166 replies to this topic

[Goodtwin]

over 3 million customers served does not say the price is out of line.  The slumping sales since only points to a lack of quality software.  Nintendo can't dictate to developers what they will develop or launch, unless they want to fund it, and it still isn't that simple.  The launch titles were announced back in 2011, before those titles released on PS3 and 360.  Then, the hardware changed, and chaged.  Devs didn't get final HDKs until late last year, right around launch time, so the ports that were ready to go for launch were developed using different target hardware that was less capable.

 

Criterion have said that Nintendo are providing support now and they were able to develop a PC port of their game in months, which is fantastic.  If they had tried to release at launch it wouldn't have been nearly as good.

 

We have several games coming out this month (1 today) that will alleviate some of the software woes, then we have SxSW, GDC, and e3 to look forward to plus any Nintendo Directs that are announced for more news on software.  They'll be fine, and they won't need a price cut.  The price is right already, it isn't very expensive at all when you look through history and adjust for inflation, and it will still be the lowest cost console available with similar capability.

 

I hope your right, but slumping sales does not sit well with investors or publishers.  If hardware sales pick up quite a bit after Monster Hunter, Need For Speed, and Lego City Undercover release, then I think Nintendo can hold off on a price drop.  If things dont pick up, then they will start to feel the pressure.  Selling 100k units a month is not going to cut it.  I did hear some rumors that in January for every 100 Wii U's sold, around 40 were being returned.  There were a ton of Wii U's sold at launch to people who were trying to make a quick buck.  When they couldnt make any money on them, they returned that after the new year.  So now that the returns are all taken care of, February's sales could look far better. 

Edited by Goodtwin, 05 March 2013 - 11:18 AM.

[routerbad]

I hope your right, but slumping sales does not sit well with investors or publishers.  If hardware sales pick up quite a bit after Monster Hunter, Need For Speed, and Lego City Undercover release, then I think Nintendo can hold off on a price drop.  If things dont pick up, then they will start to feel the pressure.  Selling 100k units a month is not going to cut it.  I did hear some rumors that in January for every 100 Wii U's sold, around 40 were being returned.  There were a ton of Wii U's sold at launch to people who were trying to make a quick buck.  When they couldnt make any money on them, they returned that after the new year.  So now that the returns are all taken care of, February's sales could look far better. 

Very true.  Investors are probably a little nervous right now, but Nintendo has cash in the bank and with a few key game releases and announcements I think console sales will tick up considerably.  February should be a much better number, I agree there as well.

[Sobari]

Considering the fact that the PS4 is probably going to be insanely expensive to make with the specs it has, it probably won't even be in the same price range as the Wii U, unless Sony wants to sell the system at a loss so big that they may as well blow their heads off with a shotgun while they're at it.

[Smertrius]

wii u in europe are still €320 for basic 8GB, Premium Set. Black Wii U Console; 32GB is with nintendoland is €380 and Premium Set. Black Wii U Console; 32GB is with nintendoland, Zombiu and wii u pro controller is €416

 

they're prices have not drop yet over here

Edited by Smertrius, 05 March 2013 - 05:09 PM.

[Cozmo]

if iwata was smart then they would. it would sell a lot of consoles because not many people hav 500 dollars just for a new system. if he would cut the price 50-75 bux then more people would go for the wii u because of how cheap it is compared to the competition, just like the wii. then even more multiplats will come to the system bc like i stated in a another thread, the biggest thing that is halting the wii u from getting most of these third party games is install base. it would give the wii u a good foothold in the competition and once those first party games come it could dominate.

[blu gamepad]

I'm sure once E3 rolls around all will become clear (hopefully). Nintendo has given us a small peak of this plan B, and come June, we will see more of that plan for the rest of the year and beyond as usual. Sony has shown their peak for this year, Microsoft is rumored to be showing their peak as well in a month or less. E3 2013 will be a year where every console maker shows their full hand proposal, but most of the general details will already be out of the bag before then.

 

How Nintendo does this could in a keystroke change the forecast outlook for their Wii U business.

[cannonshane]

I dont see Nintendo dropping the price any time soon, what I do see them doing though is purposely releasing 1st party titles either on or around the ps4 release, that way they might sway a few customers who intended on buying ps4 over to the wii u.

