One message that Nintendo has been keen to emphasise is that Wii U will avoid the launch day mistakes that hit 3DS, promising that plenty of content will be available from the beginning. There's little doubt that a relatively high price and the lack of a 'killer app' hurt the handheld, so Nintendo faces a task to avoid either of these issues affecting Wii U.
Nintendo UK boss, David Yarnton, has avoided details but told MCV that Wii U will be a worthwhile purchase when it hits stores.
One of the problems with 3DS was content. When we launched we didn’t have the content we do now, or the functionality for download games either. We do have that now, and did get there a few months after launch.
But with the Wii U, we had 23 games on show at E3, plus Netflix and Amazon and other services all hopefully for launch – it’s a great value proposition.
He did seem to reiterate that Nintendo wants to avoid a loss on each system, stating that "we have a cost we have to hit to get our money back". We'll learn in the next few months what Nintendo considers to be great value, but what do you want to pay for Wii U, and what do you expect to find in the box?
[source mcvuk.com]
Comments 73
I expect to pay $400-600 AUD and I think it'll come with the system, a GamePad, the standard cabling and everything and possibly NintendoLand.
My plan is to get the system paid for as soon as I can so then I can just start focuing on games.
Paid $300 months ago, just waiting for the official price so I can pay the rest.
I'm expecting $350-400, with a Gamepad, the console, manuals, and Nintendo Land.
I expect $300 USD. Ideally I would want the system, game pad, a pro controller, and Nintendo Land all packed in.
€300 - €350, Gamepad, console, an hdmi cable, the usual manuals that no one reads and Nintendo Land bundled in. And there's a slight chance that they'll bundle in an additional Wii remote I guess (I'd rather they put in a Pro controller, but they already said that it will be sold separately).
Anyway, if Nintendo want to get this console flying off the shelves, they have to remove almost all reasons for waiting out. For example, it might sound silly, but a lot of people would probably wait for the black Wii U if it isn't available at launch, and there is no reason why it shouldn't be.
From a retail POV, 3Ds is still lacking IMO. So the Wii U doesn't need much to better it.
I want HDMI, Nintendo Land and something that uses NFC-technology, cards or something like that, to come with the system. I'd be willing to pay 300-350€ for that kinda package.
I'm expecting a price around the £200-£250 mark. I think they would struggle to justify selling it for more than that.
Nintendo Land would be a nice bonus. It's basic, gives a good idea of what the system's about and would struggle to sell on its own.
@Lin1876 yeah, 'cause minigame compilations tend to struggle at retail. Mario/Wii Party, Raving Rabbids, Carnival, none of them sold well at all. And of course, NintyLand brings together loads of extremely well known franchises, icluding the biggest selling video game series in history, so that would definitely be a huge flop.
"All hopefully for launch"
Hopefully being the key word
I already have 3-4 games I want at launch day. I usually never have that many at the launch of a system. So I see where he's coming from.
I'm looking forward to this. There's about 10 games I want at launch.
I'm still expecting $300-350, and hoping for NintendoLand as a pack-in, but I wouldn't be surprised if it ended up releasing at $250. It seems way too low, but Iwata (it could have been Reggie) said we'd be surprised by the value of the system when asked about price. Just about everyone's expecting a price between $300 and $400, so how would that be surprising? $250, however, would be pretty shocking, and if they can afford to mark it that low, consumers would have the option of buying a next gen console for the same price as current gen consoles.
I expect black bundle to include: console, manuals, gamepad, Nintendoland and cost 300$. White bundle to exclude Nintendoland and cost some 270$. Hopefully Nintendo will add HDMI cable too. Or at least will have official Nintendo ones available at around 15$ no more.
I expect no less than $349.99. It'd be a great deal for the system and it would definitely be cheaper than the upcoming competition. Also, it would only be a $100 price difference from the PS360s on the market...
A 4GB Xbox 360 costs $199.
A 120GB PS3 costs $249.
A new Nintendo system with similar specs, no built id hand drive and a touchscreen controller BETTER cost $249 or I think most people just won't bother.
We will obviously.
My prediction is that they will make it $299, include the system, 1 gamepad, Nintendoland.
My other prediction is that half the stuff they say will be ready at launch, won't be, and they won't show up until 3 months down with little to no communication explaining what's going on and when stuff will be released.
