Rumor: Wii U $300 Price Planned

[itachi73378]

A report has emerged claiming that Nintendo's Wii U will cost at least $300 at its U.S launch later this year.

Montreal-based culture and entertainment site Forget the Box is citing "sources closely involved with manufacturing and distributing Nintendo products" for its story, which has been picked up by various mainstream media outlets. The source says that Wii U's costs of manufacture are $180 with an additional $50 for the controller.

Forget The Box's source is quoted, "Cutting production costs to maximize profits is Nintendo's main concern with the Wii U. They are cutting costs in the Wii U's hardware to build back confidence in investors. Nintendo wants investors to view Wii U as a less risky proposition."

The source added, "Nintendo chose an economical GPU and CPU that could keep up with the performance of today's current consoles, but keep hardware costs down to maximize profits. Nintendo got a bargain price on the custom GPU and CPU that the Wii U uses. There is a bigger focus on downloadable content, applications, video content, digital distribution, and services to create a stream of revenue. Investors will be ecstatic with the news."

The original Wii launched at $250 in the U.S, as did Nintendo's 3DS. Nintendo is expected to announce is plans for Wii U at E3. IGN

If this is true, then Nintendo will have another money making machine like Wii

[Nitey]

Nice. At $300 it'll probably sell a ton. Considering Nintendo go out to make a profit on their hardware from the off, this may coincide with the rumours we've been hearing of late of the average specs

[MATRIX 2]

Nice. At $300 it'll probably sell a ton. Considering Nintendo go out to make a profit on their hardware from the off, this may coincide with the rumours we've been hearing of late of the average specs

I wouldn't be so sure.

At $250 it could compete with the existing generation at consoles. (Say the base ps3 sku at $199.9-$249.99 and the 360 250gb at $249.99 (lite version at $149.99)

But at $300 I don't think so. Especially if MS launches the next xbox at ~$400 and sony sells the PS4 for less than the ps3 it isn't going to work out for nintendo considering sales numbers.

Best case for nintendo: they can create a worthwhile experience for 3rd party multiplat games with the Wii U controller and make use of historical Nintendo IP's with updated graphics and proper Wii U controller support to sell the console.

I foresee them dropping the ball with this (at least regarding 3rd party multiplat games)

I know a significant amount of people feel burned by nintendo with their Wii's sitting on a shelf collecting dust.

Plus nintendo's lack of an online network/ecosystem doesn't help.

[Sylar]

lol i would probably buy the Wii U just for Mario games

[Kuro]

That's a good starting point imo

[ex nihilo7]

I'll wait until the next PLAYSTATION comes out. By then, there might be a price cut of $50. Then again, If I do wait, I might never get a Wii U.

[Rapture]

So, if rumors are true, it'll be weaker than the Wii comparative to its generation, and it'll be more expensive. Er... long live Nintendo?

[AaronSOLDIER]

Well, factor in the tablet and a Wiimote, that's around the $100 mark I'd say, so the console itself is around $200. Yep, definitely on par with PS360 if this price is true, unless they are selling it for a loss.

[Freeman987]

That's good for them. I mean they were outta the media for a while but this probably will be a money making machine llike they said and a big HIT!

[mooninites]

Good price if it's more powerful than the current gen ps3 and xbox. If not then it's not really All that great.

[Blacksite]

I'm sure the new console will turn a profit for Nintendo. The real question is whether or not the Wii U will last longer than its predecessor.

[Lethal_NFS]

If the Wii U has a large hard drive, then the $300 price should be fine. I do hope Nintendo sells the Wii U with the ability to upgrade the storage the same as the PS3.

[itachi73378]

If the Wii U has a large hard drive, then the $300 price should be fine. I do hope Nintendo sells the Wii U with the ability to upgrade the storage the same as the PS3.

Considering the hardrive prices right now, it probably won't.

