Does anyone still think Mario Kart 8/Smash Bros. 4/Price Cuts/etc. will save Wii U? <(o_O<)

[archbrix]

zorg1000 said:

archbrix said:

zorg1000 said:

It probably adds more than $50 to the manufacturing cost but the retail price very possibly only $50. Its currently $299 sold at a loss, if they ditch the Gamepad I assume they would want to start making some profit so $249 would be a likely price point.

The problem is that many people would expect a 'WiiU without the Gamepad' to retail for cheaper than just $50 less than the current SKU.

But the way they could make that $249 price work is if it came bundled with a new hit game such as DK, Mario Kart or Smash.  They would have to make sure that the existing $299 SKU didn't have such a game as a pack-in, however, or it would be back to the issue above.

Is Nintendo going to sell the Wii U for $199 at a loss just because people expect them to? Doubful, if they do in fact ditch the Gamepad it will be sold at a porfit in order to cancel out the losses from the Gamepad bundle.

I don't believe that a $199 WiiU with only a Wiimote/nunchuck would be sold at a loss.  At worst I'd guess it'd break even, which wouldn't offset the losses from the current SKU up front, but they would move a lot more consoles which would mean a lot more software sold, and that would bring in more profit.

In any case, I wouldn't see Nintendo dropping the price a full $100 because $50 increments is more their style, which is why they'd have to make the $249 GP-less SKU worth it to the consumer, hence the bundling of a MK8 or Smash.  In other words, if people end up seeing more value in the current loss-leading $299 SKU and purchase it anyway then it defeats the purpose.