Wii U price is not the issue, says Nintendo CEO
Wii U is still being outsold by the largely sunset Wii. While the figures are far from ideal, Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata insists that price is not the issue, pointing to sales of the Deluxe edition as proof.
Wii U is still being outsold by the largely sunset Wii. While the figures are far from ideal, Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata insists that price is not the issue, pointing to sales of the Deluxe edition as proof.
"If the price is actually an issue [with Wii U], then there is some contradiction between the current sales balance between the Basic and Premium versions of the Wii U," Iwata said. "The basic version should have sold a lot, but the fact of the matter is that people are buying more of the premium version. So the issue is not there."
Wii U is currently available in two flavors: a $300 Basic set and $350 Deluxe set that includes a larger hard drive and Nintendo Land. The Deluxe version outsells the Basic version--so much so that certain retailers have reduced their Basic inventory.
Speaking to CVG, Iwata reiterated that Wii U's woes are based on software--a problem the company plans to address this holiday season. "I understand that the real issue is the lack of software, and the only solution is to provide the mass-market with a number of quality software titles."
Nintendo still sells its console at a loss, which may be why the company is so hesitant to announce a price drop for the console. And with games like Mario Kart 8 and Smash Bros on slate for next year, it's clear that Nintendo still has a few aces up its sleeves.
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replyAndrew Yoon posted a new article, Wii U price is not the issue, says Nintendo CEO.
Wii U is still being outsold by the largely sunset Wii. While the figures are far from ideal, Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata insists that price is not the issue, pointing to sales of the Deluxe edition as proof.-
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That is the issue right there. Almost a year in to the release of the console and there are like 3 games that are worth having.
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Yeah, being only $50 less than the brand new PS4 is going to make that shit look real bad come holiday season.
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To the uninformed customer, sure. But if you know your stuff you should be aware that the $50 difference is not just for a blank system. The $350 Wii U comes with 10% off of all digital purchases, extra convenience stuff (charging stand, regular stand) and a fantastic showpiece of the system (Nintendo Land) doubling as a great multiplayer game along with no extra hidden costs to fully utilize the system.
There's a lot more in that $350 box than the simple "lol$50moregetsmeaPS4!!" angle suggests.-
Except that none of that is really relevant for most consumers. You have two products, one is $50 more expensive and is "next gen". You don't buy the $350 package.
I say this having worked at Gamestop and seen how people perceive price and purchase consoles that are not "gamers".-
Like I said, for uninformed consumers that's certainly true. If you don't know what you're getting how can you properly perceive the value.
Iwata has said countless times that messaging is one of their biggest issues. Even since before launch, I believe. It's not something you can grasp from an ad really.-
I think part of the problem is finding an angle. They've now got a system which will be competing with the massive install base of the PS3/360 and the "hot! new!" feeling of the new consoles. What can they possibly do to motivate people (and developers) to give them time and money?
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And that is precisely what is causing them sleepless nights right now. They know it, and they admitted it. Nothing to argue there.
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but the general populace still think the WiiU is just an addon to the Wii. So there is that battle they have to overcome.
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My Mom thought the Wii-U was an OS update akin to installing a new Windows OS on existing computers.
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Only if the ps4 games are significantly higher quality than those of the WiiU, which I doubt we'll be the case. Specs only get Internet fanboys excited - games will be what makes our breaks it.
Nintendo has apipeline of amazing games right now, but will it be too late if the ps4/xb1 games are killer?
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"deluxe" editions of consoles always outsell the lower priced version...because people want the most disk space,etc.
But, price IS still an issue, because I'm not buying a deluxe edition of a console that only has 1 or 2 decent games for it, and nothing great on the horizon. Also....multiplayer. -
Sounds like they are just fooling themselves. Price is still an issue because the basic version isn't even all that much cheaper.
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That would be like Sony saying when they launched the PS3 that price wasn't an issue because the $500 console wasn't outselling the $600 console. It was still expensive as hell.
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The utter ridiculousness of $599 combined with the lack of games available certainly was a big issue. Price becomes an issue when it's this insanely high.
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Of course price is an issue. He can't really think that, can he? Deluxe outsold the regular because it's a much better deal, and if you're going to buy a system, why wouldn't you go for the better deal?
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Yeah, I think the Deluxe needs to be $300 and the Basic $250, especially with the PS4 coming out at $400.
I'm surprised it costs so much to manufacture that they're selling it for a loss as is. The controller must be super expensive because it can't be the internals.-
Yeah.
I'm just hoping it's nice and cheap by the time Xenoblade 2 (or whatever it ends up being) comes out.
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Considering the lack of games, it's just a Wii to me. I'd take one for free, just out of curiosity, but it'd be hard to justify spending money on it. They can flip my views over by announcing Okami 2 for it.
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People buy the deluxe because you make up the price difference with the deluxe digital promotion. Price is the biggest issue. Drop the price, more people will buy. The More people buy, the more publishers will find it to be a system worth developing for. Nintendo, you fool no one but yourself.
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No. Why? Because retailers have been dropping the price all over the world and it had little effect.