[TGO]

With the latest info on it having more ram then current gen consoles but being slaughtered especially by the PS3 in processing terms....I don't know
Seems a bit much, especially when I know that translates to £300 here, that's what next gen consoles should be, not a weaker then a 5 year old current gen console.....but no doubt it'll sale

Sent from my 12.5MP, DualCore, Bravia Powered 720p LED Screened Sony Xperia S

[Ghost-Rhayne]

I'm of two minds regarding this console. One side of me reads comments from Gearbox saying that the Wii U version will be one of the best looking and the idea of the motion tracker on the Wii controller is cool and I want it...but then I think about the console as a whole, what it's really offering and it's timing. The only real reason for me to buy it would be for Nintendo 1st party games, which I have never needed before, as the Vita-PS3 combo is a bit more dynamic and will be getting the same 3rd party content with its own perks (Move support, 3D, Vita integration). I think this device is aimed at the mighty Nintendo brand demographic, as I don't understand why someone would pay the price for a current gen console that has only a fraction of the content available.

I know around the launch of Wii, Nintendo were all like "we dont need to release an HD console, there is already enough competition there" and they were right imho. However, now they are jumping right in the midst of this market which they didn't want to crowd at a time when the consoles are on fire under a shitstorm of amazing 1st and 3rd party games and established ecosystems.

It would be nice, however, if current gen and next gen could coexist on an ongoing basis. I think we are at the point of gaming tech where this is possible. There was no way it was really possible with PS2 and 3, seeing as the leap was so great. Sony have said that PS3 will have a minimum 10 year lifespan and that the Vita will be a 5-10 year product. Sony and Nintendo could offer cheap, affordable HD gaming with impressive and interesting tech and input options as an alternative to the (probably?) costlier next gen systems. I look at projects like Dust 514 and it's a fucking HUGE undertaking what they're planning there, they have said they will be building upon it for years to come (unique planet maps etc). This gen is worthy of being the cheaper alternative to next gen, looking at titles on PS3 and 360.

[AaronSOLDIER]

I agree completely, I think the seventh and eighth gen will coexist much longer than any previous gens, except the PS2 because that just doesn't seem to want to ever die until Sony say its had its day.

[Versus]

Don't think it's worth 2 cents without any good AAA games. And Nintendo has a terrible reputation on that with that with the Wii outside the usual 1st Party Stuff.

As a matter of fact they outta call there system the "Nintendo Mario-Zelda-Metroid" cus lord knows that almost about all there good for.

And certainly if the Wii U ain't got an optical port, hardrives, and USB port, I think that console is worthless trash until they can prove it's worth getting one. Prove that it's more then just a Wii 2.0 and people will have more faith.

[RaY_210]

I'm still not believing these "weaker than the PS3/360" rumors. But I was hoping for a $300 price point. If true, I may end up getting one sooner rather than later.

[AaronSOLDIER]

I'm still not believing these "weaker than the PS3/360" rumors. But I was hoping for a $300 price point. If true, I may end up getting one sooner rather than later.

At that price I wouldn't expect much more, if any at all. But at least the games will be 1080p native and hopefully a decent online platform. Otherwise it'll be just what we currently get out of the current systems.

[Nuvian]

But at least the games will be 1080p native and hopefully a decent online platform.

Quote? only thing i have read is that the console has 1080p support, nothing about the games being ran on 1080p.

[Nuvian]

Since the Wii-U isn't exactly a jump from current gen consoles, they cant really price it much above the PS3 in my opinion.

Nintendo usually makes a profit from day one on their consoles, 299$ doesn't sound way off, wouldn't surprise me if it was 249$ either.

[Sylar]

I can see it being just as powerful but not better imo

[AaronSOLDIER]

Well it'll surely have more than 512MB of RAM for it to be able to be 1080p for all games natively, if not then its even more of a pointless 'upgrade'

[itachi73378]

I'm pretty sure the games will be native 1080p. Atleast thats what the devs make it sound like

[Rapture]

I'm pretty sure the games will be native 1080p. Atleast thats what the devs make it sound like

I'm doubting that. Maybe a few games will tout the 1080p experience, but a majority will be 720p.