[Gamejunkie]

Considering the fact that the PS4 is probably going to be insanely expensive to make with the specs it has, it probably won't even be in the same price range as the Wii U, unless Sony wants to sell the system at a loss so big that they may as well blow their heads off with a shotgun while they're at it.

I very much doubt the PS4 is going to be insanely expensive as you put it. Sony are well aware of the problems they had because the PS3 was launched at $600 and I would be surprised if they make the same mistake again. Not to mention the PS4 comprises of off the shelf parts all be it some of them custom modified as opposed to the PS3 which was pretty much all proprietory. It will most likely be more expensive the Wii U but probably not by a significant margin.

I'm sure once E3 rolls around all will become clear (hopefully). Nintendo has given us a small peak of this plan B, and come June, we will see more of that plan for the rest of the year and beyond as usual. Sony has shown their peak for this year, Microsoft is rumored to be showing their peak as well in a month or less. E3 2013 will be a year where every console maker shows their full hand proposal, but most of the general details will already be out of the bag before then.
 
How Nintendo does this could in a keystroke change the forecast outlook for their Wii U business.

I think your mistaken if you think Sony have shown their peak for the year as you put it. The PS4 presentation was a just a teaser and way to announce the PS4 is real and what the basic specs are as well as some of the games that are coming out. They will show a lot more over the coming months and at shows like E3, Tokyo Games Show and Gamescom.

[Goodtwin]

I wouldnt totally discredit the idea that Sony could release a very expensive PS4, what I would rule out is the idea that Sony is going to sell it at a big loss to gain market share.  I could see Sony releasing an expensive powerful console that hardcore Sony fans will buy at launch, but also continue to push the PS3 for the more casual gamers until the production cost of the PS4 come down to a mass market price point.  By having the generations overlap, it allows Sony to release with better tech to appease the hardcore fans without being forced to lose big money to target the larger casual gamer market.  The PS3 can buffer this transition by remaining Sony's primary money maker through 2015.  That should be enough time for the PS4 to reach the mass market $299 price point.  There just arent tens of millions of consumers out there that will pay $499 for a console that plays mostly the same content as a $199 Xbox 360/PS3.  Its the same trouble Nintendo is having right now, its a more expensive platform with a more limited offering on the software side.  Not to mention many of the ports are already $40 or less on those platforms while third parties try to get $60 for the Wii U ports. 

 

Nintendo is going to have a price cut at some point this year.  I personally feel that it would be best to wait until later this year, right around the time Nintendo releases some of its big name first party titles.  This will make the Wii U a very appealing product.  Nintendo's first party software sells hardware, theres no denying that.  A 3D Mario and Mario Kart could totally change the outlook of the second half of the year for Wii U.  Nintendo may be willing to accept larger losses on hardware for a while if they know the larger userbase will result in significantly larger profits from their software.  If Nintendo can swing it, a $199 price point for the basic model come Christmas 2013 could make it the most attractive platform on the market. 

[routerbad]

I very much doubt the PS4 is going to be insanely expensive as you put it. Sony are well aware of the problems they had because the PS3 was launched at $600 and I would be surprised if they make the same mistake again. Not to mention the PS4 comprises of off the shelf parts all be it some of them custom modified as opposed to the PS3 which was pretty much all proprietory. It will most likely be more expensive the Wii U but probably not by a significant margin.


I think your mistaken if you think Sony have shown their peak for the year as you put it. The PS4 presentation was a just a teaser and way to announce the PS4 is real and what the basic specs are as well as some of the games that are coming out. They will show a lot more over the coming months and at shows like E3, Tokyo Games Show and Gamescom.

I agree that it won't be $600, but it will most likely go for between $450-$500 (maybe higher for a better sku).  They really can't afford to take a huge loss on their consoles, none of their other business ventures prop them up enough to take another hit like that.  It will be a very nice system indeed, and I hope they show some great things at e3 other than renders.

[MorbidGod]

The price cut for the 3DS worked then, but Nintendo can't make a bad habit out of it, otherwise they will be training their customers to always expect a price drop within 6 months to a year. That mentality will make early sales for future nintendo systems even worse. I understand the reason you're kinda going for with value and a little price cut to give sales a shot in the arm. But a console business is a marathon not a sprint. You can't be quick to fire all your moves in one go at the first sign of trouble. If you don't have confidence in your own platform, how will your customers have it.