It is entirely a "not enough" games issue. It's not a "no games" issue, btw since that was never the case. There have been several more than worthwhile games since day one. It's that there weren't enough. We're slowly moving away from that situation (finally).-
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There hasn't been one, I'm not sure what the previous poster is referring to. There have been rare drops temporarily to remove stock of the 'basic' level Wii U, but no actual price cuts or big sales I've seen.
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Why would Nintendo advertise retailer-initiated sale prices? Does Sony tell you that you can buy Resistance 2 for $5 at Best Buy tomorrow? (Pulled this one out of my butt). If you're not looking for deals you won't know about any deals. There have been drastic (temporary) price reductions for months in all regions (not sure about Japan). You just gotta look for them.
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Sales ≠ Price Drops
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Sure, but don't both ultimately mean that the system is available for a cheaper price for a limited time like kenclopz suggested?
What's the difference between GameStop saying "hey, this thing is now $250 for a week" or Nintendo saying "our thing is $250 for a week"?
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I can name a couple of reasons why I haven't bought one. Price, and the tablet lasts only ~4 hours before you have to recharge.
$350 for a Wii U vs. $399 for a much more powerful PS4 that can also play BR, DVD, CD, etc. and which also has a much more robust online and account system?
Nintendo still doesn't have online accounts.
I think Iwata is right, though. Nintendo software is unique and can only be found on Nintendo systems.-
Nintendo DOES have online accounts. That is precisely what your NNID is. An online account. They may work differently right now (can't transfer them to another system by yourself) but they're there. And, like I said in my other post, if you compare the two in terms of online system, you better add the PS+ fee on top of those $399.
Battery life of the controller is also something that is less of an issue that the internet at large makes it seem. Put the thing on the charging stand if you're not playing and be done with it. Since you don't have to plug it into the console you can put the stand wherever you want in your game room.-
Why would you add the PS+ fee? All the basic PSN functions do not require PS+.
Until Nintendo figures out its shit and I can use different systems without losing all my shit, gives me a single sign-in that covers all their current-gen systems, and lets me at all times see what I own and don't, they don't belong even in the same breath as talking about PSN, which executes this pretty much flawlessly (though their "download" menu for getting previous purchases could use work).-
Why? Because you talk about more robust online and ignore the requirement for PS+ to play online mp. Remember the days when free online mp was the celebrated big plus in the comparison against Xbox Live?
And what are you talking about now? Losing all your shit? What are you losing? Bought a ton of WiiWare/VC games? Transfer them over to your Wii U, it's all right there (same goes for 3DS and DSi). The only next-gen system that let's you do that, btw. NNID is coming to 3DS presumably later this year so that'll get solved as well. And you could always see what you own and didn't. What does that even mean? The Wii U eShop even lets you view your purchased DLC and standalone software separately.
Sounds to me like you're basing your opinion on misinformation and outdated hearsay.-
Maybe transfer from Wii to WiiU is painless, but if your Wii takes a shit and you get a new one (Wii that is), can you transfer your old Wii downloads (E-shop stuff, maybe saved games?) just as easy?
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Andrew, small thing: Wii U doesn't have a hard drive, it has flash memory. Small but noteworthy difference.
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Price is certainly a factor. I wouldn't buy one today, unless the price was just stupidly low. But yeah, if there was even a single game I'd play on it today, I'd be much more willing to spend a few hundred dollars.
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Price is always a factor, unless you're talking people that just have huge amounts of disposable income.
I mean, even if the Wii U had amazing games today, I wouldn't buy one because $350 is just too much for what it is, IMO. Now, if I had a ton of money and time, sure, price would be no factor.
But that $350 is a big chunk of my PS4 budget. If it were say, $200, that'd be different.-
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for me, the lack of hard drive and battery life means that they will probably eventually come out with a wiiU Plus that fixes these issues, but by then it'll be too late because the xbox180 and Ps4 will have already come out. They can not win my heart and mind at this point.
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They scared off a life long Nintendo fan boy like me. I just can't justify buying either the 3ds or the wiiu.
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Yeah. And I kinda fucking hate handhelds (mostly for stealing games I want on consoles). But 3DS is the tits.
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*shrugs* i don't like the 3d effect, and the jaggies look awful, not to mention the awful battery life. I've had every handheld Nintendo console in my pocket since '89, but I think 3d was the wrong direction for them to go.
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I don't really use the 3D, but I've never had battery life issues. I bought it mostly because JRPGs and SRPGs that I wanted insisted on coming to 3DS and nowhere else.
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sounds like i made up my mind before blowing $200, so yeah, I think that's the whole point of making up my mind about something. I did play a bunch at Target and Bestbuy when it came out.
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The XL is $175 this week at Target. Grab one!
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what the what. the battery life has been fantastic for me
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oO? I don't know where to take them money from to spend on all the 3DS games this year. Retail games and eShop stuff is tearing shit up right now.
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I agree price is not an issue.
The issue are the lack of games.
PERIOD. -
There's a real lack of advertising for it, probably because there's a real lack of games to advertise.
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I feel like a tard and can't figure out how to start the local coop. Just seems like it throws you into the game.
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it's just score mission and battle missions. 5 maps each. Should be more
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I would probably get a Wii U if it were $250.
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That's make it $50 more than the 3DS XL is currently. I think all of them will drop in price at the same time.
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