Amiibo's are also implicitly tied to brand strength too so there's a possible limit to how much you may maximize profit from them and my mentioning of last gen is just reference ...

How do you know if Nintendo can significantly further their software revenues by just sacrificing profit on the hardware side when their left with 2 blockbusters left for the rest of it's life ? If the consumers didn't bite the WII U last year with it's biggest titles what makes you think a price cut is long overdue ? 

It would've made more sense last year to do the the price cut then rather than now since it would've been riding on the momentum of MK8 to maximize hardware and software shipment volume ...

Because Nintendo titles have insane legs.

Mario Kart 8 shipped 320k this quarter, Splatoon shipped 1.62 million this quarter, and will undoubtedly ship a lot in the next quarters, Super Mario 3D World shipped 200k this quarter, Nintendoland shipped 200k this quarter etc. and these are games that released quite a while ago (with the exception of Splatoon). I think there is reason to believe that these titles will continue to ship substantial numbers, and given that MK8, SM3DW, Splatoon and Smash are the titles "every" new Wii U buyer will want, or every parent will buy for their kids, it can pay off for them to cut the price, depending on what their current margins are.

200/300K is substantial ?! If we assume that all of them are sold at $60, currently the revenue would come to be about $32.4 million (does not include splatoon) even accounting for the pack-in known as Nintendo Land. That's chump change when you consider these are the biggest games that the WII U has to offer and it diminishes even further when you look at other factors too ...

@Bold Oh and another thing, most of the WII U owners are adults who also happen to be a fan so how is a price cut going to extend the range of it's audience when more of the upcoming games appeal to none other than Nintendo fans ? A price cut would certainly work on a Nintendo handheld since the games on them appeal to everyone but that is not the case for their underperforming consoles when we look at the gamecube with it's extremely low price point ... 

True, at $399 they would be making around $50 in profit. But for bundles like the Arkham Knight PS4 bundle, the profit would be much smaller. 

At this point I believe all Three companies are making profits from their consoles.