I finally got my pre-order filled today. The deluxe is still sold out in my area.

The basic version is available in shops, but really bad value if you think about it. 8gb is too small for any internet connected gamer, a friend of mine was already down 7gb after system patches, patches for 3 games and the You Tube app.

Maybe the basic version will sell to the more casual audience, but there is pretty much zero buzz in that area so far. I haven't seen any WiiU commercials yet. My wife had not even heard of the system.
Calling it WiiU was probably a mistake, walking into a store doesn't make it look like a new system at all.

I understand Nintendo wanting to use the Wii brand but, like the 3DS, i think Nintendo should had tried for a diferente design. Something that in a store would make the product stand out. Wii U seems like a fatter Wii and 3DS like a regular DS Lite.

That, with, as people say, barely any promotion, equals confusion and lack of excitment.

Once people have already set their mind on buying something a minor bump in price doesn't seem to deter them. For instance when I worked in retail selling PS2's, the extra 20% or so on top of the advertised price for memory cards didn't seem to deter people. The basic is there so people walk into the store planning to spend $300 for the console and walk out with a console which costs $350, its essentially a tool to make the Wii U seem less than the $100 increase in price over the Wii. Microsoft did the same thing with the 'Core' system and when they actually made the Arcade a viable unit the increase in sales were from a genuine price cut.

Didn't Nintendo say that they want to train people to not expect price cuts? If the sales don't tank I personally wouldn't expect a price cut until at least 2014 given the fact that both Microsoft and Sony will be supply constrained most likely when they launch in 2013 so the real competition only starts the following year.

I belive there will be a price cut within 1 year.(in time for next-gen consoles from MS and Sony)
Wii U won't repeat the original Wii's success. This article proves it. The demand just isn't there. Wii U isn't as "hot" as athe Wii was back then.

It's difficult to assess demand from the gray market before we know how many consoles were shipped. If demand for Wii U is somehow equal to Wii but more were shipped the gray market prices would be depressed in theory based on supply and demand.

My impression is, checking back from my records in 2006, that Nintendo shipped more Wii Us than Wiis during week one in the US, at least at the stores I checked. It does seem like demand is lower though. Week one was 90% of the Wii launch week though, despite a a 20-40% price hike vs. Wii, and Wii other older systems selling far better than PS2 and the others were back in 2006.

I think you missed a post.

And it looks like TheSource just pointed out the same thing.

I have actually seen WiiU stock -- while Wii's were captive for over a year after release.
This may mean less bottleneck. Or it may mean less demand.
One thing is for certain, the economy just about every where is much worse.
Another thing is for certain, there are other options out there.

Mike from Morgantown

Honestly, we won't really have a good picture of how much demand there is for the Wii U until the new year ...

i remember the US launch for the PS3, i'm trying to remember the initial shipment but i do remember it was tiny.  The initial japanese shipment was ridiculously tiny.

I think it was the right thing to call it because it still uses all of the wii accessories and you can transfer everything over.  The wiimote is still basically the main controller so i think it's appropriate.  It makes me feel better about all the money i spent on these wii accessories.