I also predict they will have a horrible marketing push that will confuse consumers as to what exactly the Wii U is, and media will compare it to Apple TV and an Ipad, which I personally think it's warranted, though silly as an Ipad/tv cost almost a grand, but then again it's Apple and they sarcasm can do no wrong /sarcasm
@C-Olimar As an ex worker at Game UK i can honestly tell you them games actually sold very very very well. AS matter of fact Mario party nine actually topped the UK all formats chart, Wii party sold out all over the UK when it launched 2010 Xmas time and i can remember how many ppl we had to turn away telling them we was out of stick. But i think Nintendo i think well be very wise and bundle Nintendo land, they seen the success with Wii sports when bundled. So they wouldn't be that dumb not to give it with the console. Well they have to bundle something with it, and as they have said that is the game that well make ppl understand it, so they have to.
Nintendo needs to get this right. Given the tech in the console, I think it will sell for $299.99. Regardless of price, more importantly is what is available and included at launch.
Someone else said they need to get rid of factors that would have people potentially wait. An example that applies to me is the Black console.
They need to offer Black right away next to white.
They have shown black, we know it is coming, and if you were to prefer black, such as I do, then why would you drop $300 when you could just wait a little longer for black?
If they only launch white, they are going to miss a lot of potential first day buyers who are waiting for black. and that will hurt sales.
As far as including in the box, needs to come with an HDMI cable, the Gamepad of course, the console. That's bare bones. Ideally, it will come also with a Wii Remote Plus (although I don't need one i've got 4 already, as I'm sure many do, I think it would be a nice bonus for those who never owned a wii or never bought wiimote plus), and a pack-in game, hopefully NintendoLand.
Why Nintendo Land? Because it's a nice nod to all their loyal customers who love their IPs, and it's a great way to introduce all classic Nintendo IPs to new players. Not to mention the game was designed to show off the new ways to play.
I don't think I would buy Nintendo Land if it was sold separately, but I think I would definitely enjoy it if it was a pack-in.
A large incentive to the casual audience for the Wii was that it came with Wii Sports - when you bought the system, you didn't even need to buy a game with it that day.
It'll be nice for casuals, but since it is Nintendo IPs it will be nice for long time fans and hardcore players.
So all in all, I want to see at launch a Black Wii U, packed with the console, one gamepad, HDMI cable, Wiimote Plus, and Nintendo Land. Retail for somewhere between $299.99 & $399.99, but I'm guessing they are going to be more towards the $299.99.
@title It won't be without black!
My gut feeling is $299 for the capability I've seen. I'd have been willing to pay more for a more powerful console but most people want consoles to be cheap (first and foremost). So, performance-wise, we're getting what the majority are willing to pay for.
I'm willing to pay $0 for white. Black or no sale.
$250-$300 at maximium.
@Zaphod_Beeblebrox you're right if I'm paying $300 dollars for a console, it better be the color I want.
I feel it will be $350 USD, hopefully $300, with the normal pack in of Gamepad, cables and possibly Nintendo Land.
The online functionality will be there at launch, since they had the 3DS as an experiment for doing it right, and for seeing how wrong it was to rush the system and not including it since day 1. Specially with Miiverse.
And there should be black and white consoles. We had to wait years for a black Wii and Nintendo cannot afford to lose potential sales, specially when they have shown so many black Wii U pictures and of course the userbase should grow as fast as possible to entice third parties to develop games.
My feeling is around the $250-$300 selling point. They can't make the same mistakes that Sony did with the Playstation 3, (Starting Price $500) Also, they need to justify a pull away from current HD consoles, since you are still gonna pay extra for the same graphics. (Which any HD player really cares about) I just care about graphics now because, there have been no real good releases outside first party for the Wii, but now, now I am getting some great titles, because of the software lineup made possible by graphics kick up.
Got to be $350. I wouldn't pay $400. But I do expect a Game Pad, a Pro controller, a Wii Remote +, a nunchuck and Nintendo Land all in the box along with the console and necessary cables. I expect the eShop to be open from day 1 with the FULL Wii VC and WiiWare catalogues as well as Wii U-specific games. Netflix, Amazon, Skype and other apps and utilities should be available and fully-functional out of the box, too.
If Nintendo wants to make a dent in the hardcore market while still keeping the casual one, they're going to have to impress people on every level from the time they open the box from the price to the inclusions to the functionality.
Absolutely no way is the Pro controller or Wiimotechuk coming packed in. No way. Not happening. Nope.
It sounds a lot like they're saying "it's great value for what you get" rather than "it's great value for what you'll spend" - as in, it's more likely to be expensive but they'll try to rationalise that with the featureset. It could well launch at £300+, but they'll say that it's "good value" because of the gamepad, Netflix, Youtube, Amazon, better online etc. Recent comments from Nintendo that making digital downloads of retail games cheaper "devalues" the title (thus entirely missing the point of digital downloads) seems to enforce this too - they use 'value' to mean quality of product rather than cost to consumer.
