So we’ll know the official American prices for the Wii U later this morning. That will come courtesy of our resident Nintendo nut, Nathan Birch. But the Japanese prices have leaked, and they’re bad. They’re really bad. Nobody in the gaming press is saying it, but everybody is pretty much in shock.
The Wii U is basically a slight improvement over the PS3 and the Xbox 360. By all accounts it looks good, plays good, and is a good system. That’s not at issue here.
What IS at issue is the price, which, as revealed in Japan, is jaw-droppingly high for both the console itself and the GamePad that is its centerpiece.
Essentially, Nintendo has gone insane. We are on the verge of seeing one of the most venerable console game companies go down in flames.
Let’s start with the cost of the Wii U itself, $338 for the “basic” bundle, and $403 for the Premium (I’m going to use currency conversions because you guys don’t seem to make many trips to Akihabara). Currently, a PlayStation 3, with 160GB, costs $250. The Premium comes with 16GB of storage.
Yes, really.
An Xbox with similar storage capacity runs about $300. So, to review, Nintendo is dropping a new system with a game library that largely overlaps with these systems for a slightly higher price. Until 2013, when clearly Nintendo is hoping to be the cheap option compared to the cost of the PlayStation 4 and the next Xbox. One problem with that strategy, though… nobody will be developing games for the Wii U. In fact both PlayStation 4 and the next Xbox are rumored to basically be mid-range gaming PCs sold at a loss; several developers have said adapting their PC workflow to the console was simple and easy.
Now that GamePad. Want a second one? In Japan that will run you a heart-stopping $173. Yes, Nintendo wants basically the cost of a nice seven inch tablet or a new iPhone 5 for a game controller that can’t even make a phone call. The “hardcore” controller is a more reasonable $60, but the GamePad is the centerpiece of the console. Break the GamePad, and you’re basically out the cost of an entire console. The games are even worse: New Super Mario Bros. U will run $77 and Nintendo Land, the widely scorned collection of minigames, will cost $64.
I don’t doubt the Wii U will sell. At first. But it’s hard to see how Nintendo will avoid being overshadowed by the mobile sector, its console opponents, and, oh yeah, the streaming game companies and digital distribution companies that are starting to enter the sector en masse. This isn’t quite a “PS3 Launch” misstep, but it’s close, and I’m not sure Nintendo will be the same if this goes wrong.
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This can’t be accurate. If the prices later this morning look ANYTHING like what you have above i’ll lean back and pee into my own mouth like that monkey and send you a video of it.
$300 and $350 in the US. So you’re safe.
You owe me one pee video, Dan.
Hey, I didn’t say anything about peeing in my mouth. Besides, that totally wasn’t me in that video.
I knew that the thing would be too expensive the moment they explained the controller. Nintendo has survived due to its affordability since the gamecube now they are throwing that right out the window. They have gone crazy with gimmicks over gameplay for too long.
This isn’t that surprising to me. it’s a new system. In comparison, the PS3 was $599 when it launched.
Yeah, and we all know how THAT turned out.
HAH. point.
you can say its a disaster right now, but considering the xbox360 is going to do basically the same thing, and we all know the 720 will use it as well, the tablet style control is next gen’s motion control.
also I wouldn’t be surprised if sony comes out with something very similar also but claims its a revolutionary leap in gaming.
Actually, considering SmartGlass and some of the insane and weird patents they’ve filed, I think Microsoft is going in another direction altogether. They’re going to ride the Kinect until it dies.
I actually think that the reason that we haven’t heard much about the 720 or PS4 yet is because both Sony and Microsoft want to see just how well this gimmick works for Nintendo.
Aren’t the rumors pointing to MS letting you use the smart phones and tablets you already own as game pads? That is quite an advantage over the Wii U.
Not rumors: That’s SmartGlass in one.
Ya, MS isn’t trying to build just a gaming console. They want it to be the center of your home life. They want it to be your primary source of entertainment.
