind the 3DS had more than just its price tag as a hindrance. Wii U will most certainly not suffer from a bad launch line up this time. They're banking heavily on third party support.

This does mean older games at launch, yes. But then who wouldn't want Batman Arkham City on their console of choice?

[vicbomb5]

I agree in a lot of what you are saying, but I believe the Wii U is going to need a lot more than ports (although they will be improved ports) of games people have already played through to justify the price of the console and games.

[ChickeyCantor]

Im aware of that.
But people already have the mindset of expecting a pricedrop.

[Jihaad_cpt]

Below U$300 is kind of asking a lot if they want a system that is "powerful" companies cant release cutting edge technology and sell the console "way" below cost of production that would lead to heavy cash flow problems (which is the death of many companies and what was the United States economy)