Don't be suprised if this thing turns out expensive as hell. It probably will be.
The only thing packed in will be the gamepad and the system. There is no possible way the pro controllers will be packed in - nintendo is releasing those to appeal to a limited core market, they aren't coming with the system. Maybe a game will be released packaged with a pro controller (like Batman, that would be cool). I'm hoping for $350, but no more. If it is $400 I will not buy. And I really really really hope they pack in Nintendoland.
The problem is most of the time at launch you merely get the bare basics in which case £200-£250 sounds right. What we really want is the additional wii-mote and nunchuck (since so many games require you to have it) plus a game, something like Nintendo Land would be perfect as it perfectly showcases the Gamepad's potential! This as well as HDMI cable (tho I require scart haha) and I'll be happy to go upto £300 or maybe a bit over but not much!
I say Nintendo Land will be perfect but for the record I'm still going to get Pikmin 3!
For a standard edition:
$300 USD and has; the Console, the GamePad, the cables and (probably) the Pro Controller and NintendoLand.
For a bundle edition:
$300 - $450 USD and has: the Console, the GamePad, the cables and (probably) the Pro Controller, NintendoLand and/or another game(s).
For a special edition:
$300 - $400 USD and has: the modified Console, the modified GamePad, the cables and (probably) the modified Pro Controller, NintendoLand and/or another game(s).
A standard game should cost: $30 - $60.
A special game should cost: $30*
*(depends on what company wants, and I have seen some pretty crazy
prices on special editions)
A GamePad should cost: $80
This is all speculation, but it seems like an ideal one.
I'm still thinking 250-300 US dollars. Because Nintendo didn't go as advanced with the graphics as they could have they'll be able to afford to keep the price low, which is what they need for the demographic they target. I think one reason Microsoft and Sony don't want to release new, more powerful systems right now is because they can't sell them at a low enough price yet. Even Microsoft and Sony can't afford to release systems above $400, especially in the current economy. And Sony definitely doesn't want to repeat the same mistake as with the PS3. I'm also thinking there's a good chance of Nintendo Land being a pack-in like Wii Sports. I think it would be the smart thing to do because a lot of people don't have that much money left over to spend on a game after they just spent a lot of money on a new console. And, of course, the game really shows off the Wii U's new capabilities.I don't think the Pro Controller will be a pack-in.
I hope that it comes with the system, GamePad, cables, they should put Nintendo Land. I also hope they put what we need to transfer our Wii stuff to Wii U in there. Now I wonder if they will now sell GamePad's separate. I would like a Pro controller but it isn't a must. I say around $300-400.
I would expect to pay at least $300 for the console. I would also expect it to come with one GamePad, a Sensor Bar (if necessary), a GamePad charger, and Nintendo Land.
$329.99 with Nintendo Land pre-downloaded at least a few of the games. I'll take it in white with any first party titles available and rayman legends.
I'd be more inclined to believe his idea on value if we even had a price to base it on. In the meantime, I can't say anything other than if the price is b/w $250-300, then I have no doubt it'll be a good value within the first few months, $350 and you'll need to convince us, $00 and up will take some godly marketing and support.
I think business-wise, $300 (United States and Canada) is probably where they will launch at, maybe $250 if they really want to go for it, including Nintendo Land. It would be a big, big mistake to not make that thing the system pack-in tech demo. The Xbox 360 and PS3 are going to be around for at least 3-4 more years in similar price-ranges (even if both 720 and PS4 come out next year), and I think those are probably going to receive a lot more continued support that the Wii U could capitalize on with multi-plats.
As for what I'd pay, I'm not going to consider buying one until the first, maybe second price-drop. I don't have a lot of spare money, I don't yet have an HD TV or monitor, and I do want to capitalize on cheap, end-of-gen tech and games (after I finish off the DS with Pokemon Conquest and B2/W2, and the Wii with Epic Mickey 2 and The Last Story, I want to get a PS3 and PSP). Also I want to avoid the RRoD period and let their online functionality work out the kinks before I hop on board. Nevermind eventually getting a 3DS.
@PunnyGuy
The gamepad works as a Wii sensor bar.
@JJ1 #3
You said it, that's exactly what I'm hoping for.
£300 is my practical ceiling. I'm hoping to replace my iPhone 4 with a 4S in a few months, so more than that and I may miss launch. Anything cheaper than that will be like a gift.
@drifty He was being unnecessarily sarcastic.
