Topic: Console Cost of Ownership (and WiiU Price Drop)

Much has been made of the WiiU price in comparison to the other NextGens (especially PS4), and it ended up with Nintendo dropping the price of the WiiU today. That's probably a good move, but I think Nintendo needs to push the idea of "cost of ownership". The line right now is that WiiU is $100 cheaper than PS4, which is $100 cheaper than the XBONE. But what if you look at that in terms of how much it costs to own the things and get a comparable experience>

I ran the numbers: If you want the console, 2 controllers, motion controls, a retail game, 500GB of storage, blu ray, a headset and online play (calculated for 7 years here) you'll pay $505 for the WiiU (+external hard drive and cheapish Sony Blu Ray player), 980 for a PS4, and 1060 for XBONE. If you own a Wii + accessories and Blu Ray player then the WiiU price drops to $415. Not shabby at less than half what the PS4 will run you (and remember, even if you own a PS3, it's not going to help reduce the cost of accessories and such).

So why doesn't Nintendo push this line? WiiU is an absolute bargain if you're trying to get an equivalent experience (as close as possible), and I feel like this is getting lost in the discussion of the NextGen consoles. Thoughts?

To be completely fair, it's only going to be a real deal less if you don't want to download anything from the E-Shop, have tons of doods to play local multiplayer with, and have lots of Wii accessories.

They don't push that because they want you to see the Wii U as $299, not $505.

Minimum:
Wii U + 2/3DS = $430/470
PS4 + Vita = $600
Xbox One + Windows 8 tablet = $800

Maximum including complete remote set approximately:
Wii U/3DS = $870/910 + $100 max. on ext HDD
PS4/Vita = $1100
Xbox One/tablet = $1040

Online, add $350 or $420 for PS4 and Xbox One respectively.
Online for PS4 ends up costing the same as Wii U, and Xbox One online ends up costing the same as a PS4 about.

I've already spent way more than any of those on ONLY the Wii U, because of software. 9 full retail(one ends up being free because of the Deluxe Digital Promo, not including Nintendo Land), 3 download only, and 20 VC.

Then I have a 3DS XL with ton of stuff, too. I'm well over $2000, already. I'm just gonna go Nintendo for now.

there are other things to consider, for a PS4 you only need a second controller and you are good to go for all 2 player games available int he console.. For the Wii U if you really want to play everything the console has to offer for two players you need 2 Wii Motes + Nunchuks, 2 Wii Classic Controlers, and would probably need a second gamepad that woudl cost at least US$100 once games come that require it.

PS4 is also not region locked.... something that doesn't matter much if you live in the U.S. but would save you a lot of money if you are in Pal regions. PS4 also doesn't tie games to the console so you pay a bit extra but get the security that you won't lose your digital downloads....

Also you have to consider that the Wii U is not an equivalent experience, most third party titles available for the Wii U are inferior ports of games available in cheaper "last gen" consoles, if you only care about Nintendo games and don't care about games developed by anyone else then yes the Wii U is a better deal, but if you want to have access to a comparable library of games you need to add a gaming pc to the cost of the Wii U in order to access the next gen multiplats the Wii U is not gonna get, and that pushes it over the price of the other consoles

@Brooks83: Fair point. I still think Nintendo would benefit from consumers viewing PS4 or XBONE as a $1000 commitment, even if they view the WiiU as a $500 console. So why isn't it something that the video game media has picked up on? Or at least something that Nintendo fans don't bring up when the inevitable console argument comes up?

@ferthepoet: Of course each console has its own library of games and each individual console offers its own experience. So no, you can't really get an exact equivalent experience. I didn't mean to imply that if I did; but this is the price comparison if you're trying to get the same capabilities on each system. You won't get all the AAA titles on WiiU (but you will get Call of Duty, WatchDogs, Assassin's Creed, Splinter Cell, etc), but you won't get Nintendo games on the others, and I think that that would be a compromise a lot of gamers (people not dedicated to any of the big 3) would be willing to make.

Anyways, I think you can play most if not all of the games on WiiU with the Gamepad, a Pro Controller and a WiiMote. At least all the games I own (that aren't Wii games) don't require the nunchuck without supporting the Pro Controller. And I don't think most consumers care that much about Region Locking; that's been widely debated with hardcore gamers on both sides of the issue.

@Scar392

Your assuming that people need a Tablet or a Vita to use the Xbox One and Playstatin 4. Xbox Smartglass at least doesn't need a windows 8 tablet it can be used using.

Windows 8 Tablets and laptops
Windows Phone 8
Windows 8 tablet
android phones and tablets
Ios phones and tablets

Is that really an added cost when those devices are mainstream and the majority of console owners probably have any on of these. I already have a nexus 4 and 7 and don't have to buy or upgrade to get them to work with smartglass on xbox one.

If were just comparing the prices of items that are truly needed for each system it burns to

Wii U -$360-$400 (I'm including HDD here)
Xbox One- $560 (assuming you don't already have Xbox Live)
Playstation 4 $450 (assuming you don't already have PlayStation 4.

Honestly it mostly depends on the feature set you really want at launch and what games you want.

