How much are you willing to pay for a Wii U?

[Broken_Cartridge]

I'm expecting it to be no more than $300 at launch. I wouldn't be surprised if Nintendo tried to even get it down to $250, as the Wii was (I do believe) at launch. Maybe they won't be able to do that, especially due to the new controller tech, but still, while $300 ain't "cheap", it IS a hell of a lot cheaper than $600 that the PS3 debuted at. And what did the 360 cost at first? $400-500 also? Not cheap, by any means.

So I think the price point will still be strong. Nintendo always tries to give their customers a fair value. Even the 3DS, pre-price-drop, was only $250, right? That's a full hundred dollars cheaper than I've heard the Vita will cost right out of the gate. Sadly, unless things change in a big way between now and then, I'm pretty sure I won't be able to afford a Wii U when it first launches. But I'll certainly be getting one eventually.

Reggie has said ""if I'm the head of a household of a family of four, and my disposable income is $50,000 to $60,000, I'm going to continue to look at the Wii because of the software, and it's a great entertainment device. For consumers who want to have the latest gadgets and have a higher disposable income, that's for the Wii U" This makes it sound like the Wii U will be much more expensive then their previous consoles. I don't think it will be 600 bucks like the PS3 was, but it will be something in between $350-$600 (based off of that quote).

There are two models of the Vita. Wifi and Wifi & 3G. Wifi will cost 250 and the one with Wifi & 3G will cost 300. They do have a starter kit that they'll be selling that gets you the game Little Deviants and the system a week earlier then the others come out for about $350. So essentially, the only Vita that matters in the long run is the one that costs the same as what the 3DS did at launch. 3G is pricey and doesn't matter, and I know I don't care about getting the thing a week early. So, essentially Vita launch price is = to 3DS launch price. There will be one $100 more that comes with a game and memory card, but that's a limited time deal and wont be around at the actual launch of the system. Only for pre orders of it so they can get it a week early.

[Gulshog]

I know the quote from Reggie says, "...disposable income of $50,000 to $60,000...". However, I think he meant a household income of $50-$60k, who also have disposable income. In other words, it may not be $250, like the Wii was, but more like $350. I do not think they would ever be stupid enough to go beyond $399. Even that price is ridiculous, given what we know about the system.

Nintendo is going to have to eat the costs of the system, and it may be more than they ever have. But, it is their own fault for falling behind a generation, and being late to HD. They cannot compare the system to the PS4, or Nextbox, because the third party games they will get in the beginning, and thus what traditional gamers will see, will be old, at best updated with a Upad trick, games that are already out on the PS360. So, they cannot charge 400-600 for their system, because people will not see a reason for it, when the PS4, and Nextbox will be that price and will be more powerful. The power of those systems may not be that much more powerful than the WiiU, but first impressions are everything. I fully expect to see bullshots, and full CG, fake gameplay from Sony and Microsoft at E3 to offset the WiiU and it's library of old third party games. So, I expect $350, with a small chance of $299. I do not believe $399 is even possible, but I think the system will cost Nintendo themselves $360-$380 to manufacture.

But, Nintendo always has an ace up it's sleeve...Mario, Zelda, Samus, and all of it's other beloved IP's. That is why Nintendo will always survive, and will never go third party. Unless they have horrible leadership, like Sega...or send NOA leadership to Japan. And, that will never happen.

I am looking forward to WiiU, and I hope that it has the muscle that allows Nintendo, and it's talent, to create some amazing games. I am almost positive it will...we just don't know what Microsoft and Sony will do. Sony, in particular, is in a bad position from low Vita sales. Microsoft always has money to burn being such a huge mega corporation.

2012 will be interesting.

[KingBroly]

PS4 and 720 won't be a significant graphical leap where Wii U couldn't get ports of those games.

[ManicRaider]

But, Nintendo always has an ace up it's sleeve...Mario, Zelda, Samus, and all of it's other beloved IP's. That is why Nintendo will always survive, and will never go third party. Unless they have horrible leadership, like Sega...or send NOA leadership to Japan. And, that will never happen.

What do you mean by "go third party" exactly?

[Broken_Cartridge]

But, Nintendo always has an ace up it's sleeve...Mario, Zelda, Samus, and all of it's other beloved IP's. That is why Nintendo will always survive, and will never go third party. Unless they have horrible leadership, like Sega...or send NOA leadership to Japan. And, that will never happen.

What do you mean by "go third party" exactly?

He means that they will never put their games on other company's systems.


Also, Gulshog, I disagree with your view on pricing, but I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. 350 at a absolute minimum. Absolutely no chance of 299.

[cobaltorange]

I know the quote from Reggie says, "...disposable income of $50,000 to $60,000...". However, I think he meant a household income of $50-$60k, who also have disposable income. In other words, it may not be $250, like the Wii was, but more like $350. I do not think they would ever be stupid enough to go beyond $399. Even that price is ridiculous, given what we know about the system.