Anyway, I'm expecting £229 - £299, with a GamePad, NintendoLand, manuals, some sort of downloadable channels, cables & console. All in black too, if it doesn't launch in black, I'll wait; I was so annoyed it took 2 and a half years for a black Wii, especially as I had to get a white one. And MiiVerse & Nintendo Network needs to be up instantly.
Personally, I still don't see a launch lineup that says: "I must have the Wii U now!"
$350 with a game and the wii remote ans nunchuk together with the game pad is the best value. They shouldn't go any less.
I think 250$ should be enough considering it's not all that much more powerful then the current gen consoles, and since It's also lacking a harddrive it's not going to have more than 1gb of storage. Also i think I read somewhere on here (correct me if im wrong) that its only gonna play at 720p which Is kinda a upsetting if you ask me.
i expect $299.99 at the least, and probably $349.99 at the most is that i'm willing to pay~
$300. Nintendo Land packed in. Cables, a WiiU pro controller, and one Gamepad.
Anything less and I'm out.
300$ with both Nintendo Land & New Super Mario Bros. U as pack in titles together and 2 Wii U Gamepads.
@TheN64Dude That seems like a lot for $300.
I'm willing to spend no more than $350 for the console, one gamepad, and an included game. If it costs $400... I'm going to have to save up...
it might land at $299 to $350.. i doubt it will go higher than $450. but lets hope they have some good games to go along with it at lauch, and that the online is set up right.
I hope for $250 max, considering the console might be as the Wii is/was this gen - the weakest in terms of hardware power; which I wanna stress isn't as completely detrimental to the quality of games, as some might think. It's just that, if the WU will not be the most powerful of next gen cons(consoles), or even the second most powerful, then there is no real excuse for Nintendo to price the con above $250.
I hope it includes a decent pack-in game, & has proper online from the get-go, above other things.
I don't see any possibility that the system goes for less than $300, which I've read some predicting. I think $300 US dollars is an amazing price, but I'm honestly expecting a $350 tag, which is still a good price. In my opinion, anything above $350 is a baaaad move by Nintendo. They need to get the system placed at a value that makes it competitive with the rest of the console market. If they can pull this off, I think the launch will be a massive success. Can't wait!
$299.99,wished it comes with Nintendoland,1 gamepad,1 Wiimote and the console.
I'd like to see a Super Mario U bundle, like the Super Mario World SNES bundle from way back in the day. It came with the console, game, & 2 controllers. If they could do something similar in a Wii U bundle, I'd be all over that!
(ideally it would come with console, gamepad, pro controller, & game)
I think I really need to learn money conversions, and where the Euro and Pound keys are on my keyboard, or I'm going to go crazy over the next few months.
2 things I hope AREN'T in the box - a Wiimote or Pro Controller. I already have 4 Wiimotes (technically 2 Wiimotes w/ 2 dangles and 2 Wiimote Pluses) and the Pro looks just like the Gamepad only w/o the screen so what's the point of putting an extra $50 controller in the box that a lot of people will never use? I've had a Wii since launch and we've put 1,000 hours on it and we've never bought a pad. If either of those is in the box then I'll feel like I'm paying $50 more than I should be.
$300, white Wii U, Gamepad, power brick, 4GB SD card (pathetic but it's my prediction), sensor bar (which really should have built in stereo mics but I guess it won't), Nintendo Land on disc in 1 of those cheap cardboard sleeves, Gamepad cradle (so I can use it as a digital clock), charging cable w/ a wall plug not WiiU connection, manuals nobody will read unless it tells us how to get our Wii stuff onto the WiiU, composite cable - not all tvs have HDMI, so it's a safer bet, {DON'T buy a MONSTER branded WiiU cable, any $5 generic HDMI 1 on Monoprice will be fine}.
I expect to pay $350 to $400 with out tax and I think it will come with the system, 1 Gamepad, the Standard cabling, an instruction manual, a club Nintendo code card, and Nintendo Land.
I hope Nintendo will sell the black Wii U at the same time the white one comes out. But if they only sell one, I guess I'll get that color because I won't wait longer than I should be.
hopefully it will 250 - 300, hard earned money for me T..T
300 american doll hairs with a game, gamepad and wiimote.
