So the first thing that entered my mind after watching Nintendo's E3 conference "The hardware looks great but there are no games". Take a look back at every past console unveiling Nintendo has done their are always at least 35 games announced. I remember the Wii's unveiling had more games unveiled. With around 30 launch window titles I must say I am scared. So why am I scared?

Nintendo is repeating the same mistake they made with 3DS they are launching with a focus on casuals and not their core market. Yes Pikmin is an amazing core property but it only has a million copy sales potential to our knowledge, the install base simply isn't high enough to make it a super power much like 3DS had Pilot wings. Much like Nintendo chose to do with 3DS they are launching with a casual property WiiFitU the other WiiFits sold around 20 million copies each. But remember Nintendogs, a casual game with 20+ million selling potential if we followed DS figures yet the title has sold fewer then 3 million copies. For the first party line up it seems Nintendo is only changing one thing from their abomination of a 3DS launch. Mario day one! But is Mario really an IP that will cause gamers to purchase a 379.99$ piece of hardware? The game is great but I cant help but remember how bad GameCube did despite Mario. Yes I know this is 2D Mario but where are the changes? NewSuperMarioBrosU looks no better from a graphical or performance stand point from its Wii counter part. One must also keep in mind the other two NewSuperMarioBros games launched on successful hardware they had a massive install base already in existence to sell the software.

The third party line up is where Nintendo really dropped the ball. Last year EAGames stated every major IP from EAGAMES being released in 2012 would be present on WiiU. But after E3 Peter Moore was interviewed and he said other then Mass Effect the sports teams were the only EAGAMES teams working on WiiU software. He did say EAGAMES was bullish but that's a little PR. Activision also appears to have changed tune with all the other CoD's well almost all of them being ported to Wii a far inferior system requiring a ton of work you'd expect CoD:BlackOps 2 would be a sure thing yet Nintendo didn't show it and Activision said they weren't willing to talk about the titles absence. Sega also had stated last year that they were fully behind Nintendo this year all but dissapeared with that Sonic game everyone had been talking about no where to be seen. THQ who had stated they wanted to rival UbiSoft as Nintendo's biggest supporter with WiiU was very quick to abandon ship as well with only DarkSiders II present, we know they had at least one WiiU exclusive in development was it canned? Metro once a title Nintendo fans were looking forward to immensely also got the axe. It would appear that since last year Nintendo lost most third party supporters despite all the praise if the E3 line up is final its a massive blow to Nintendo!

So I see the WiiU hardware and cant help but be impressed. I'm satisfied Nintendo's online network will be up to snuff, however with such a horrible software line up could Nintendo get away with selling the console at 379.99$ as many estimates have suggested? Is Mario alone able to sell the projected amount of hardware units? Lets face it Nintendo is leaving a single title to sell the hardware its the only IP with a proven multimillion selling capability on multiple platforms. Two big games that are about a year or so old and one major port (AC3 ) simply are not sufficient third party titles. Everything else has little sales potential when it comes to the core.

We must remember that the core are the ones who buy hardware day one, the core are the ones that camp out and preorder. The core are the guys that own 10-30 games for their hardware. Look at Kinect, a huge amount of Kinect hardware was sold to existing core 360 owners and not casuals. A major reason Kinect has gone so far down hill is because it doesn't appeal to the core and it has failed to show diversity.

Realistically despite how amazing the hardware is an the potential of the platform, how high can Nintendo price the WiiU and still sell hardware? How high can they price the hardware and meet their projections? Remember amazing hardware like PSVITA have bombed because they failed to have the amazing software line up. 3DS an amazing piece of hardware tanked despite a 20+ million selling casual IP as the flagship title. What can Nintendo realistically expect consumers to pay for WiiU?

Assuming it comes with a tablet, wii remote, the new pro controller, and Nintendo Land, they can at most get away with 350, I believe.

I also believe it's unlikely that they'll throw in all those controllers. All of these controller options also make me feel like they're segmenting their userbase, as not everyone will own all of the control styles and developers might be confused over which ones to really support.

Realistically, I see Nintendo shooting for a $299 price with a tablet and Nintendo Land or some other game pack-in.

I'll say 350, but 300 would be ideal.

With NintendoLand, $300

Without, $270

Shopto have a placeholder price of £280 (note the first 3DS price from this site was £250, so we'll see a WiiU launch of £220?)

http://www.shopto.net/WII%20U/VIDEO%20GAMES/WIIUHW01-Nintendo%20Wii%20U%20Console%20White.html

PS when I said 3DS tanked I was talking past tense. You cannot say it didn't never has Nintendo had to slash prices that early in a consoles life cycle and it was Nintendo first annual loss in recorded history. In no way could the launch of 3DS be considered anything but a failure!

$300 to $350 is what I am guessing with NintendoLand, a tablet, and a pro controller packed in.

$300 to be the most competitive with current and next-gen.

$350 to be profitable out the gate.

I'm not sure there's any price that makes that thing attractive - who is buying it? Wii owners don't need it because they don't really care about graphics and 360/PS3/PC gamers don't want it because they already own that system. I have yet to see anything from E3 or any press coverage that makes me think that this thing will sell.

The Wii was new, and CRAZY radical and it kinda sorta worked and that's why it sold like gangbusters.

There's nothing new here - all they are doing is catching up to technology that came out 6 years ago. And in the case of their tablet, it's not multitouch so what is it? A giant DS screen that you can't take with you? What is the point of that?

$300.
Anything above that and it will have trouble flying off shelves.

But then again, $350 should be fine for the first year then save a price cut to $300 when PS4/720 launch.

Well, during the interview that IGN had with Reggie, they made this question

http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/06/06/e3-2012-reggie-discusses-launching-wii-u-retro?page=3

I would be pleasantly surprised if they launch it for 250 €. But realistically I'll go with 300 €.

Ya its shitty I probably won't be around much at all in the foreseeable future. I just spent the last two weeks filling out scholarship form after scholarship form and application form upon application form. Going to interviews, writing a thesis and a product pitch. I've been very very busy. Once I start film school in August I'm not allowed to have a job a girl friend or any extra corricular activities. The school even said they don't want me hanging out with many friends. They said school is 12-14 hr days and that I am being trained to handle millions of dollars and pilot major corporations. They only take 20 students a year for the Masters in Entertainment Business Management. Not to mention I am likely getting their 25th Anniversary scholarship which adds even more pressure.

Once school starts I was told it will be eat sleep and play movies and video games. In my first term I have to launch a musicians career make an album and hold a successful live concert. I'm in charge of ensuring his/her career succeeds and things like making a music video and pitching the artist to global networks and radio stations is just my first term!

Even my days off I'm supposed to be in school working on my own projects. If I'm not at school on my days off my advisor said the school will help me make contacts in the industry to meet for coffee like directors and actors and programmers. He said the Entertainment industry never sleeps or stops its always evolving and I will never be able to stop once I start.

I am super excited but that means I'm missing PAX this year and I won't be online much if at all. I'm even dropping the magazine I'm supposed to launch. I have dropped out of all my charities and have tl move to Vancouver. Its going to be insane

Beginning to wonder if I can even afford a WiiU, not just from a financial perspective but from a time perspective. Not sure I will have the time to play it