Wii U: The price is right or is $299 the new $599?

[neerdowell]

TheShape31 said:

I think for the hardware that's involved, each tier should easily have cost $50 less. We were told a long time ago by Reggie that they were going to make a solid profit from day one. So taking into consideration the economic climate, and the fact that Nintendo is no doubt making more than $50 per console, I think the prices are unreasonable. They've even convinced the general public that their Wii U Game Pad costs a ton of money. But aside from being a normal controller, there's only a simple, single-touch screen on it, and a very low quality camera.  Things like NFC and internal microphones, etc., are not new technologies and are inexpensive to produce. The more people use the word 'tablet' to define it, the more others are convinced that there's actual built-in tablet hardware of some kind. I wouldn't doubt that the Wii U Game Pad costs them close to $50 to manufacture. And considering how easily those companies can profit off of peripherals, they can charge $100-$150 without flinching.

What if Nintendo is making $100 on their Premium model? It's not outside the realm of possibility. And does anyone really thing that Nintendo is looking out for the best interests of your wallet before those of their investors and shareholders? The people that realize and don't care are the same ones who have propelled Apple to be worth more than any company in the world. But I digress.

To address the title of this thread, the answer is no. $299 is absolutely not the new $599. Believe it or not, $599 was an incredible deal for what you were getting. Sony was losing around $200 per console sold. $299 for the Wii U, on the other hand, is not a deal, it represents an overpriced and overvalued product. I wish more people understood how relevant that comparison is instead of saying, "well, at least it's not $599"... How about instead seeing the truth of the matter and realizing, "you know, the PS3 was actually a much better deal than this".

How refreshing it is to hear someone recognize my own sentiments, particularly with how often they are disregarded. I agree wholeheartedly with your assessment on value vs. cost and it is why I purchased the ps3 when it was still $500. On the Wii U, while I do think the cost is a little high I would not hold it against them to recuperate R & D; however, it would be nice for them to drop it shortly thereafter to a more reaonable profit margin. I understand businesses are businesses but there is a difference between smart businesss practices and blatantly disrespecting your consumers which I feel many businesses are guilty of.