The gamepad is now on sale in Japan for ¥13,824 while the Pro Controller is ~ ¥4,000. That should make the console with a Pro Controller instead of a Gamepad approximately ¥10,000 cheaper (~$80)

Gamepad:     http://onlineshop.nintendo.co.jp/shop/item_detail?item_id=1877914

Pro Controller:    http://www.amazon.co.jp/Wii-PRO-コントローラー-kuro-WUP-A-RSKA/dp/B009AP23NI

For casual gamers, I think it's nice to have a smaller system.  The power consumption means less heat, which means less needs for fans, so it's smaller and quieter.  I think it's also more of a Japanese thing.  It's not a bad thing, but it wasn't worth the amount of power they had to give up for it.

Nintendo managed the magical combination of choosing crappy underpowered parts which are highly proprietary and therefor expensive. IE: a resistive screen, technology that almost no one else uses anymore, even if the screen is garbage quality, using eDRAM that's only manufactured by one factory in the world (which ironically got bought by Sony), using out of date IBM PowerPC components to ensure backwards compatibility, insisting on a ridiculously low 33 watt power consumption for no real logical reason, etc. etc. etc.

When it became evident the machine was a sales disaster, the parts manufacturers refused to give Nintendo a break on the costs because they weren't confident that the sales of the machine would pick up largely, so it wasn't worth it to them. Sony gets a large break from their manufacturers, because the manufacturers are confident Sony is going to sell millions and millions more of the PS4 in the coming years and don't want to lose that PS4 business, so they're willing to cut on cost, especially if Sony is ordering in such high bulk. Even MS gets the benefit of the doubt because they're selling at a considerably higher volume than Nintendo is. 

And probably about 14-18 months ago, I think Nintendo quietly knowing all this made the internal decision that the only thing worse than a failed console is a failed console that also bleeds you a ton of money (see: Sega Saturn). So they decided not to employ price cuts to "save" the Wii U and to basically let it drown to death slowly. There's no life perserver coming to save the Wii U like the 3DS got early in its life with its huge price cut. 

Basically those three reasons are why the Wii U is where it's at price wise. 

Nintendo knows they lost. They'd rather make the profit they're making in steady streams than attempt to fight the PS4/X1 in deals. They'd get slaughtered regardless of price cut

with all that said. it makes a new home console in 2016 a no-brainer

Sell a wiiU model with the pro controller.

I think the gamecube proved an unpopular system does not benefit so much from a price cut (a different case from the PS3 : the price was insane and the console popular enough). They would have benefited a lot from a different controller with a 200$ launch price, but it's too late.

The Wii-U is heavily overpriced and a price cut / new model becomes more likely once they sold all their launch units. The game pad uses very old and outdated technology (display and wireless communication) and can be produced for under 30$. It does not even need components for standalone operation and is basically just a wireless display in a plastic shell with buttons.

The Splatoon / Smash bundle Black Friday deal price will become normal soon because the price can already be reached without a loss. The high price for very outdated hardware is one of the main reasons for the consoles failure, along with the gamepad thatz nobody understands and a lack of games / 3rd party support.

The PS3 price was insanely low for a first gen blu-ray player which was supported for years with new features like Blu-ray 3D.

u gotta pay to play!

the best exclus altho its cheap price 249