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Forums - Nintendo Discussion - Should Nintendo offer an optional WiiU SKU without the Gamepad?

 

Should Nintendo offer a WiiU SKU without the Gamepad?

Yes, their best option at this point. 164 47.13%
 
No, the negatives outweigh the cheaper price. 183 52.59%
 
Total:347
Zero999 on 17 February 2014
archbrix said:
Zero999 said:

wrong on both. there are games requiring it and withou it, the sku would only be $50 less.

The general consensus was that (at launch anyway) the Gamepad accounted for over $100 of the WiiU's price.  They're still losing a little on each console at $299.

Without the inclusion of the Gamepad they could sell the console at $199 with just a Wiimote/nunchuck and not lose any more than they're losing now, if not breaking even.  If it were only $50 less as you said, then they'd surely be profiting nicely with each sale.  Either scenario would be better for Nintendo.

the general consensus is that the gamepad only increases the sku's price in $50.



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Mummelmann on 17 February 2014
Dr.EisDrachenJaeger said:
PS3 aint reaching that 5 million sales goal buddy^


Probably won't, it's falling even more than I thought. The 7th gen is crashing hard, which was always likely.

But, remind me again how that is relevant to the subject at hand?



Dr.EisDrachenJaeger on 17 February 2014

Nothing at all.

WiiU should sell more than 5 mil this year..



fatslob-:O on 17 February 2014
Dr.EisDrachenJaeger said:
Nothing at all.

WiiU should sell more than 5 mil this year..

LOL ... Your in for one rude awakening.



d21lewis on 17 February 2014
leo-j said:
Not when most games use it.. Might as well buy a ps3.. Since that has better online, is cheaper, and has more games coming to it


I actually agree with you.  Without the pad, the Wii U is nothing more than a PS3 level console with less bells and whistles (Blu-Ray, media, etc.) and WORSE third party support.  I couldn't recommend the Wii U to anybody but the most hardcore of Nintendo fans if it didn't have a pad.  Nintendo exclusives and the controller are virtually the only things the Wii U have going for it if I look at it with unbiased eyes.

 

*plucks out unbiased eyes*

*puts Nintendo eyes back in*



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d21lewis on 17 February 2014

Has anybody considered a Wii U sku with a game pad AND Kinect for $450? Call it the Wii One....



chakkra on 17 February 2014
Mummelmann said:
That would effectively strip the console of credibility. That's the huge problem for Nintendo; the Gamepad is by far the biggest problem in the whole image of the console and alienates rather than entices, it comes off as a strange and cheap knock-off of a proper tablet, but they can't simply scrap it since it is such an integral part of the whole setup.
It's a classic "damned if you do, damned if you don't" scenario.
The whole console lacks aim and most of that can be blamed on the Gamepad.

My answer is; no, there would be no point in it, it could end up making the machine even less appealing and be likened to the other two and being found a weak and unsupported alternative; it would have literally zero purchasing incentive besides the ones who hunt madly for Nintendo 1st party games.

I think the Wii U has been in that situation since day one. And I think dropping the price would give some incentive to those who are willing to have it as a secondary console and would also give an incentive to parents, new gamers and poor people (there are still some of us out there, you know) who might not see much advantage in it over the PS360 (which I think are the real competition for it, because of the price).



Soundwave on 17 February 2014
Mummelmann said:
That would effectively strip the console of credibility. That's the huge problem for Nintendo; the Gamepad is by far the biggest problem in the whole image of the console and alienates rather than entices, it comes off as a strange and cheap knock-off of a proper tablet, but they can't simply scrap it since it is such an integral part of the whole setup.
It's a classic "damned if you do, damned if you don't" scenario.
The whole console lacks aim and most of that can be blamed on the Gamepad.

My answer is; no, there would be no point in it, it could end up making the machine even less appealing and be likened to the other two and being found a weak and unsupported alternative; it would have literally zero purchasing incentive besides the ones who hunt madly for Nintendo 1st party games.


The point would be that the console could be $50 cheaper at least (and probably sold at a profit rather than a loss), allowing more people to jump in and allowing for Nintendo to maybe actually have 1 fiscal year where the make an operating profit during the 3DS' entire life cycle (what a waste). 

The downside is a handful of people on message boards and maybe a few in the gaming press will make a stink about it (but still go play Mario Kart 8) not being original, but if no one is buying the thing for the "original" gimmick then what audience are you really offending here? The people who like the gamepad but weren't going to buy one? 

No one (not even Nintendo) is under any illusion that this console is going to be a big success, but at least maximize what you got. If there's nothing special about your console except the 1st party games, then at least make it freaking affordable and move it into the impulse buy range. 

Even with the NFC stuff, really there's no reason why a new screen-less Pro Controller (presumably bundled with this new SKU) couldn't have a NFC chip built in either, so kids can scan in all their toy stuff the same way. 



MentalAlliance on 17 February 2014

As much as I personally believe in the gamepad and love the gamepad, it might be an option they should try. Though, other than software, I'm not sure what their selling point could be. Miiverse is awesome, but would be pretty gimped without the gamepad. Other than that it would just be a more powerful Wii, for the most part, and I'm not sure that will be enoguh to appeal to the masses.



Soundwave on 17 February 2014
MentalAlliance said:

As much as I personally believe in the gamepad and love the gamepad, it might be an option they should try. Though, other than software, I'm not sure what their selling point could be. Miiverse is awesome, but would be pretty gimped without the gamepad. Other than that it would just be a more powerful Wii, for the most part, and I'm not sure that will be enoguh to appeal to the masses.


Well we know that the Wii U as is doesn't appeal to the masses either. 

Somehow I doubt a $199.99 or $249.99 SKU would make sales lower than they are now. 

It's not like the gamepad has to disapear and be banished to Virtual Boy land or something, make a Nintendo Land 2 and bundle it with the Wii U pad with a few new mini-games. No different from how the Wii Fit balance board was sold. Give Nintendo Land 2 free to previous Wii U owners as a thank you for being an early adopter on the eShop. 

Sticking with a controller gimmick that isn't selling the system and causes the system to be unncessarily expensive is stupid to begin with. 

Sticking with a controller gimmick that is all of the above and also causing your company to bleed money is borderline insane. At least make a profit on the darn thing.