Nintendo is now starting to realize that they can't afford to make huge profits anymore. If the 3DS would have still cost $249 today, then the Big N would probably be losing retailers, developers, and most importantly, customers. In my opinion, Nintendo was being extremely arrogant by pricing their handheld at $250 ($50 more than its biggest competitor, the iPod Touch, mind you). One would hope that Nintendo would learn from its mistakes and charge the Wii U at a reasonable price. $249-$279.

My guess is 299$ - 399$. Nintendo knows that it can't be too high (599 US Dollars anyone?), but it also can't be too low because it will mean less power = no solid next gen console.

Anyway, if they stay at that price, the PS4 and Xbox 720 will have to be more expensive to beat that hardware, and it will be too expensive and they will fail.
Fanboys who says that it will be beaten by PS4 and Xbox 720 easily are wrong, it will be too expensive, so as long Nintendo makes it somewhere between 300-400 they will be just fine.

Anything over $300 would be ridiculous. Here's why:

SNES was originally $199, and the Genesis (its biggest rival) cost the same price. The SNES was more powerful than the Genesis.
N64 was $199, and the Playstation was $299 at launch. The N64 was more powerful than the Playstation.
Gamecube was $199, and the PS2 was $299 at launch. The Gamecube was more powerful than the PS2.

Now, if the rumors are true that the Wii U is anywhere from 50%-500% more powerful than a PS3, that doesn't necessarily mean that it will be the most expensive console. Nintendo has never had the most expensive console on the market. Sony learned from the PS3 that consumers won't pay $500 for technology that won't mature for another 3 years. Microsoft knows that the lowest they'll go on a console launch is $299. This means that Nintendo will NOT have a $300 launch price, because they strive for the lowest price (and when they don't-3DS, anyone?-they suffer badly). This leaves my final guesstimate at anywhere from $250-$280.

There are both SD and USB ports for a reason. I'd imagine that the Wii U would have a small amount of memory (~8 GB) that, if wanted by the consumer, could be expanded via SD or USB 2.0. In my opinion, the USB 3.0 adoption rate is too low for Nintendo to spend the extra money on including it.

On a semi-related topic, why is Nintendo giving us FOUR USB ports when the only confirmed accessory that uses it is the New Controller? If they really are going to allow only one NC at a time, then why include four ports? Controlled, anyone?

I'm glad that the Wii U is coming out in the summer for two reasons:

-I just spent $70 on Skyward Sword, which could have been spent on a Wii U. I'll have more time to save up
-This will give me the ENTIRE SUMMER to play with my Wii U without thinking about school one bit

hmm i wish you were right about it being in summer but thats not certain at all. the final version will be shown in the summer at E3. but i just saw an article reporting on a nintendo meeting and one of the results was that the wii u is likely to be released in japan in september and EU and NA in november a summer release would of been awesome and its still possible but less likely

WHAT?!?! If Nintendo doesn't release the Operation Rainfall Trio next year, it's going to be a REALLY boring year.

All the people who are saying that the Wii U will cost more than $400 have forgotten one critical thing: THEY'RE NINTENDO! Especially after the disaster that was the 3DS launch and even Reggie going as far as saying that they've "learned their lesson", plus the fact that Nintendo has never priced a console more than $300, I highly believe that the Wii U will be less than $300. With the latest rumors saying that the Wii U is about as powerful as a 360, theorizing that the Wii U will cost more than $300 is ludicrous. Here are my main factors as to what the Wii U will cost:

• The Wii costs $149. Yes, I know it's dated hardware, but Reggie has been quoted to say that the Wii will remain on the market for a decent amount of time and that Nintendo is trying to make a "tiered" pricing scheme between the two consoles. What "tier" costs at least twice as more than their lowest option?
• The 360 costs $199, and God knows how much the 720 will cost. Nintendo is the industry's biggest fan of competitive pricing, and with the 720 rumored to hit as early as next year, Nintendo will need to stay competitive. And while the 360's been out for 5 years and its hardware has become pretty cheap to produce because of that, if the Wii U will have similar specs to a 360, then how could the Wii U possibly cost upwards of $400?
• The controller will NOT cost $100 to produce. Trust me, I know what the Chinese electronics manufacturing market is like, and making a New Controller will NOT cost $100 to produce for several reasons. It has a resistive touchscreen. It doesn't have a fast CPU nor lots (if any) of RAM (I'd imagine this would be the case, but nothing's confirmed). It doesn't have Wi-Fi (as far as we know). It doesn't have a MicroSD Card slot. Plus, the controller will be produced by the millions, resulting in a lower price. This Android tablet, for example, has all of the above features that won't be in the New Controller and only costs $58 for one unit (http://www.aliexpres...holesalers.html). The controller may cost Nintendo as low as $35-$45 to produce.

