What If Nintendo Sold Wii U For $250 w/o the Tablet?

[Arius Dion]

Aielyn said:

Soundwave said:

 

Wii U - 32GB w/New Super Mario Bros. U bundled for $249.99 this holiday. Or heck maybe even $199.99 w/o a game bundled.

No tablet controller, bundled with a WM+ and a nunchaku.

Do you think it would help Wii U sales?

Not in the least. What is the benefit of such an offering? Most Wii U titles will be made, at this time, with Upad controls as part of the game in one way or another - offering a version without it would ruin that.

Meanwhile, the only benefit a system such as that would maintain over the 360 and PS3 is the motion controls (and if you factor in Move, Kinect, and the fact that the PS3 and 360 would be noticeably cheaper than a $250 Wii U, that benefit is weak at best)... and the people who care that much about motion controls don't care that much about graphics, so they'd just keep playing their Wii.

The Upad is key to the Wii U setting itself apart. Even with the Tablet-interacting capability of the XB1 and the PSV-interacting capability of the PS4, they cannot get the sort of low-latency experience that was created with the Upad, and so Nintendo has the definitive experience on that front... and that's before you factor in things like NFC, etc. In effect, just as the Wiimote was key to the Wii, the Upad is key to the Wii U.

On the other hand, there ARE things Nintendo can do to increase the perceived value of the system without a direct price cut - for instance, adding a game to the package without changing the price. They could also do something similar to what they did with the 3DS here in Australia (don't know if it was done elsewhere), where you get one free eShop download of one of a set of notable games (such as Animal Crossing: New Leaf, Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, etc). By being digital distribution, there's less need to modify the actual pack itself (just add a sticker to the box, nothing more required), and a wider array of games can be offered - no need to restrict to one single game.

TBH, I'd have to say that is what the software is there for. It shouldn't be the the controller that does that, but the software. The Gamepad could have been an accessory, like the Wii Fit balance board. But to create an entire console around it? Seems like a huge mistep.