When the Nintendo Wii U launched last year, consumers had two different consoles to pick up. Both were priced fairly high, not Playstation 3 launch high, but high enough that people are already wanting a price cut.
Satoru Iwata, Nintendo president, has made it abundantly clear, the Wii U will not be getting a price cut anytime soon. It's not like the 3DS, which launched to poor sales and needed a price cut. The Wii U is selling well, but also selling at a loss for the company, which means a price cut is impossible right now.
"With Wii U, we have taken a rather resolute stance in pricing it below its manufacturing cost, so we are not planning to perform a markdown. I would like to make this point absolutely clear. We are putting our lessons from Nintendo 3DS to good use, as I have already publicly stated," said Iwata.
"However, given that it has now become clear that we have not yet fully communicated the value of our product, we will try to do so before the software lineup is enhanced and at the same time work to enrich the software lineup which could make consumers understand the appeal of Wii U," Iwata said during an investor call.
Nintendo is now expecting to ship 4 million Wii U consoles instead of the previously projected 5.5 million by March 31. The fiscal year for the company is also taking a hit, going from 18.5 million to 15 million.
Nintendo is playing it smart right now by not having a price drop, as the holidays are done and people don't exactly have cash to throw at a new console. For now, gamers wanting to get in on the Wii U will have to pick up a cheap console from GameStop.
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