Nintendo is going to have to eat the costs of the system, and it may be more than they ever have. But, it is their own fault for falling behind a generation, and being late to HD. They cannot compare the system to the PS4, or Nextbox, because the third party games they will get in the beginning, and thus what traditional gamers will see, will be old, at best updated with a Upad trick, games that are already out on the PS360. So, they cannot charge 400-600 for their system, because people will not see a reason for it, when the PS4, and Nextbox will be that price and will be more powerful. The power of those systems may not be that much more powerful than the WiiU, but first impressions are everything. I fully expect to see bullshots, and full CG, fake gameplay from Sony and Microsoft at E3 to offset the WiiU and it's library of old third party games. So, I expect $350, with a small chance of $299. I do not believe $399 is even possible, but I think the system will cost Nintendo themselves $360-$380 to manufacture.

But, Nintendo always has an ace up it's sleeve...Mario, Zelda, Samus, and all of it's other beloved IP's. That is why Nintendo will always survive, and will never go third party. Unless they have horrible leadership, like Sega...or send NOA leadership to Japan. And, that will never happen.

I am looking forward to WiiU, and I hope that it has the muscle that allows Nintendo, and it's talent, to create some amazing games. I am almost positive it will...we just don't know what Microsoft and Sony will do. Sony, in particular, is in a bad position from low Vita sales. Microsoft always has money to burn being such a huge mega corporation.

2012 will be interesting.

Wait, what? Vita sold more in its first week than PSP. People say,"oh 3DS just needs a chance," but no one says that about Vita?

[Gulshog]

@cobaltorange That's because we're on a Nintendo fan site. There are people here that don't want to give the Vita a chance because it's not made by Nintendo.

I think you are jumping to conclusions. The PSV is an amazing piece of hardware, and I would buy one before I ever bought a 3DS. But, sales in Japan are horrible...72k last week, and 42k this week. Very few people care about the system, and Sony is in trouble, because no one at Sony HQ ever thought the system would be this bad, sales wise. I never did...thought it would sell like gangbusters. But, it doesn't really have a must have title for the Japanese audience, so I guess it makes sense. I never said the Vita was DOA...sales will pick up when the software is there. But, pretending that sales are fine is a little ridiculous.

Back on topic, I just hope there are some good games at launch. I want to see what Retro is up to...it is all that Nintendo is working on that I am interested in, at this point.

[Broken_Cartridge]

@Gulshog ....When that post was made there was news stories all over the internet about how well it did launch weekend, and only sales shown was the week after. I wasn't necessarily aiming it at you, but on sites like these you saw a lot of defense for the 3DS when sales were poor in the beginning (and sony fanboys being "vita rocks and will be bettr rawr")...it's only natural to see people do the same to the Vita. So my statement still stands.

For the record, yes I know that the Vita is doing poorly, and no, I do not plan on buying it unless they do something about it (i.e. what Nintendo is doing with the 3DS)


On topic, yeah, good games are a must for me after the severely disappointing 3DS launch. I have a feeling that Retro is working on a Zelda game for the 3DS that is similar to A Link to the Past in some aspects. Just basing the hunch off of a statement Miyamoto said about partnering up with Retro on a Zelda game. Seems like whenever he is like "Oh, yeah I'd be willing to do this" or "I'm interested in seeing this" it ends up happening (i.e. recently released Super Mario 3D Land or the upcoming Luigi's Mansion 2)

[Bonampak]

@cobaltorange That's because we're on a Nintendo fan site. There are people here that don't want to give the Vita a chance because it's not made by Nintendo.

You make it sound as if that's entirely unique to "Nintendo fans". It isn't.

I'm a regular at PSXExtreme and you see people there saying the same stuff about both the 3DS and Vita. You just have to deal with the fact that people have a tendency to be negative on the internet.

When the 3DS sales slowed down after its launch, everyone was beating down on it. Even Nintendo fans who were displeased and annoyed by the handheld's features. And were even calling it a Virtual Boy 2.0 Some still bash it to this day. Regardless of the spectacular sales surge it enjoyed recently.

With Vita, you have to have the forehead of a snake not to notice that its launch sales numbers were barely decent. Its not the end of the world for Vita. It just needs a price cut. NAO.

I will buy the Wii U if its lower than $350 bucks. Not a penny more than that.

[motherbra1n]

xbox and playstation successors are gonna be at e3 2012, thats great, hopefully nintendo will make sure they don't screw things up or let their big heads get in the way of what their fans want.

[HylianTom]

For this launch, I'll have $500 budgeted for the system and games + accessories. I spent a bit over that for the Wii launch, and, in retrospect, I most likely went overboard.