NIntendo has made all the moves they can make while taking minimal loss. Tone thing they need to do now, and the only thing they need to do now is add more games. Software sells the hardware. Without an ever growing lineup of games no price cut in the world can save a system from a short and quick death to the bargin bins.

The PlayStation 4 is sitting pretty now, but in all honesty, its going to be more expensive than the Wii U at launch; the specs clearly make a case for this. The lineup, is not gonna be nearly as diverse as people may think, and will struggle for a while as Nintendo simply adds more games to its more affordable next gen platform. The Wii U will be fine, not need to panic and get hasty.

The 3DS was special case, but there is no need for alarm to press the panic price cut button.

I expect the PS4 to be 400ish. The specs arent that impressive.

[Gamejunkie]

I expect the PS4 to be 400ish. The specs arent that impressive.

Its not a question about whether they're impressive or not but that unlike the PS3 the PS4 uses off the shelf parts all be it slightly modified.

[Goodtwin]

PS4 has good respectable specs.  Its going to be far more impressive graphics processing tech than what powers the Wii U.  The thing is, only certain genre's will really show off the difference.  For example, Mario Galaxy was very close to using near perfect character models for Mario, Toad, Gumba's, Turtles and so forth.  Nintendo will be able to create the Mario universe with no hardware limitations at all.  We have finnally gotten to the point where the hardware can do perfect "cartoon" graphics.  We are still a generations away from photo realism, but the PS4 is going to outshine the Wii U in that area by a respectable margin.  Game budgets are something to consider as well.  It cost big money to assets that max out the PS4.  For example, a game with a 10 million dollar budget wouldnt be able to do much more on the PS4 than they can on the Wii U.  They simply dont have the resources to create super high quality assetts.  PS4  is going to get multi plats with PC Ultra level graphics while the future Wii U multi plats will get similar treatment that Need for Speed has gotten, somewhere in the middle of the 360/PS3 and Ultra level PC graphics. 

 

Mr. Miyamoto made a very good observation.  People watching people play the Wii were intrigued about it and wanted to play it because it looked fun to play.  Watching people play the Wii U isnt as entertaining to watch someone play.  That doesnt mean the experience is worse, but that it doesnt immediately make people want to give it a try.  Nintendo has a job to do right now, and thats to intrigue people so that they want to give it a try.  I think it will be somewhat a snowball effect.  The more people that have the console will get others to play it with them, since thats a huge strength of Wii U is the 5 player gameplay, and once those peopel play, they will also be inclined to make the purcahse.  The shopping mall demo setups for Wii was a huge promotional tool, and watching someone play the Wii U for a few minutes just doesnt have the same impact that watching someone play Wii had. 

[MorbidGod]

Its not a question about whether they're impressive or not but that unlike the PS3 the PS4 uses off the shelf parts all be it slightly modified.

And those stock parts, besides the ram, are made for mid range pc's.

[Mewbot]

Well, if there's a price drop then I hope they do what they did with the 3DS, except maybe give some money on the Eshop or something since VirtualConsole may not be done by then.

[Phanto]

I don't want to see a price cut. Not for at lest three years or so...

 

What? I spent hard-earned cash on my Wii U, and I don't need Nintendo to devalue it so close to launch. That money took a lot of effort to earn, dagnabbit.

[MorbidGod]

I don't want to see a price cut. Not for at lest three years or so...

What? I spent hard-earned cash on my Wii U, and I don't need Nintendo to devalue it so close to launch. That money took a lot of effort to earn, dagnabbit.

Exactly.

[Guy Fieri]

I don't think Nintendo needs a Wii U price drop right now, they're already having trouble trying to make a profit on it. But if the PS4 is just dominating sales ( which I kinda doubt), Nintendo will either drop the price, or drop the price temporarily during a sale.

[Insanity_Boi]

I'm actually content with the price of the Wii U. I don't see Nintendo dropping the price anytime soon unless the PS4 starts selling like gangbusters which I highly doubt.

[Happy Monk]

I can't really see the Wii U getting a price drop per se. I imagine individual retailers will be quite aggressive at selling the console with different games.

My prediction is essentially, buy a premium pack for the price it is now, but you'll get 2 free games instead of just Nintendo Land.