In stark contrast to Sony and Microsoft, Nintendo generally sells hardware at a profit, but the recent 3DS price drop has clearly caused the company to reconsider that stance. At a recent investor Q&A, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata revealed he's not yet sure if Nintendo will sell Wii U at a profit from day one.

"I have no definitive information on whether we will sell the Wii U in the red or on the suggested retail price for the hardware at this stage. I hope you understand that we are trying to take appropriate measures to handle the various issues we are aware of concerning the launch of the Wii U."

Source

Crazy stuff when you think about it. This would've been unthinkable 3 years ago

They can soften the blow somewhat with the right type of Mario game headlining the launch.

Japan timed exclusive...

Lol, I knew this was gonna end up happening. The Wii was a subpar system that relied heavily on the motion controls out the box with the Wii titles. Later on they dealt a smart hand by releasing a mainline Mario title finally to keep it selling like gangbusters. Now the problem they face is that not only their "next gen" system having to be more powerful (considerably) than the HD twins, but also finding the right price point AND gimmick OR innovative side of things that differentiate it from the other systems while appealing to their core (which kept them alive even during GC days) as well as the blue ocean. Needless to say the next year will be interesting, but as usual Nintendo will be fine. Just release another pokemon game and a Wii series game and they will do just fine.

$249 to $299.... cost will probably be around $300 I'd wager... or close to it.

I wonder if Super Mario Bros Mii will be a launch title

Selling hardware at a loss could prove to be better, financially speaking, for them overall. I'm not concerned in the least about this.

What matters is whether or not they can deliver on their products. If they can do that, they'll be fine.

EDIT: Besides, if Nintendo sells their console at a loss, that means I'm getting more bang for my buck! I hope it has a nice jump in power. =D From a consumer standpoint, this is nothing but positive news I'd think!

YEAH...bring on GALAXY 3!

As good as the Galaxy games are, we all know Galaxy 3 really isn't needed. So, I'll take your comment as a joke.