$299 USD is simply outside the price range of the family audience they're mostly targeting, hence why most buyers so far have been the hardcore Nintendo fans, and you can't float a successful console on hardcore fans alone.

What it needs is to be $199 USD, with Mario Kart and Smash Bros, (not necessarily bundled, but to fortify its library) to position it as a cheap and accessible family console to fill the Wii/360 niche once those systems bite the dust, which look like it won't be long looking at current sales. PS4/Xbone don't look like they'll be taking on that role any time soon, which leaves a vacant market for Wii U to exploit.

Now, I realize this cannot happen overnight, with the cost of the Gamepad still acting as a ball and chain. But manufacturing costs will reduce with time, as they do for all hardware. They could even do a lower cost redesign, a la the Vita slim.

They should at least cut it officially to $249 in time for the 2014 christmas season.

Just drop the gamepad and sell the console for $199.

Wii U needs to be $199 for Nintendo to be really doomed, unless they drop the GamePad, which they won't do.

$249.99+MK8 is pretty good imo

A big German retailer sold Wii U Premium sets for 199 Euros last week with Nintendo Land and the Wind Waker bundle for the same price this week. They're available every few days in the online shop and always sold out within minutes.

A price cut right now is too expensive for Nintendo. A big part of Nintendos losses came from the Wii U price cut. And the production costs don't drop as fast as usual with fewer units in production.

No. The Wii sold at 250 (in more valuable dollars) for years. The XBox 360/Kinect bundle sold well for its first year at 300 (in slightly more valuable dollars). There is a difference between price and value. The Wii U's price is fine. Its value is not, at least not for the mass market.

Yea no... Dropping the price that low will be a loss for them, they are a business after all... You don't see the Vita being dropped to $100 even though the 3ds owns 85% of the marketshare so there is no reason why Nintendo should lose roughly $100 per console if not more just to sell a few more units..

They can't take that type of loss on it... It would help the system sell, but wouldn't help Nintendo... I think the ps360, on the other hand, as old as those dinosaurs are, should be at $99, and I'll bet they could do it too.. Without a loss.

It needs to be a different concept and product to sell to mainstream or mass market customers, price and software be damned. Look at how far it got the Gamecube, even at 99$ it refused to move.

Those both had a novel hook. Wii U doesn't. Apples and Oranges.