@Sony70: I won't argue with the price of the HDD though I think you can think you can get it cheaper than $60. BUT I think your pricing assumes only one year of the online services? If you extrapolate for the life of the console, the price skyrockets for PS4 and XBoxOne

Yeah but I'm going with the initial pricing upon first buy. For xbox lve you could always use bing rewards to get gold for free.

http://www.bing.com/rewards/redeem/all?meru=%252f

@uptownsoul: The Wii was released in 2006, with the WiiU being released in 2012. That's six years, so that's not way off. Besides that, the life of the Nintendo console doesn't mean much because you're not paying a monthly subscription. It's the life of the others that matters more, and those have had a 7 year life-span (2006-2013). Secondly, I didn't save WiiU owners any money when I said $500: Console, 300; Pro Controller, 50; WiiMote, 40; Headset, 20; 500GB of storage, 45; Sony Blu Ray, 50. That's $505, right? In fact, I added $50 to the WiiU by assuming that the consumer didn't have--and would want--a BluRay.

So lets talk PS+. I've never had it, so I don't know the ins and outs of it. I calculated it based on a $60 a year commitment for 7 years, which was the most accurate price point I could come up with in a quick check. I'm all ears if you can tell me why that's wrong. And yup.... free PS4 games, so that definitely adds value there. My only question is (a) are they games people really want and (b) is it worth the money to get games you never ask for vs. keeping the money and the freedom to buy the games to you want? That's something that hinges primarily on what games they are and who you are as a game.

And I agree on the games library. We can't be sure we'll get sequels, but we don't know we won't. If the install base of the WiiU picks up--or if PS4/XBox have similar struggles (and some think they will), then it'll be more likely. And besides--even though I know a lot of people won't care--I can guarantee that PS4/XBox users won't be getting any Mario/ Zelda/ Metroid/ Donkey Kong/ Pikmin/ Bayonetta/ SmashBros/ MarioKart, etc.

You said earlier that value is a subjective term, and I agree 100% with that. I'm not saying that no one should buy PS4 or XBox. I'd get one if money weren't involved, just so I could be sure I'd get all the AAA titles. It's obviously about the games library and the sevices. But at some point the difference between the $ commitment has to play a role for the undecided gamers.

I wasn't aware of that. That's cool that you can do that. But how much do you have to spend to get XBox Live for Free?

699 or 799 if your a gold status member (meaning you search a lot.) You get about 17 points a day (it used to be 30) meaning you should have enough points enough to get gold every month.

You can also use points for xbox live money,

An awesome thing about numbers and values is that you can twist them to back up any thing you want.

@Uptownsoul I was referring to the yearly pricing for online gaming, so yeah, it didn't mean much in the calculation is what I meant. The life-cycle of Nintendo consoles isn't that different from that of Sony. Xbox doesn't have much of a track record (5 yrs b/w Xbox and 360; 7 b/w 360 and One). If the consumer knows it's going to be discontinued in 3 years like the DreamCast was, then yeah. That'd make a difference. But I don't seriously think the guy walking into a BestBuy and trying to figure out what they want to buy now is thinking about if the system will be around 7 years from now or 6.

If this actually happens then Nintendo is going to be put into a great place. They could get on a opposite console cycle than Microsoft and Sony. So if the console life cycle becomes an average of 8 years it could turn into Xbox One and PS4 released in 2013, the Next Nintendo Console released in 2017, The next Microsoft and Sony Consoles released 2021, the next Nintendo Console released 2025 and so on. I had this idea awhile ago and it would be interesting if Nintendo does this. It could be a big boom for Nintendo.

that's how marketing teams work!

@Uptownsoul: Yeah, it's a fair point. I still don't see the next Nintendo console, whatever it is, debuting more than a year ahead of the next Sony/MS console... unless @DefHalan is right and they go for the mid-term releases. That could actually work since Nintendo's always trying to capture the more casual market. Release the new system halfway through so that you have a high-powered system while the others are working on their NextGens and then you have the budget system when the new ones come out. They could ensure that they have 3rd party support for the life of the console too since they'd have the high-powered machine at first and then upgrade right when the games are starting to surpass its capabilities. I like that line of thinking

@Sony_70
I'm one of those people that buys the "complete set" for whatever product I choose to buy.
Since Nintendo's products were the first things out(3DS - 2011, Wii U 2012), I bought those things first and decked them out.
I guess I could have waited for Xbox One, but I like Nintendo and are generally more familar with the company than any other.

I'm not "twisting" numbers, or saying which one's better. It just so happens that my first choice was the only choice at the time, and it just so happens it's cheaper. So ya, I agree that it's what you deem more valuable and such.

I had the anti-PS4 mentality before that thing was even announced, based on my time with my PS3. That's just my opinion.
My attitude towards 8th gen is get Nintendo, get Xbox One later. That's just me.

I've said this before, I plan on getting an Xbox One "complete" set as well, but that won't be fir a while.

Also, about the Windows 8 tablet price, it's about the same price as any of the other gadgets if you find a deal. I'd rather have a tablet than a phone. I should have just said, Smartglass.

Yeah I was just saying that the price for smartglass shouldn't really be included since the majority of people probably has some device that works as a smartglass device. But I do understand what you mean by picking up a complete set of items. Even I plan to eventually get a windows phone and tablet. (that's mostly due to liking each os though.)

Even my laptop can do smartglass.