Hearing that the others will be showing their consoles this year gives me mixed feelings. Part of me dreads it, but part of me hopes that this presses Nintendo to step-up their game. If we're lucky, the others will "show" their consoles as much as Nintendo "showed" the Wii U last year (i.e., not much at all).

[Serpent_Seed]

I'm also thinking I'm going to have $500 for Wii U launch. I'm hoping the system is around $300 and games are $50. 3 games would put me at over $450. I may be spending over $500 depending on if prices are higher. Kinda have a feeling games are going to be $60.

[KingBroly]

xbox and playstation successors are gonna be at e3 2012, thats great, hopefully nintendo will make sure they don't screw things up or let their big heads get in the way of what their fans want.

Rumors and all that.

[Gulshog]

You know what would be really awesome, for the launch of WiiU VC (or whatever they will call it...E-Shop)? Rogue Squadron, with Nintendo footing the bill for whatever work to get it emulated on WiiU, from LucasArts. Hey, people said you would never see Super Star Wars emulated on VC...

Would that not be awesome? I also want some nice strategy titles...RTS, and turn based...super easy to play those games on a tablet style controller.

[Bonampak]

You know what would be really awesome, for the launch of WiiU VC (or whatever they will call it...E-Shop)? Rogue Squadron, with Nintendo footing the bill for whatever work to get it emulated on WiiU, from LucasArts. Hey, people said you would never see Super Star Wars emulated on VC...

Would that not be awesome? I also want some nice strategy titles...RTS, and turn based...super easy to play those games on a tablet style controller.

You mean the N64 original or the GameCube sequel?

The original was superb. But if it gets emulated, I hope they do something about the fog infested environments. No chance of that happening, though. It was still great regardless of that.

Heck, I would even pay to play Battle for Naboo on VC.

[HylianTom]

Now, I also have to budget some money for the week that I traditionally take off from work. I usually ditch my ordinary meals and enjoy lots of junk food, candy, pizza, baked goods, etc. Friends tend to stop-by during that time, so they'll partake as well.

For the Wii launch, I also ordered a whole case of Bawls to be shipped to my door. I was energized all week, able to play through Twilight Princess in long marathon sessions. It was glorious.. and now I have to see if it's still sold online.. hmm..

[kernal]

Now, I also have to budget some money for the week that I traditionally take off from work. I usually ditch my ordinary meals and enjoy lots of junk food, candy, pizza, baked goods, etc. Friends tend to stop-by during that time, so they'll partake as well.

For the Wii launch, I also ordered a whole case of Bawls to be shipped to my door. I was energized all week, able to play through Twilight Princess in long marathon sessions. It was glorious.. and now I have to see if it's still sold online.. hmm..

you can order bawls from thinkgeek.com! oh.. how many halo nights were fueled by that sweet sweet nectar..

but back to the subject at hand. i expect the wii-u to launch at around 350. ive been saving pocket change and what not since last e3 and have about 88 dollars.. i really dont want to come straight out of pocket for it

[Serpent_Seed]

I'm prepared if it is $350.

[omega59]

Ehh... not prepared moneywise. paying off a $2000 gaming pc... I NEED MONEY!

[MrWu]

$350 would be the upper limit, but i think they should be smart and go with $299.99 & allow a 2nd uPad to be used and make back money that way. I've discussed this before but a uPad that is available on retail means Nintendo can 1) profit from users going put to get a 2nd one 2) release upgrades like uPad2, 3, 4 and so on with better tech, screens, etc. without having to worry about fragmenting their Wiiu markrt because the box itself isn't getting more powerful. 3) This may also give them access to the sub $99 tablet market-- if one exists. But assuming Nintendo's casaul app strategy is even half realized, a tablet w/ buttons that tethers to the WiiU and not a PC could be appealing, and it plays to Nintendo's strngth as a price leader.

We could well be discussing how Nintendo responded to the tablet threat on the app/software dimension by attacking the highly proftable hardware business.

[Serpent_Seed]

$350 at most sounds reasonable. I'm sure lots of people would be willing to get a second one. Let's not forget 3DS does look like a Wii U controller with the circle pad pro. I'm also hoping for $299.99. Would love to see what apps they have.

[RazorX]

Similar price to an affordable Android Tablet in 2012. Around $299.99

You think we can browse porn site on it?

[Serpent_Seed]

I bet we could. Pretty sure we can on 3DS. I'm trying to figure out a good price for the tablet and see regular controllers costing $60. I was going to say $60 for the tablet controller but now not sure. Why are other controllers that price?

[Broken_Cartridge]

I bet we could. Pretty sure we can on 3DS. I'm trying to figure out a good price for the tablet and see regular controllers costing $60. I was going to say $60 for the tablet controller but now not sure. Why are other controllers that price?

I'd be really shocked if that tablet was as cheap as $60....I'm saying at the very minimum it's $80, and I think even that is really low for what it has packed in.

[Serpent_Seed]

Well what makes Ps3/360 controllers $50-60?