I think (read:hope) their press conference will be pretty long, maybe 2 hours. I don't think that the Wii will get more than 5-15 minutes, the 3DS will get around 45 minutes, and the Wii U will get the last hour of the press conference. I think we'll get:

• A lot of heavy hitter, western AAA third-party titles (GTA V, Assassin's Creed, Call of Duty, Battlefield, etc.)
• Some Japanese third-party titles (Ninja Gaiden, Metal Gear Solid Rising Metal Gear Rising Revengeance, etc.)
• A look at Retro's new game (Star Fox, Metroid, F-Zero, or something original; it's too soon for a new Zelda game)
• A VERY heavy emphasis on launch titles and/or services, especially after the debacle that was the 3DS launch
• Lots of first-party titles in trailer form (once again, Star Fox, Metroid, F-Zero, or something original. Look at Nintendo's releases last year and you'll realize that most of them were outsourced, meaning that Ninendo's main studios were busy)
• POSSIBLY a new Mario game
• POSSIBLY an HD Skyward Sword re-release as a launch title
• A Smash Bros. trailer
• Apps, apps, apps (real apps, not Nintendo Video-type stuff)
• Full online infrastructure details
• A look at the OS
• Launch details (release date, pricing, and launch titles)

I hope I don't take a lot of flak from my fellow Star Fox fans for this, but I actually want another game like Assault. I loved that game's hybrid gameplay and awesome multiplayer, and would kill for another game like that with online play.

Well, it's 2012 and before we know it the Wii U will be out. Along with new hardware launching comes launch titles. So, what do you think will be the U's launch titles? The Pilotwings reboot and Steel Diver launches caught me off guard with the 3DS last year, so I'm stumped for first-party titles. On the third-party side though, I think Ninty needs CoD as a launch title if it comes out in November. What are your ideas?

A new 2.5D Metroid would be an awesome launch title, and would definitely win us some favor from Game Informer. Also, maybe an HD Zelda collection(Zelda, Zelda II, ALttP, MM, WW, TP and possibly OoT and SS in HD!).

I prefer the side-scrolling Metroid games by far, but I think it's more realistic that we'd see something along the lines of Metroid Prime Hunters 2-a game with a good reputation among hardcore gamers (and even more so with the Prime games) that could show off how online play should be done. Plus, it never hurts to have a heavy-hitter, first-party game at launch (gives death stare to Steel Diver)

I've never even heard of this site, so I wouldn't get my hopes up high. And if it is a Wii U and 3DS game, it can't be Retro's game (unless Nintendo Software Technology does the 3DS port, not unlike Metroid Prime Hunters and Metroid Prime 3).

I think it just deals with how Nintendo works as a company. I don't think there's some conspiracy to make sure there are X Mario games every generation. And with a successful system comes tons of accessories. That's how capitalism works.

I'm thinking of using your Club Nintendo account as a "gamertag" and that way you can get "coins" with some sort of "achievements".

That's what I've thought ever since CN launched in the States. And especially with the start of redeeming coins for DLC, I think that's how they'll do it.

This guy was the one who told infomation about Title Fight on the PS3.

Was that ever confirmed?

The Smash Bros. series has a tattered release schedule (3 years from 64 to Melee, 6 years from Melee to Brawl), and I think Nintendo needs a new Smash Bros. more than anything. I'd say it's most likely that it'll come out in late 2013/early 2014. At the very latest, it'll come out in 2014.

I think that it would be wise for Nintendo to have at least 1 USB 3.0 port. Given that the console will most likely be out from 2012 to 2017, they need to have the technology available to keep up, and in 2017 a lot more devices will be 3.0 than 2.0. It's kind of like Wi-Fi with the Wii-in 2006, most Wi-Fi was in public places and not in homes.

Nintendo NEEDS to show something new at CES. With the impending launch of the iPad 3 and the mysterious Apple event after CES in New York, consumers will forget about the Wii U and instead be tempted to get an iPad 3. If they show something new, the Wii U will get back in the semi-mainstream news and encourage more consumers to wait.

Although I think that $299 is the most likely price, a $249 or $269 price would be better for several reasons:

• More competitive with PS3 ($249) and 360 ($199)
• Less of a blaring price gap with the 3DS (at $299, the 3DS would be nearly half the price)
• Less of a blaring price gap with the Wii ($149), which Nintendo wants to keep alive for a bit more
• More competitive with iPad ($499)
• "Reggie Said" that the price will be competitive with the 360/PS3 and that they've learned their lesson from the $249 3DS launch price
• Who doesn't like cheaper stuff?

A 3D screen would be nice and all, but GOD NO DON'T PUT A 3D SCREEN IN THE WII U'S CONTROLLER. The 3DS' screen barely worked for me, and when it did, it was hardly impressive. Add that with a touchscreen and having to alternate between the controller and the TV's screen, it would just be a painful, uncomfortable, and underutilized nightmare. I do agree that Ninty may have something else in store at E3 (many things, actually), but if anything, it may be the confirmation that we can use more than one Tablet Controller.

It probably costs Nintendo only a few cents to make a Wii sensor bar, so there's no point in changing it and adding to the cost. Plus, if you look at THIS video at the 28 second mark, the ports are identical to the Wii's (aside from the HDMI), so the sensor bar will stay the same.

If Nintendo doesn't announce Wii U pricing and release at E3, I'll be all like
(ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻

I think Nintendo did say that they were going to make it so you could basically import the whole of your Wii to the Wii U. (Miis, save data, games, etc)) So no worries, I suppose.

SOURCE. NOW.

I saw this on GoNintendo too. I compared the image with a picture of Tokyo-


and



They look pretty similar to me.

No caps. Now.

http://wiiugo.com/re...game-transfers/

^Found in 10 seconds of searching on www.wiiugo.com...the website this forum is for.

Alright. If all of this "Reggie Sez" stuff is false then he is officially the greatest troll of all time

I hope? It releases in summer or before my birthday (June 23rd) maybe pull a dreamcast and launch it at E3.

That was the Saturn actually (Dreamcast launched on 9/9/99 in the States), and Nintendo wouldn't be stupid enough to launch it at E3-it would piss off stores, consumers, and developers alike.