For me I value gameplay > graphics but I can't understand why the Wii costs $300-350 without a mechanical drive and with such slow CPU/GPUs. Even if the controller costs $175, where did the rest of the $ go to? Even buying an off-the-shelf A10-5700 at cost directly from AMD would have produced a much faster console. I bet you can buy that APU and 2GB of DDR3 from AMD directly for $70 all in. Sounds like Nintendo literally wasted hundreds of millions of dollars on some custom CPU/GPU designs that ended up miles worse than a basic Trinity APU. Considering how Nintendo is great at making games, their hardware component selection for the $300-350 Wii U is shocking given the Wii's price tag and the fact that they are still losing money on the console!
Also, how does the GamePad even cost $175 given that it has no CPU/GPU inside, the battery is too small and the screen isn't even multi-touch, with low resolution? I just don't get the cost structure behind Wii U's components. I am not sure if Nintendo got ripped off from a business perspective by its suppliers or they are including hundreds of millions of dollars of R&D as part of the Wii U's "manufacturing cost"?