Nintendo forgot the lessons it should have learned from Sega. They had a hit with the Wii now they’ll follow it up with a Saturn. Not to mention that smartphones and tablets are hammering them in portable gaming.
Maybe if we’re lucky this’ll be a Dreamcast.
If Sega could have put a DVD player in the Dreamcast, it would have been like Homer sitting on the prehistoric fish. Just wasn’t cost-effective then.
Even though it’s been announced, I still think Nintendo is still kidding themselves if they think that people are going to pay over $250 for a system that isn’t a huge jump over the current generation. It’s been a long time coming, but I think this is going to be the tipping point for the Big N.
I disagree. I think people, especially early adopters, will be open to paying upwards of $100 more than the current gen systems for the latest and greatest, from any manufacturer.
Sony thought the same when they launched the Vita. We know already how that’s working out.
And yet the Vita is probably the most powerful portable gaming machine available now, so… that means the Wii U will totally dominate the more powerful, more expensive next-gen Xbox and Playstation, right?
“…people are going to pay over $250 for a system that isn’t a huge jump over the current generation…”
And that’s exactly what happened with the Wii and it sell like popcorn. Obviously there’s a big difference between “cheap wagglan controls” and “pricy touchpad useless for anything else”.
Is NintendoLand really “widely scorned”? Seems to me that the casual and semi-casual crowd likes it, and those who hate casual games obviously dislike it in the same way that blind people would dislike Avatar and deaf people wouldn’t care for [insert your favorite band here].
Maybe that’s the wrong term. It doesn’t look BAD, but it’s also a strange choice for a launch title, and if they really want $60 for it… well, that’s a bit much.
I don’t really think the semi-casual crowd that fell in love with simple controls are willing to pay that much for the experience. But I’ll wait to see how it goes.
I’m not paying that much for anything that isn’t made by Apple! (He said, sort of kidding)
Adding a 2nd gamepad is going to be insane. Best case scenario in the US it will still be $100+. Glad I’m the only gamer in my pad.
I have an odd relationship with Nintendo. I’ve been a fan of them since the SNES and preached the N64 when a lot of my schoolmates were talking about those shitty chippy-looking blocks that the PS was cranking out. Some of my fondest memories of games are from Nintendo, relived by the virtual console on the Wii. I get the bashing on Nintendo, they brought it on themselves. I just don’t want to see their demise and will always been optimistic about them. I can’t speak for the general public who have bought the Wii, but I know me personally am looking forward to HD graphics with the Wii U that we SHOULD have had with the Wii to begin with. So is it not much of a leap in technology compared to Sony and MS? No, it’s not, but for Nintendo fans who enjoy their franchises like Zelda and Mario, we can’t wait to experience that in HD when everyone else has enjoyed Batman and GTA in it already on the other consoles.
And I’m hoping, which it looks like it will, have more support from 3rd party games. Arkham City is going to be a big one, that’s a good game and maybe even GTA would show up? Basically more “adult” games on a console from a company who’s been widely criticized for no longer catering to “hardcore” gamers and adults. I hope this does well for Nintendo, and personally that price-tag isn’t anything as bad as Dan made it out to be. I haven’t been a “hardcore” gamer since Perfect Dark, (whatever that really means) and I guess i’d be considered causal now, but I’d still pay $350 no problem for this console.
Where are you buying an iPhone 5 for $173. Discounted phones based on 3 year contracts with carriers are not the same as buying this WiiU gamepad.
Where are you getting a three-year contract? (I’d like to avoid that place at all costs.)
This article is dumb. I remember before the wii came out, people were saying it was going to sell like the opposite of hot cakes. Nintendo is about games. As long as Nintendo has Mario, Zelda, Samus, and crew, they will be fine.
Cold cakes?
Actually, I was a huge fan of the Wii from a business perspective. I thought the PS3 was overpriced and the 360 was going in the wrong direction. This…I just don’t know.