Published in News

$299 Retail for Wii U is likely

by on10 April 2012



Apparently only costs about $180 in parts


Nintendo continues to look for ways to cut costs on the Wii U to increase the margin and lessen the risk. Apparently, investors are viewing the Wii U as a pretty risky proposition, given what the press has been saying; and they continue to voice their concern.

According to a number of sources, the cost of the Wii U is about $180 in parts, with the controller being the most expensive single item. Of course, the $180 cost does not even start to take into account items like packaging, shipping, R&D costs, pack-in software, and all of the other costs that go into a console. In order to make a profit, the $299 price tag is necessary so that Nintendo makes some money and there is some margin left for the retailer.

While complaints in the media have continued to beat on Nintendo on the overall performance of the console, it is obvious that the performance of the console is going to be closer to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 than Nintendo might like; but despite the comment from Nintendo that they don’t focus on technology they have chosen an economical CPU and GPU (but with a unique controller that is different from competitors), but it is expensive.

While Nintendo has clung to the hope that the Wii U would come in at $250, that just does not seem reasonable any longer. It also seems that investors might be correct in their thinking that it is a bigger risk than Nintendo might believe. At any rate, look for a $299 price tag to be confirmed at E3.

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