It's too early to call a price-drop. It will depend on their fall/ spring lineup and how that picks up Wii U sales.

Needs a 100-150 cut.

Cold-Flipper said: There is always that chance that something different will happen but: N64 had a $50 price cut in March 97, a $20 cut in August 98, and a $30 cut in August 99. GC had a $50 price cut in May 2002 and another $50 cut in September 2003. Wii had a $50 price cut in September 2009 and another $50 cut in May 2011. Based on the above information, anything over $50 seems unlikely. Also, if Wii U doesn't get cut by September, there likely won't be one until 2014. It seems they favor May & September so either September 2013 or May 2014 seems most likely.   I personally believe that the sweet spot price is $150 for a HH & $250 for a console. The quicker Nintendo gets to that price the better. I would discontinue the basic and cut the deluxe to $250 in April 2014 but expect a $50 cut in May. Nintendo would be dumb to cut price this year because the focus will be on 3DS with Pokemon this Holiday and the biggest Wii U games will be released next year...although I wouldn't be surprised a bit if we do see a $50 cut in September.

Heh, I knew someone would bring up Nintendo's price cut history. The thing is, all those consoles started out at lower prices than the Wii U and even the 3DS. They have less room to drop their prices by and as such they recieved lower cuts. Plus, a $50 cut on a $200 system is much more impactful than the same $50 cut would be on a $350 system. Even if/when the Wii U get's a $100 cut, it'll still be moar expensive than every other console they've released except for the Wii. Speaking of which, the Wii was the same price as 3DS at launch, but the Wii was doing amazingly while 3DS was doing badly, so it's first cut was average sized and years after launch, while the 3DS received a bigger cut and sooner than the Wii did. I'd say the Wii U is much more comparable to the 3DS than the Wii, so it's logical to assume it's price cut will resemble the 3DS's. The 3DS price cut was also the latest price cut Nintendo issued, so it makes sense to go by that one rather than ones for uber old systems.

Also, if Nintendo were really focusing on the 3DS alone this holiday, why would they bother releasing games like SM3DW and DKCTP?

Einsam_Delphin said: zorg1000 said: the2real4mafol said: I expect the 8gb version to be discontinued and sold for £199 until they are all gone, leaving the 32gb version for £249. A price cut of £50. I expect this to happen in November, when PS4/ Xbone are expected to launch Nobody does a price cut during the holidays Well that's not true actually, but yes they generally do it beforehand, which is why it's not too late for the Wii U to get a price cut this year, assuming what you're getting at is the Wii U wont have a cut until 2014. The 3DS had it's cut announced late July and in effect early August. The same could easily happen with Wii U, especially since there's Pikmin 3 to coincide with the cut, and afterwards there will be a steady flow of game releases to maintain momentum.

Yep thats what Iive been saying either Aug or next April

Egann said: It's too early to call a price-drop. It will depend on their fall/ spring lineup and how that picks up Wii U sales.

I never said when they'll price drop, but with the way the Wii U's been selling, sooner is much better than later. Plus the 3DS got a cut around this time afterall.

50$ minimum. If they would manage to get a couple of AAA games out this holiday and a 200$ pricetag for the holidays, the WiiU might actually start pushing good numbers

Einsam_Delphin said: Egann said: It's too early to call a price-drop. It will depend on their fall/ spring lineup and how that picks up Wii U sales. I never said when they'll price drop, but with the way the Wii U's been selling, sooner is much better than later. Plus the 3DS got a cut around this time afterall.

I meant that the Wii U's sales performance could vary wildly based on the new titles slated to come out. It could need a big price drop or none at all. It's just too hard to call.

Personally, I have no problem with a $300-$350 console because it is, indeed, cheaper than the competition. So long as it has titles. I just wish I could buy a Basic with Nintendoland because, hey, why do I need a delux when I have an external? In two or three years, though, the Wii U will be going for the second console slot alongside another Gen 8 console, and then it will be rather price sensitive. My guess is that it can't cost more than $250 at that point.

As so, so many have said in the past, take the Deluxe to $300 and drop the Basic altogether. Or at $230.

Einsam_Delphin said: archbrix said: While Nintendo would be sitting pretty this holiday with a $250 deluxe WiiU, I'll leave you with two points to think about: Point 1: Keep in mind that Sony and Microsoft are likely not competition for most people choosing a console this holiday because they're not going to have enough stock to line the shelves. All of their available units will surely be snatched up by the enthusiasts/diehard fans/ebay scalpers. Point 2: That kind of massive price drop is what incurred Nintendo's first posted loss ever back in 2012 (fiscal year 2011) since they've been in the games industry. They're going to avoid repeating that again, especially when (see Point 1). Well considering you ignored my key points, I don't feel very inclined to take yours to heart. Also you're assuming they price cut this holiday which may or may not be the case and regardless the price cut will last forever, not just for that holiday season, hence why I never factored the holidays into my reasoning. If it were up to me, I wouldn't price cut during the holidays as their console will already see a boost in sales.

I didn't ignore your points, I simply disagree with most of them. Not everyone who posts in your thread is going to wholeheartedly agree with you.

Now, with that said, you raise a good point in your last post regarding when they drop the price. If a price reduction doesn't occur this year and they wait until, say, the launch of Mario Kart next year for a price drop, then I agree that a larger reduction than $50 is possible. This also supports my point that, regarding the masses, Nintendo really isn't competing with the PS4/XB1 this holiday because every one of their consoles are likely sold as soon as they arrive at stores.

The problem is that WiiU will still be competing with the PS3/360 which will do well again this holiday, so a $50 price drop in Sept/Oct would help it to remain competitive with them.

Furthermore, as someone else pointed out Nintendo has never dropped the price of a system - console or handheld - by a full $100 in one shot, but they've also never had a system perform as badly as the WiiU has so far, either. Still, the one thing I'd be willing to bet is that if they do indeed drop the price this year it won't be by a full $100.

April 2014
Basic-$199 and discontinued
Deluxe-$299 w/Mario Kart 8+Wiimote/Wii Wheel