I really hope Nintendo release the black WiiU, it looks great!! About price.... My prediction would be $299 to $349. Whats coming in the box should be the console, gamepad, HDMI cable and the other cables, and hopefully Nintendoland even though I am not really excited for that game. I figured it should still come with the system as a bonus appeal. I hope the Nintendo Network and MiiVerse would be at a great level of connectivity and I hope the system supports Achievements. I love achievements because it adds more replay value and me and my friends love the feature. I just hope Nintendo doesn't do in-game achievements because that would be a downer for me and my friends at least. I want the WiiU to be a system where I can play Zelda and Final Fantasy and other series I love. Instead getting a new console to play other games that I like, I want the WiiU to be a system where I can play the games I love
Compared to what Microsoft is supposedly going to offer for $299* I really don't think the Wii U is going to be a particularly great value proposition for roughly the same price, unless Nintendo throws some very cool stuff in that box. I'm thinking now they really need to have both NSMBU and NintendoLand in that box at launch.
I think Nintendo really needs to pull out all the stops now to make this anything like an attractive value proposition for someone like me, who would actually also like my new console to be the single entertainment box I have to put under my TV if possible.
*Based on the clearly real leaked document the Xbox 720 is most likely going to include; CD/DVD/Blue-Ray playback, 6X the power of Xbox 360, Kinect 2 in the box, full XTV integration for recording and playing back TV shows, services like Sky built-in, Cloud gaming, full smart glass integration/compatibility...
I think it's got to be $250-$300, depending on whether a game is included, just to compete with other consoles. People won't be buying it for their kids for x-mas if it costs considerably more than that. Oh, and "23 games" and "hopefully" doesn't bode well when they were bragging about 30 launch window games for 3DS at E3 2010: I'm still not sure if any of the Wii U games are going to be must-have titles, and the console itself doesn't thrill me the way the 3DS did.
Am I the only one starting to worry about what Nintendo thinks is a good proposition? I started off thinking $300 for the system, now I'm starting to think they haven't told us cause it's more like $400 -_-
Does any agree that Nintendo really needs to tell us the price and launch date right now? It's seemingly only a couple months away, what the hell is Nintendo thinking leaving this kinda information to the LAST MINUTE. Some people would like to know the price of it to save up for it, or at least FINALLY pre-order it.
I absolutely love Nintendo, but so far it's absolutely crap to show off basicly everything for Wii U and it's launch, but not tell us the launch and release price, ESPECIALLY when it's so damn close.
Nintendo had the same PR line with the 3DS. Talking about its supposed value. Reggie needs to drop the PR talk and go back to kicking a** and taking names and market this thing aggressively.
I really have no desire for a Wii U, yet if I buy a new console, that will be the one I buy as PS4 and 720 aren't going to be much different at all.
for me £250 - £350 maximum for the wii U.
i'd rather have nintendo land built-in the wii U, instead of it being sold as a separate disk, and launch with mario, pikmin 3 etc.
Yep at £289,the Wii U offers great value for money.
Because you can't get HD graphics anywhere...oh wait.
I imagine it's going to be focused and minimal:
In box: Wii U and Gamepad, IR bar, AC adapter, HDMI cable, and that's it. NintendoLand will hopefully be installed in the internal memory.
Accessories available: Pro Controller, a promoted storage solution: SD card or HD, with a bonus Wii Points card or something to generate online interest, and a little dream: a new Wii Remote whose only additional feature is an official recharging solution from Nintendo. (I want this so that there is a larger installed base of motion plus controllers out there, myself.)
Price? I think Nintendo is going to wait until the last minute on this one. I'm betting it's going to hinge on two things: Minimum profit Nintendo needs to make, and the worldwide economic forecast a month or two before launch.
I'm expecting $350 at the very most. And a box full of AWESOMENESS!!!!
Nintendo doesn't release the price even after only a few months before release because they know that people are not going to like the numbers. Just like how Nintendo doesn't release the Specs because they know people are not going to like those numbers. Its a common pattern for Nintendo not to talk about a system's weaknesses.
$250-$300 would be the sweet spot for me. I can hold out for a bit given my Wii backlog otherwise (though if I can play some Wii games on the tablet only, that would be a nice feature that would help me power through my backlog).
It'd be suicide for Nintendo to put the price point above £300 for this (non-bundled)
Nintendo needs to get over this whole "selling for profit" thing if they're going to survive amidst the next wave of systems. Selling at cost ensures that you'll sell many many more units, and that money will be made up for in software. The install base is more important than anything. All it takes is Microsoft releasing a new system and selling it at cost or slightly below cost and suddenly the Wii U isn't that good of a deal at all.
They should launch a Pro SKU with the console, a Gamepad, a Pro controller, and Assassins Creed 3, and a casual SKU with a Gamepad, a Black Motion+ Wiimote, and Nintendoland
I'm hoping $300 or cheaper. And I'm hoping the games stay at $50 or cheaper as well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STbwtzb09ZI
Where are you people pre-ordering the console at?
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